According to reports the final plan being adopted into the new coalition government for ‘sharing the burden’ is a harsher version than expected by many, one that will include personal sanctions against chareidim failing to enlist. This despite statements to the contrary by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who indicated he was not in favor of such a plan.
According to a Maariv report, sanctions against those not complying with the new draft law will include invalidating an avreich’s status with Bituach Leumi and cancelation of various forms of assistance in line with recommendations made last year by the Plesner Committee.
Plesner Committee members felt that since the matter of complying with the draft is a personal one, the consequences for failure to comply must also be directed at the individual. This will include a fine of 7,500 NIS, a criminal record, loss of arnona property tax reductions, loss of a monthly kollel stipend of 850 NIS, and removal of one’s status as an avreich with Bituach Leumi.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
1. As long as they aren’t throwing people in prison, it will be a mere nuisance. However most 18 years olds have no assets so how are they supposed to come up with money to pay a fine – meaning they will be throw in prison, so we are back to a worst cast scenario.
2. The major business of foreigners coming to Israeli yeshiovos and seminaries will crash since anyone with an Israeli grandparent might be claimed as a dual citizen and drafted.
3. The hareidim will be forced into an alliance with the Israeli left and the Arabs, and this will lead to significant changes that are hard to predict.
4. Note that there has been no mention of improving religious accomodation in the army (though they have discussed in a hiloni newspaper converting a prison now used for illegal immigrants for use by Hareidi soldiers). That doesn’t sound encouraging.
5. Will Neturei Karta be putting a big poster day “I told you so”.
Criminal record? Sounds like Czarist Russia. Will jackbooted Zionist troopers storm into yeshivas to arrest these draft-dodging criminals?
I understand that this has to happen. Like many others, I have seen this coming for years. But it still breaks my heart.
#2 – “jackbooted Zionist troopers”? – your comment gives the lie to your name.