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Monday, October 21, 2024
Goldknopf on IDF draft exemption: ‘For once we will receive our share, what we deserve’
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United Torah Judaism party chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf has said that legislation enshrining draft exemption for Haredi men is what his constituents deserve, the Ynet news site reports.
“I want the people of Israel to know that we are united, we help each other, we sit in the government, sit in the coalition and give our share and we want to know that for once we will receive our share, what we deserve to get as partners,” said Goldknopf at an event last night, according to the outlet.
“There is a big bowl, from which everyone takes what he needs,” he said.
Goldknopf also reportedly said a solution was being worked on after daycare subsidies were to be scrapped for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who were previously exempt from military service.
Traditionally, Haredi men who are enrolled in yeshivas for Torah study are exempt from mandatory army service, but this exemption is not a permanent status, and is only the result of Knesset bills that expire after a number of years.
The latest bill, which has been in the works for months, has been the focus of national controversy over the role of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society and the “sharing of the burden” of IDF service during wartime.
Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists as it fought in the Gaza Strip for the past year after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Forces have been further stretched as the IDF launched a limited incursion into Lebanon several weeks ago in a bid to push Hezbollah, which has been firing into Israel since October 8th, away from the border and allow tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel.
Earlier this week, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett offered a solution to the issue, saying, “The rule should be simple: Give and receive. If you do not give, you will not receive,” referring to government funds given to Haredi men enrolled in yeshiva studies.
The Times of Israel Community.