Israel's military sent draft notices to 1,000 ultra-Orthodox Jewish men on Sunday following a court ruling last month that ended their blanket exemptions amid the country's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
Another 2,000 ultra-Orthodox men, known as "Haredim," are scheduled to be called up in two more waves during the next four weeks, the Times of Israel reported.
Most Jewish men and women in Israel are required to serve three or two years, respectively, on active duty and remain reservists until around 40, according to the Associated Press.
Members of the ultra-Orthodox community, have been exempted since Israel was founded in 1948 so the men could pursue religious studies in seminary schools called yeshivas.
But a 2017 Supreme Court ruling struck down a law codifying the exemptions and on June 25 it unanimously ordered the military to start drafting ultra-Orthodox men.
The directive sparked public protests and Reuters reported that some Haredi rabbis have told men in their communities to burn their conscription papers.
About 1.3 million Israelis are ultra-Orthodox and they comprise about 13% of the country's population.
Two Haredi political parties are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fragile coalition government and new parliamentary elections would likely have be held if they were to pull out.
