Top Arab MK Odeh slams Haredi IDF draft law, citing opposition to mandatory consription

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"

MK Ayman Odeh speaks during a faction meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on February 6, 2023.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
MK Ayman Odeh speaks during a faction meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on February 6, 2023.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Hadash-Ta’al party chairman Ayman Odeh reiterates his opposition to the enlistment law coming up for a vote in the Knesset plenum this evening, hours after tweeting that he would not “lend a hand to the continuation of Netanyahu’s rule” by supporting the legislation.

Addressing the Arab-majority party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Odeh states that he opposes mandatory service and “is in favor of peace,” adding that it is imperative to do everything possible to topple a government that he alleged has “committed crimes against humanity in Gaza and killed 15,000 children.”

If eventually approved, the legislation would lower the age of exemption from mandatory service for Haredi yeshiva students from the current 26 to 21 and “very slowly” increase the rate of ultra-Orthodox conscription.

In addition to Hadash-Ta’al, the opposition’s Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu and Ra’am parties have also come out against the bill.

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