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For years Haredi men have been allowed to continue Torah study, but proposal could force some to enlist A proposed bill to extend compulsory military service to ultra-Orthodox students, historically exempt from conscription, has ignited a fierce debate in Israel, with Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warning that failure to pass the law could jeopardise the stability of the government.Israel has mandatory army service but for...

War has led to a crisis in relations in Lod – the town that both Arab and Jewish residents call homeFrom a distance the market looks like a scene of communal harmony. Jewish and Arab Israelis inspect the piles of pomegranates, oranges, pears and carrots. Israeli flags flap in the winter breeze from the balconies of shabby apartment blocks. A hundred metres away, a...