The Israeli government on Wednesday formed a committee to review potential reforms to the country’s military recruiting requirements.

The move – led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz – comes amid debates over the involvement of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the military and pressures to turn the military into a professional service.

The committee “will consider adjustments to IDF service and to the national and civilian function, building a new, broad and updated framework, which meets the needs of the Israeli national security, economy and society, for them. various groups of its population, which will have broad national appeal, ”reads a joint statement by the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of Defense.

Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo and Gantz Chief of Staff Maayan Yisraeli will lead the committee, supported by representatives from various ministries, The Times of Israel (ToI) reported.

Gantz has previously declared his support for the reforms of the current project, arguing that universal military service as envisioned in 1948 no longer exists today and does not suit modern Israeli society.

“With the founding of the country, the [Israel Defense Forces] was also founded and conscription was required of everyone, ”Gantz said, quoted by ToI, in September.

“Today, 73 years later, with only half of 18-year-olds enlisting and the country moving from a melting pot policy to a nation of ‘all tribes’, we must develop a different model, ”Gantz said. in September.

Recent polls have suggested that for the first time a majority of Jewish Israelis supported the idea of ​​ending the nation’s conscription.

Most ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arab citizens do not participate in compulsory service.