An Orthodox Jew watches Israeli soldiers visit the Western Wall. All Jewish males and females at 18 years old have mandatory military service (3 yrs. for men, 2 for women). A controversial law, and a cause for much animosity between orthodox and secular Jews, states that Orthodox men enrolled in Yeshiva (religious learning) and all Orthodox women are exempt from Military service. Incidentally, the majority of residents in the controversial Jewish settlements in the territories and Gaza are Orthodox.