Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared before the Plesner Committee on Thursday, to present his vision for the new draft law that will impact chareidim and most likely hesder yeshiva students.

Barak stated the chareidi community must not seek to bully anyone and the sides must be “mature and responsible towards reaching agreement” on the new realities regarding army service.

Barak explained that the sides must maintain a dialogue, but from his perspective, he views the future draft deferment for the chareidi tzibur being at a ceiling of 10% of those eligible for military service. That means 90% of the chareidi male tzibur will be drafted. The defense minister sees the current Nachal Chareidi as a model for their service in the military.

About 50% will enter the military and the other half will be inducted into a national service program.

The issue of drafting Arab citizens was raised, with some explaining this too should be addressed and a solution reached while others explained the High Court ruling does not pertain to the Arab community.

Barak added that despite rumors to the contrary, the military is not afraid of drafting many chareidim and the IDF stands ready and equipped to meet the challenge.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)