Two weeks before the end of the Knesset recess, the ultra-Orthodox parties are pressuring the Likud to fulfill its commitment in the coalition agreements on the draft law, and to enact a law that will grant haredi youth an almost sweeping exemption from conscription.
Israel Hayom has learned that the chairman of Torah Judaism, Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, said in closed talks on Wednesday that "there is no argument about the law, there is a clear commitment by the prime minister in the coalition agreement. We respected the coalition demands that existed until now, and now in the winter session we must pass the first thing to pass a draft law, that is the conclusion. We will not support any legal legislation before that."
Haredim at the recruitment office (illustrative), photo: Coco
In addition, Goldknopf is demanding the fulfillment of Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs' commitment that a memorandum on the draft law will be submitted by the opening of the Knesset's winter session after the holiday recess. But two weeks before the promised date, there are still gaps on the issue within the government.
One rule dropped
As of this writing, the government is working to meet the goal to which they have committed, and it has been decided that the law proposed a few months ago for a full exemption from conscription for Haredim at the age of 21 in order to encourage their integration into the workforce will no longer be promoted.
The government is now talking about what used to be known as the "Attias Framework," a law that will set a lower exemption age than the current situation (26), but will require a government decision to set recruitment targets so that each year a certain number of Haredim will be required to enlist, and thus there will be no blanket exemption. In fact, this is not a change in the current situation, since the targets will be adjusted to recruitment figures that already exist in Haredi society, and those who did not intend to enlist will not suddenly be forced to do so because of the law.
Gantz and Eisenkot propose an alternative to the draft law: "We will provide a wide range of service options" // Photo:
In an attempt to soften public criticism, the coalition is brandishing the fact that the new framework with recruitment targets for the ultra-Orthodox that they are trying to formulate was already part of the coalition agreements with Gantz in the unity government of the Likud and Blue and White in 2020. However, the same agreements also stated that Gantz would later introduce a comprehensive law that more comprehensively regulates the issue of haredi recruitment, a law that will not now be enacted.
Afraid of the protest
Senior Likud officials fear that even the new framework, which would grant an almost sweeping exemption to the ultra-Orthodox, could provoke widespread public criticism and further inflame the protests in the streets, which link opposition to the reform to changes in matters of religion and state as well.
The same senior figures from the moderate faction of the Likud say: "Any change on the issue of recruitment must be passed by broad consensus," but the coalition constraint and the pressure of the ultra-Orthodox do not allow Netanyahu and the Likud room to maneuver on the issue, and it is highly likely that he will be forced to be flexible in the face of their demands.
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