lesschumras- mw13 answered the second point very well.
Regarding the first point, I have already addressed this twice, but in case I wasn’t clear, I will try to explain for a third time. Israel is different than the US. In the US, there is not a national draft, and everyone is not drafted. In Israel, the law is that EVERYONE is required to go to the army unless they receive a deferment or an exemption. They have to apply for a deferment or an exemption in order to get out of going to the army. This is against halacha since they shouldn’t be required to go to the army in the first place and therefore shouldn’t have to request a deferment or an exemption from something they are not allowed to do in the first place.
It has always bothered me that girls (for whom it would be assur to go to the army no matter how the army is run) are required to apply for an exemption to the army based on RELIGIOUS reasons. Like, hello, we all have the same religion!!! They should not have get an exemption based on their religion if the government is a Jewish government!!! They should not be drafted in the first place and neither should boys. Both are assur!!! They should not need an exemption or a deferment for something that is assur and shouldn’t be a consideration.
Whether or not they are specifically told by the army that they are being drafted before they get the exemption or deferment is irrelevant because either way they know that they are and that they need to register in order to receive the deferment (which again is not an exemption). But in any case, I just realized that I know that they are. When my brother was 18, he was drafted by the army, and given 48 hours (it’s possible they extended it to 72, but it wasn’t more than that) to decide if he wanted to go or not.
And again, I think the main issue that Peleg is concerned about is the fact that the government did make a law removing army deferments and by registering, they are in danger of actually being drafted to the army (w/o a deferment) if the law is changed again.
Again, I am not talking about what the response should be. For that, one must ask a sheilah. I am also not judging the government. But the fact is that they are doing something assur, and one’s disagreement with Peleg should not blind one to the fact that the government is doing something wrong. People are so quick to judge other Frum Jews for the way they deal with a secular government that they forget that being a secular government in the first place is a bigger problem.
If you want to be “dan l’kaf zchus” the government (in the sense that they are confused and don’t realize this is a problem) that is wonderful, but don’t let that blind you to the fact that their actions are wrong.
And why not use the same “dan l’kaf zchus” powers towards Peleg as well? Aren’t they also Jews and don’t they also deserve to be judged favorably as well as a secular government that passes laws against the Torah?