Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid is sending a clear message to the over half million Israelis who voted for him, telling constituents that on the matter of sharing the burden there will be no compromise. Lapid explained that while he hopes to enter the coalition, he will not enter a coalition that does not place the share the burden high on its agenda and if he must, he will join the opposition.
There are different plans for chareidi draft on the table and perhaps the most chareidi friendly is that of Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon, or perhaps the least evil of the options available. The Ya’alon plan will lower the age a chareidi male can receive an exemption from service from 18 to 26 in phase one of implementation and by 2016, 6,000 chareidim will be inducted into the IDF or national service, as compared to 2,600 today. A chareidi male committing to a minimum of 45 hours weekly of limud Torah may apply for a draft deferment. Those not learning the minimum hours or failing to abide by the commitment must enter the military or face legal consequences. Ya’alon favors sanctions as others who feel the penalty must be harsher support sanctions and fines. Ya’alon feels if one is not learning and not serving, one’s stipend will be halted. Others seek to levy a fine and/or imprisonment as well.
President Shimon Peres has yet to meet with all the party leaders and assign the presidential mandate, but Lapid has indicated he will recommend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Nevertheless, while the coalition talks have not officially begun, party leaders are already networking and working towards advancing the issues based on the premise that Mr. Netanyahu will be given the mandate. Likud MKs-elect and colleagues from other coalition hopefuls are feeding the media with information and disinformation, feeding the endless speculation surrounding possible coalition makeup in the 19th Knesset.
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9 Responses
The things to look for (if you are wondering whether it is time to consider shorting Israeli bonds) are:
1. Will there be any penalty for someone who refuses to serve other than loss of stipends? Treating someone who refuses military service as if they were an Arab is reasonable, throwing them in prison is not. If the army tries imprisoning people for refusing to serve in the army on religious grounds, there will be many complications.
2. What is the plan on accomodation? More frum units? Offering to allow hareidi yeshivos to sponsor hesder units? While segregation is a “punt” in that eventually the soldiers will complain about lack of opportunity, it will postpone a disaster for a generation.
3. Will hareidi veterans be free from discrimination? Will post-army yeshiva students receive the liberal subsidies given to university students studying humanities, or the relative pittance given to yeshiva students? Will employers be required to reasonably accomodate orthodox religious practices, or will the hareidi veterans still find themselves locked out of the zionist economy?
The “learners” should take this opportunity to serve their country, set an example, and make a tremendous Kidush Hashem. But unfortunately, I fear they will only continue to display shameful acts, which will only reinforce public opinion that all those Shiurim they “attended” were a waste of time and tax payers money.
Nichye-v’Nireh
So the Yaalon plan is full exemption for “full time learner” till age 26. Quite generous sounding!
shev143: Those who learn Torah full time are serving their country. They give up the rich parnassah of being a “normal” Israeli, and note that the mainstream of Israel has become a full fledged “first world” country, and content themselves to the limited livlihood of a third world existence for the sake of learning. All you have to do is to trade your gemara for a rifle, and you go from a struggling yeshiva bochur to a participant in a prosperous post-industrial economy. We frumies predate the zionists and the jihadists, we survived the nazis and the communists, we’ve seen all the great and might civilizations rise and end up in the dustbin of history. We didn’t do it by relying on “rekev and susim” butg on Torah and Mitsvos. That is the kiddush ha-Shem that matters more than anything else.
zionflag i think there is a misprint in the artical it means from 28 to 26 but til 26 he would have to serve unless he has some kind of deferment or x number of kinds.
This is shmad by the back door.
I like Chizkiyahu HaMelech’s plan for learning. (Sanhedrin 94b)
They dont understand like we do.
They dont want us in the idf because they need us. They dont want us in their idf to share a burden. They want haredim in the idf, to share their culture and beliefs.
A person has to understand, the idf, is not jewish save for that there are many jews in it!
The idf is not holy, the government is not holy. We object to the way they run their army and our country. We object to the orders they give jewish men, and the things they make them do, and the many things they do not allow them to do that soldiers ought to be able to!
We object to being called non-contributors. We object to them passing off as assumed act that they are the contributors!