Religious Zionism denies it agreed to back controversial Haredi draft exemption bill

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party on Wednesday denied reports that it agreed to support the coalition’s controversial ultra-Orthodox military draft exemption law.

After reports of the decision sparked criticism from figures in the religious Zionist community, the party declared that it will “vote only for a law that will bring about real and rapid enlistment of Haredim into the IDF, in order to meet Israel’s security needs and ease the burden on the fighters and their families.”

“Last night, a joint meeting was held between the faction members and a broad forum of yeshiva heads, whose tens of thousands of students are leading the enlistment in this war, both in regular army service and in the reserves,” the party said in a statement, calling the meeting part of the MKs’ and rabbis’ in-depth study of “ways to correct the historical injustice and bring about the enlistment of Haredim into the IDF.”

“Contrary to various reports, no practical decisions have yet been made, and the faction is consolidating its demands and conditions for supporting the law,” the party said, adding that it “will make its decisions solely based on the merits of the issue, independent of campaigns and political interests from any side.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Walla news site reported the party decided to back the bill after senior national-religious rabbis affiliated with the party expressed doubts regarding the IDF’s ability to absorb ultra-Orthodox recruits, pointing to what they said were issues with the conditions faced by members of their own community. They called on Smotrich to continue negotiations over the bill so that he can publicly endorse the legislation soon.

In addition, the rabbis stressed the need to keep the government from falling apart and to maintain political ties with Likud and the Haredi parties, the report said.

Public broadcaster Kan reported that the rabbis made their decision despite strong opposition to the legislation from Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer, who last week slammed the “shameful law” and pledged to vote against it, even if it cost him his cabinet position.

Several hours after Sofer’s comments, Smotrich announced that he would “not compromise on a conscription law that does not bring real change on the ground,” adding that his party would request changes to the law and may support it down the line.

According to Kan, in an effort to bring Smotrich on board, the coalition is considering amending a clause in the bill that allows up to 10 percent of Haredi draftees to serve in non-military security services, such as the Shin Bet or Mossad. That clause also faces legal hurdles on the grounds of inequality.

Supporting the bill is likely to be a highly unpopular move within the national-religious community that comprises Smotrich’s voter base, a sector that highly values military service and that Smotrich has previously said paid a disproportionate price during the war.

Following the reports, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, once the leader of the national religious bloc in the Knesset, accused Religious Zionism of betraying Jewish and Zionist values.

“This is a full-blown evasion law in disguise. The leaders of the ‘Religious Zionism’ party are betraying both the values of Zionism and the values of Judaism, and are tearing apart the people of Israel and the IDF,” tweeted Bennett, who has already begun campaigning ahead of next year’s Knesset election.

“Soon we will repeal this anti-Zionist law and reunite Israel,” he declared.

For the past year, the Haredi leadership has been pushing for the passage of a law that would largely keep its constituency out of the IDF, after the High Court ruled that decades-long blanket exemptions from army duty informally afforded to full-time Haredi yeshiva students were illegal.

If passed into law, the current bill being advanced would effectively reset the status of Haredi yeshiva students who ignored call-up orders over the past year, while yeshivas would immediately receive half of their pre-ruling funding, easing economic and legal pressure on the community.

The proposed legislation stipulates that full-time yeshiva students who do not engage in any other vocation can be granted yearly deferments from enlistment, but it removed various provisions from a previous version that were intended to ensure that those registered for yeshiva study are actually doing so.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the bill for the first time on Monday, telling the Knesset it would mark “the beginning of a historic process to integrate Haredim into the IDF,” and accusing the opposition of having pushed an “evasion bill,” an epithet used by critics to describe his government’s proposal.

Several coalition members, in addition to the opposition, have criticized the bill currently being debated in the committee, saying it contains loopholes and ineffective sanctions that fail to encourage enlistment.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.