Jerusalem – Ma’an/Agencies – Ultra-Orthodox rabbis say they have secured Israel’s victory in the “demographic race with the Arabs,” according to the Israeli newspaper Israel Ha'Yom on Monday, in response to statistics released on army enlistment rates.

The comments follow criticism launched by a number of Israeli army commanders accusing the ultra-Orthodox community of failing to enlist in the army, as one in four Israelis who refuse to serve cite religious reasons for their deferral, according to Sunday's Israeli cabinet meeting.

Rabbi Yaqov Lisman, deputy Israeli minister of health, stated, “The religious Jews beget many children, while secular Jews serve in the army. Thus, you have to thank us instead of criticizing us because procreation is a battle too which we fight for Jewish demography. Take for example Jerusalem; if it wasn’t for religious Jews, Sari Nusseibeh would have become mayor of Jerusalem,” according to Israel Ha'Yom.

According to statistics discussed in an Israeli cabinet meeting devoted to curbing draft evasion on Sunday, 25 percent of men and 40 percent of women do not enlist in the Israeli army, of which 10 percent of women are exempt for reasons such as marriage, living abroad or medical deferment, including mental health deferments.

An Israeli commander expressed his anger over the number of “secular women who easily get certificates from religious institutions to exempt them,” as well as “large numbers of women who have submitted documents claiming they have psychological troubles. It is unbelievable that all these women are ill,” the commander was quoted as saying by Israel Ha'Yom.

Meanwhile, The Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz proposed denying drivers' licenses to those Israelis who have deferred their conscription on the grounds of mental health.

“Those who get out of the army because of a mental health deferment can't be drivers,” he said.

His recommendation was denied by the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs, the newspaper added.