Demonstration in front of Aryeh Deri's house calling for elections and equality in burden, April 1, 2024/according to section
The representatives of the Budget Division at the Ministry of Finance presented data today (Monday) to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to which, the recruitment of 10,000 ultra-Orthodox (71% of the yearbook) is equivalent to an economic benefit of approximately 6.7 billion shekels per year and the recruitment of all those liable for the recruitment who are currently in the "Torah and Faith" status (about 63 thousand) equals an economic benefit of about NIS 42 billion a year, if they enlist for full military service.
"The issue of sharing the burden of the service in the State of Israel is not only a security issue, a value issue, of the face of society in Israel, of mutual guarantee, it is also a first-rate economic issue that affects the state's economy, so it is impossible to make a decision on it, without hearing the Its economic implications and the degrees of the profession," MK Orit Farkash HaCohen, who initiated the debate, said at its opening. "I welcome this debate, the members of the budget department learned about the draft of the government's decisions on such a crucial issue from the media. No work was done. The professionals were not consulted on staff work. That's how it is on the way."
Haredim at the Tel Hashomer recruitment office March 31, 2024/Reuven Castro
The Ministry of Finance even said that as part of the formulation of the new recruitment arrangement for the ultra-orthodox male population, it is necessary to avoid setting an absolute exemption age. This is because the stipulation between the non-recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men and their integration into the labor market led to the creation of economic patterns that produce long-term damage to the Israeli economy, and produces a 'double loss' in which a significant portion of the ultra-Orthodox public was neither recruited nor integrated into the labor market.
The validity of the government's decision exempting ultra-Orthodox whose "teachings are their art" from enlisting in the army expired today - and in accordance with the High Court's decision, the yeshiva budgets for educational institutions where about 56,000 students study will stop receiving the government budget for them. This is about NIS 400-500 per month for a boy yeshiva or NIS 600-800 for Avrach.
This is one third of all yeshiva students in Israel, and the budgets will continue to be given to ultra-Orthodox who are exempt from enlisting in the IDF, or received a service deferment last year even before the government's decision in their case expired.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the heads of the ultra-orthodox parties to compensate them for these budgets, but it is not yet clear how this will happen. Such a move requires legislation in the Knesset, and it is doubtful that it will achieve a majority against the background of sharp public criticism against the non-conscription of the ultra-Orthodox.
More on the same topic:
The conscription law