Yesh Atid MKs cry foul over changes to mandatory service law

Yesh Atid lawmakers on Wednesday railed against proposed revisions to the IDF draft law by ultra-Orthodox coalition members, which are expected to be pushed through the Knesset within the next two weeks.

The revisions would see the legislation’s full implementation postponed to 2020, and suspend criminal penalties against individual ultra-Orthodox draft-dodgers that kick in if the community as a whole fails to meet rising quotas for the draft.

As part of the coalition agreements between the Likud and ultra-Orthodox parties, the government had pledged to soften the terms of the Equal Service legislation. The Haredi parties were specifically demanding that the law’s transition period extend to 2020, rather than 2017. The ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were also asking that the sanctions not automatically kick in if the Haredi community failed to meet the army’s target quotas, but rather that the defense minister be given the authority to determine how to proceed under those circumstances.

Haredi MKs were expected to push through the revisions to the draft law in the next two weeks, ahead of the November 19 deadline to approve the two-year budget. If the state budget doesn’t pass, the government must go to elections; ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were leveraging their budget votes on the changes to the draft legislation.

The Yesh Atid party, which spearheaded the national service legislation when they were in government, convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday and vowed to combat the changes.

“Pay attention to the timing. The security services around the state of Israel are pushed to the limits to protect all Israeli citizens from the knife terror attacks, and precisely at this time, or because of this timing, the government is trying to pass a law against IDF soldiers,” Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said at the meeting, referring to the terror wave plaguing Israel.

“What Netanyahu, Ya’alon and Shaked are trying to do has no legal or moral basis,” fellow Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah added. “As partners to the legislation in the previous Knesset, they know this.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked all supported the legislation, which passed unanimously in March 2014. The Jewish Home party, which is in the coalition, also backed the law.

The landmark legislation, drafted by a committee led by Shaked (Jewish Home), mandates army service for 18-year-old ultra-Orthodox Israeli men.

Under the bill, Haredi men between the ages of 18 and 24 would be able to claim draft exemptions from national service, one year at a time. Draft quotas would be determined by the number of eligible ultra-Orthodox men under the age of 24.

During the transition period, a target will be set for the number of ultra-Orthodox enlistees each year. The target number will rise each year until 2017, when it will reach 5,200 new Haredi enlistees.

If the ultra-Orthodox community meets the 2017 quota, then it will be required to continue to meet quotas every year. If, however, it fails to meet the target in 2017 or any subsequent year, all ultra-Orthodox men will be drafted like other Jewish and Druze men when they reach the age of 18.

The measure has been vociferously opposed by the ultra-Orthodox community, which has historically enjoyed draft exemptions for Torah study. The law allowing for the exemptions was struck down in 2012, necessitating new legislation.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.