From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Eisenkot says current version of IDF draft bill puts military at ‘great risk’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
If the ultra-Orthodox draft law as currently written passes into law “I see a great risk to the IDF’s ability to continue to fulfill its mission,” warns National Unity MK and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot during a debate in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“On October 7, the biggest failure occurred since the establishment of the state, we entered a serious security reality that will last for years and it will be necessary to increase the order of forces, both regular and reserve,” he states.
“Both out of operational necessity and out of mutual responsibility, another law is required and not the proposed law… [which] is completely inappropriate in my opinion,” he continues. “I recommend throwing out this law and bringing in its place an Israeli service law for all which needs to apply to all 18-year-olds.”
Education Minister Yoav Kisch of Likud calls on the government to adopt an Defense Ministry report which lays out how the country could effectively recruit and integrate members of the ultra-Orthodox community “in an understanding, accommodating, accepting” manner.
“This bill is a huge opportunity that we must not miss,” Kisch says, calling to both meet the IDF’s manpower needs while also committing to “real integration of the ultra-Orthodox sector.”
“The truth is simple, the army needs the ultra-Orthodox sector inside. It’s not simple, it’s complex, but now the army is going to do it,” he says.
The Times of Israel Community.