BICOM

Two ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel’s governing coalition have proposed new legislation to exempt male ultra-orthodox Jews from military service.

United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas have a proposed a new Basic Law that would establish the right of yeshiva students to avoid military service. The new law would state that “Torah study is a foundational value in the heritage of the Jewish people. The State of Israel, as a Jewish state, sees supreme importance in encouraging Torah study and Torah students. Torah study has been a foundational principle of the Jewish people since its inception, and that such study has been the guarantor of the continuation of the Jewish people”.

The Enlistment Bill was proposed as a reaction to the High Court decision last September that the current exemption system is discriminatory and harms the principle of equality before the law. The High Court ordered that the state must either draft ultra-Orthodox men into the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) or pass a new law.

UTJ and Shas have said they will only support the Government budget if their Enlistment Bill is supported.

Coalition chairman David Amsalem of Likud said the threat to withdraw support from the budget violates the coalition agreement and that he has removed the Enlistment Bill from this week’s Knesset’s agenda.

In response, yesterday UTJ MK Moshe Gafni said that, “The Enlistment Bill is extremely dear to us and part of the coalition agreement.  We will bring it tomorrow for a vote. If members of the coalition oppose it, we will not vote any longer for the crazy bills you are bringing.” Gafni, who is also Finance Committee chairman, decided to cancel next week’s committee votes on the 2019 budget.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who also serves as leader of the secular party Yisrael Beitanu, said his party’s “stance on the matter of ultra-Orthodox conscription is clear and transparent, we will only support legislation drawn up by the professional staff established by the Defence Ministry.”

Lieberman’s party announced that they would vote against the bill if it were put to a vote. Kulanu MKs, led by Moshe Kahlon, also said they were opposed to the bill.