Gov't to vote on new haredi conscription plan as coalition teeters

• Published date: 25 March 2024
• Author: TZVI JOFFRE
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

According to a draft of the government decision shared by Ynet on Monday, the decision will obligate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to develop a bill that will integrate haredim into the military and national service

According to the draft, the bill will need to include annual enlistment quotas which will "reflect a significant and gradual increase in the rate of enlistment" among haredim compared to the current rate of enlistment.

The bill will also include "positive and negative financial incentives for meeting or not meeting the annual recruitment quotas." The incentives would include limiting the financial support for haredi educational institutions.

The decision does not say when the negative financial incentives or sanctions would be implemented nor how they would be enforced.

While a former version of the proposal included an intention to set the age of exemption for yeshiva students at 34 years old – meaning that yeshiva students would be unable to work until the age of 34 – that detail was removed from the draft version on Monday. Earlier versions of the bill also reportedly included a requirement that economic sanctions would only begin in 2027.

The draft version of the decision also noted that the possible effects of the decision on the economy are "irrelevant" and that it would have "no effect" on the status of the military's manpower.

The bill will need to be presented to the public by April 21, approved by the government by May 19, and placed before the Knesset for a vote by May 22. The law must be passed by the Knesset in its final form by June 30.

Unlike past laws on the subject, the bill will not be allowed to be presented as a temporary order that will expire. Temporary orders have more lenient requirements than permanent laws.

If one of the deadlines set in the decision isn't met, haredim will be immediately drafted like any other Israeli. The decision includes a directive for the defense minister to prepare for that possibility.

Draft decision draws ire from both Gantz and Haredim

Minister-without-portfolio Benny Gantz reiterated a threat that he would leave the government if a stricter bill for drafting Haredim was not advanced on Monday during a press conference in northern Israel.

"It is inconceivable that precisely while the entirety of Israeli society is mobilized and making an effort for our home, the government will promote a law that crumbles its foundations," said Gantz. "We in the National...