The ministers of the Peri Share the Burden Committee on Wednesday, 20 Sivan 5773 passed the new draft bill after weeks of deliberation. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, a voice against imposing sanctions on bnei Torah that don’t comply with the law acquiesced at the behest of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The latter instructed his minister to accept the sanctions in order to avoid a coalition crisis after it became clear Yesh Atid party leader Finance Minister Yair Lapid was not backing down.
Lapid stated earlier in the week that if the committee rejects the clause compelling sanctions against anyone not reporting for military service, he will bring down the coalition. Lapid insisted this was a component of the coalition agreements and therefore, for him, it represented a deal-breaker.
Four of the ministers supported the committee’s original version, including Yaakov Peri (Yesh Atid), Yitzchak Aharonovich (Yisrael Beitenu), and Likud’s Limor Livnat and Moshe Ya’alon.
Uri Ariel (Yesh Atid) opposed the draft law and Amir Peretz (The Movement) abstained in protest of the committee not extending hesder army service to two years.
In line with the version of the law passed, beginning in July 2016, anyone not reporting to an induction service will be guilty of breaking the law and held accountable in line with the penal code. In short, the version of the law supported by Yair Lapid did pass as Likud ministers were instructed to back down to avoid a coalition crisis. The committee adds that sanctions against bnei yeshivos will only be imposed if the goal of 70% induction among chareidim is not met.
The committee did not accept the proposal to permit the defense minister to use his discretion regarding sanctions against one failing to report, who under the law will be classified as AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). As a result, one not reporting to an induction will automatically be classified as AWOL.
Peri stated “There were efforts to modify the law in such a way that it lacked enforcement but I insisted and we managed to pass our version.”
“For the first time since the establishment of the state we have defined parameters regarding persons avoiding military service” Peri added.
As such, beginning in July 2016, all chareidim will have to report to an induction center. The IDF promises to establish special centers to cater to the chareidi tzibur.
The law cuts mandatory service for men from 36 to 32 months while lengthening service for women from 24 to 28 months. Committee members feel this is an additional step towards equality. Peri turned to the military to check if the induction of many chareidim will not have a negative (discriminatory) impact on female soldiers.
While the committee wanted to release 150 dati leumi bnei yeshivot annually, labeling them ilui’im, Minister Uri Ariel succeeded in raising that number to 300 annually.
This bill has a long way to travel before becoming law. The next stop is the ministerial committee. At that time, State Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein will have to give his opinion as to the legality of the law as well as requiring the approval of the ministers on the committee. If the bill is approved, it will then move to the cabinet for approval and then finally to the Knesset.
Some of the bill’s highlights:
1. All chareidim will receive a first induction notice at the age of 17.
2. The rabbonim will select the 1,800 talmidim permitted to continue learning each year.
3. Anyone not reporting for the first call up notice beginning in July 2016 will be listed as AWOL and treated accordingly under the law.
4. A chareidi may visit an induction center each year from the age of 17, requesting a one-year extension to study Torah until the age of 21.
5. The IDF will decide who is inducted into the military, who goes to national service and who receives a deferment for medical or other reasons.
6. A person who does not accept the assignment chosen by the IDF will be viewed as being AWOL.
7. Chareidim in the military or national service will receive budgets and incentives from the government.
8. Similar to the 1,800 chareidi talmidim dismissed from service annually, classified as “ilui’im”, 300 talmidim from dati leumi yeshivot will receive this status as well.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Bottom line: Those who don’t comply will sooner or later be imprisoned (“personal sanctions”) and have their property seized. All the anti-zionist yeshivos (who don’t accept government funding), and most of the non-zionist yeshivos (who have accepted government funding), have already made it clear they will refuse to cooperate and will resist, and some have poskened that violence may be used in resisting. Thus we are looking forward in the foreseeable future to mass resistance and mass arrests. There is a good chance that Likud and Bayit Yehudi (which enabled this to happen) will back down, but if not, there will a serious conflict that will throw the survival of the zionist state into question.
The Zionists yms are Nazis, and we will fight them as such tooth and nail. Let them start building hundreds of new prisons across their State so they can start imprisoning all the Chareidim when we resolutely refuse to enlist in their army of immorality.
Furthermore, if the draft is implemented the rabbonim will announce that it is forbidden to enlist in the army even if legally mandatory. This will redcuce even the Chareidim who would’ve otherwise enlisted from enlisting. And, further, any Chareidim already in the army will actively resist any halachic (as determined by our own Chareidi rabbonim) violation (singing, intermingling, etc.) of the separation between men and women in the army. Even if they are imprisoned as a result. There will be mass disobedience within their army.
And if they start imprisoning many Chareidim (in or out the army) the rabbonim will have mass protests by Chareidim across the Holy Land, in all their cities, disrupting traffic and daily life for the Zionists.
It’s a joke that IDF Torah hating oisvorfs will choose who the luck few (in their new Cantonist system) is exempt for their army due to Torah learning.
And any Chareidi involuntarily (due to the new draft) in their army already, due to whatever unfortunate circumstances that led him there, will pretend he cannot shoot a gun, doesn’t know Hewbrew well (Yiddish is better), is slow and mentally handicap. Their army leaders will have their hands tied and full due to this.
Netanyahu made a HUGE mistake on this one. Up until now, the chareidim were his natural allies. No more.
I agree with you. Netanyahu has really blown it this time & his “legacy” will be one of a LOSER!