The Ministerial Peri [Share the Burden] Committee on Thursday, 14 Sivan 5773 submitted its draft law to replace the Tal Law addressing chareidim and military service.
The committee feels that all chareidim must report to an IDF induction center at the age of 17. One failing to do so will be in violation of the penal code and face punishment. If a year passes and a talmid has still not registered with the draft, he will be listed as AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) and be handled accordingly.
With the induction of the chareidi community into the IDF, mandatory service for men will be reduced from 36 to 32 months while women’s service will be increased from 24 to 28 months. If the draft law is passed, it will take effect on August 1, 2013.
Chareidim reporting for service as required will be permitted to request a postponement towards continuing Torah study until the age of 21. There will be strict monitoring of yeshivos and attendance and mosdos failing to comply with regulations will no longer receive government funding. There will also be funding incentives for yeshivos registering high levels of compliance. Funding for talmidim who fail to report to induction centers will be cut entirely. One whose military service is postponed to enable him to continue learning until age 21 will be required to learn 45 hours weekly. Attendance will be monitored.
In an effort to compel monitoring and compliance, sanctions will be levied on yeshiva heads and administrators. This holds true as well for anyone submitting false attendance reports.
When a talmid reaches the age of 21 he will be compelled to report once again and the IDF will decide who serves in the military and who is sent to an approved national service. 1,800 talmidim annually will receive a draft deferment at the age of 21, permitted to continue limud Torah full time until the age of 26. All others will be compelled to serve in the IDF or national service. If roshei yeshiva do not cooperate with IDF officials, the latter will decide who the 1,800 talmidim permitted to continue learning are.
The national service programs will operate in a number of areas, including public security, health, absorption of new immigrants, environmental protection, employment services, road safety, assisted the elderly, and government publicity (PR).
· In 2013, 3,300 chareidim will be inducted or which 2,000 heading to the IDF and 1,300 to national service.
· In 2014, 2,300 will be inducted into the IDF and 1,500 to national service.
· In 2015, 2,700 will be inducted into the IDF and 1,800 to national service and in 2016, 3,200 will be inducted into the IDF and 2,000 to national service.
The committee also addresses hesder yeshivos affiliated with the dati leumi tzibur. The army service for these talmidim will be increased from 16 months to 24 months. These additional months of army service would be at the expense of limud Torah in a beis medrash. The increase will be gradual so in three years talmidim will serve 24 months. Hesder programs will also be offered to chareidim as a service option.
Regarding the induction of Arab citizens, the committee has recommendations but fails to present an induction plan. The committee sets a goal of 6,000 Arabs to be inducted into service within five years.
While the draft bill may be approved by the government and the Knesset, the real question remains is if the law can pass the scrutiny of the Supreme Court for it is the latter that disqualified the Tal Law, labeling it “discriminatory”. Based on the court’s ruling of last year, the current draft law is also discriminatory, for it permits chareidim to defer military service until the age of 21. Non-chareidim do not have this option. The national service option may also be labeled discriminatory if the law is challenged in a petition to the nation’s highest court.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
Declaration of War. Now we know how the hareidim felt when the misyavanim announced their decrees.
If these insane proposals ever become law they will not only lead to opposition and animosity but bloodshed. It is a fundamental error to view the Torah community as some sort of Jewish Amish. The Torah community loves peace and pursues peace but is not pacifistic. A direct attack on the Yeshivot resulting in the imprisonment of Talmidey Yeshiva because of their religious principles is a fundamental violation of human rights. The open persecution of a community because of their religion is a crime against humanity.
It is an accepted principle in international law that a persecuted minority has the right to defend itself against persecution even the use of deadly force. Is this what “The Shared Burden” people want? To turn Israel into a cantonized territory like Lebanon? We already have Arab areas within the “Green Line” that are no-go areas for the Israeli police. They can only enter in vast numbers and even then will be met with violence. Is this what they want for areas where the Torah community live? It has already happened that military police looking for Talmidey Yeshiva have been attacked by eggs and garbage. Should there ever be a mass arrest of a Yeshiva, it will not be eggs and garbage that will be thrown.
All of this, however, does not even begin to address the true reason for these proposals.
Israel’s ruling elite has never abandoned its fantasy of making Israel into a Communist utopia. A utopia where they will rule, as enlightened and superior ubermenchen, over a docile and obedient proletariat that will work their factories, plow their fields and serve in their army to protect them against their enemies. The single most obstinate opponent to their plans has always been the Torah community. They were never willing to abandon 4,000 years of Jewish history and civilization to knuckle under the psychotic fantasies of a gang of pretentious thugs.
So what now? Will it be the insane haters and fantasizer who will prevail or the sane seekers of peace and unity?
We should never forget that the existence of the State of Israel and all of the successes here are an open miracle. But miracles can work both ways. Today people say how could a small, near to death people have risen up and defeat so many armies and built a wonderful modern state if not for the intervention of G-D? Let us pray that there will never be a day when people will say how could such a powerful, modern State have been defeated and destroyed by a bunch of primitive savages if not for the intervention of G-D?
So they’ll get harsher punishments… and then what?? WHOS’E GAINING??
The most likely result, is that after much screaming and posturing, they will either abolish conscription (now that they are proposing conscripting hareidim men, and discussing women as well – all hareidim will support ending conscription) or allowing objection to military service on religious grounds (which has the same effect).
The anti-zionist hareidim (e.g.Eidah hareidis) can’t be intimidated by loss of funds (they don’t accept government money) and if they are being subjected to mass arrests, it will force all other hareidim to similarly resist. When the hilonim try to close the leading yeshivos, it will alienate the religious zionists. The ultra-nationalists, who see army service as a mitsva, don’t want to see the zionist enterprise derailed by having a large chunk (at least 5% of Israel’s Jewish population) making a very public statement of their willingness to live under Arab rule rather than secular Jewish rule. And those Israelis who do serve in the army, aren’t so thrilled about having possibly unreliable hareidim as comrades in arms, but will be overjoyed if the money spent on conscripting hareidim were instead spent on pay and benefits for soldiers.
So the end result will likely be for the best – no conscription, no bars to learning, and repeal of laws that prevent hareidim for working outside the frum community. But it will be an “interesting” ride until we get there.
akuperma’s point starts with a reasonable assumption. So long as a mandatory draft is in place, the issue will be a sticking point. If the draft becomes voluntary or even incentivized then the whole argument changes. Yet, since the reality in Eretz Yisroel is a government mandatory draft where kids from the age of 18 are forcibly put in potentially dangerous circumstances, then I can’t see the chilonim or even the “national religious” backing down (and msvora pshuta they even appear right – but that is too pasut!) In the end, we all know this is all part of Hashem’s plan. Maybe we davka need soldiers who are yarei shamayim or that the yarei shamayim need to be able to be soldiers and, of course, the derech haTorah will prevail!
It is comforting to hear how there is no criminal issues and therefore no jail time concerns. It might be an unpleasant ride without the government stipends and child support but – Zos Chukas haTorah – Adam Ki Yamus b’Oihel!
#5- “criminal issues”
Note the words in the article: “One failing to do so will be in violation of the penal code and face punishment. If a year passes and a talmid has still not registered with the draft, he will be listed as AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) and be handled accordingly.” — That means prison.
It might comes as early as this year when the anti-zionists refuse to cooperate. It might be delayed for a few years if they defer everyone and then start drafting at age 21. But when they talk about the “penal code” and “facing punishment” they are talking about military prisons.
Zelasko, ye, go try fighting the majority. You have to get it through your head that you can’t get from the medinah and not give back.
Akuperma and Zelasko, if it’s so terrible in Israel, why don’t your friends get out of there and go back to Poland, Russia or Austria? I understand if they don’t come to America — the Rov held it was treif.
mdd: Ha-Shem gave Eretz Yisrael to the Hareidim. Actually to all Jews, but only Hareidim (and some of the Dati Leumi camp) are willing to fulfill the conditions attached to the grant of land, that is that we get the land in order to fulfill the Mitsvos. Eretz Yisrael belong to the Am ha-Torah before the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Brits or Zionists, and will still belong to us when all the aforementioned groups are just names of dead civilizations known primarily to archeologists. As long as we continue to learn Torah and do the Mitsvos, we have a right to Eretz Yisrael – unlike the zionists who derive their rights from a UN resolution and the barrel of a gun.
Throughout our history, we have always had a tradition of balancing our lives between learning and earning a parnassah. We also have always had times where men had to put down their seforim, their plows, their hammers or whatever they are doing to defend EY, the United States or wherever they were living. If these Chareidim want to continue living in EY, they will have to realize that they will have to make some contribution to national servcie either in the army or alternative public work and then resume their learning if that is their choice.
Anyone have something productive: figure out a way for the government to climb down from the tall tree they have climbed with their dignity and pants intact?
The biggest problem I see with this law is that non-charedim do not have the option of postponing service until 21. Give them the option. Let them learn 45 hours each week in yeshiva. Nothing wrong with that. (I wonder how many would take the option?)
#8- Hashem gave US Eretz Yisrael? If so, why are you sitting in America? Why don’t you go there and try and change things rather than sit in America and write all day about how awful the “hilonim” are?