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A senior Israeli Rabbi has drawn backlash over calling for unemployed Israelis not to join the military.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas Party, a key ally of the Israeli government, said: "Even an idle person should not join the army." 

In statements to Israel's Channel 13, the former Sephardi chief said that all religious school students were "ruined" after joining the army.

"They all became secular," Yosef explained.

The Shas Party represents religious Jews in the government and has been pushing for exemptions to be placed for the ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredi, as they say their primary role in life is to study the Torah.

The comments have drawn critique within Israel's political system.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC in connection to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza, said the comments were "unacceptable and deserving of complete condemnation", adding that any remarks of refusing to join the army will not be tolerated.

, leader of the National Unity Party, described the statements as "dangerous and unlawful".

"Everyone must serve the state," Gantz said.

At the same time, Israel's President  said he "strongly rejects any call for refusal, absence, and non-volunteering".

A spokesperson for the Shas Party, Asher Medina, has reportedly responded to Yosef's statement, saying his comments did not contain a "call for refusal to serve".

"Rabbi Yosef's remarks were aimed at highlighting the essential need to provide suitable frameworks for ultra-Orthodox youth who wish to enlist," Medina said, according to Israeli media.

All Israelis over the age of 18 are required to be conscripted into the army for at least a year. Palestinian, but not Druze, citizens are exempted, including religious, physical or psychological grounds.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews were initially exempted on religious grounds.

It was not until the Israeli Supreme Court in June ruled that the Haredi were required to be drafted that the Israeli army began sending notices to be drafted following the state's war on Gaza.

The decision spurred widespread condemnation from the religious faction and protests against it.