New haredi draft proposal by reservist NGOs gains traction on Knesset, still no clear framework
The Coalition of Service Organizations, a consortium of 18 nonprofits that is in favor of expanding the IDF's ranks, outlined its version of a framework for a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) IDF conscription bill during a Knesset conference on Tuesday.
According to the proposal, all haredi men will receive draft summons and will be required to serve in the IDF. However, up to 3% of men in each graduating class will be able to receive an exemption as 'outstanding' Torah scholars, based on exams that will be open to whoever is interested. The outline did not detail why the exam would be open only to men.
In addition, the proposal suggests differentiating between the current 'pool' of haredi candidates, comprised of men between the ages of 18 and 26, and haredi men who reach the age of 18. While the former category will receive an unspecified 'lenient arrangement' based on the IDF's needs, the latter will be subject to the full extent of the proposal.
The rest of the draft included provisions similar to proposals that arose in meetings in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the past year, such as financial sanctions on people who evade the draft without a proper exemption; retroactive funding for yeshivas based on the number of their conscripts; and opening units and frameworks within the army adapted to the haredi lifestyle.
A full version of the bill proposal will be published as early as Wednesday, a member of one of the consortium said.
The Coalition of Service Organizations includes a series of organizations without political affiliations, such as the IDF Reservists' Wives Forum, but also syndicates affiliated with specific parties or groups, such as the Likud and the Forum of National-Religious Reservists.
According to a statement by this coalition of nonprofits, the framework was 'developed over recent months in collaboration with experts in law, national security, and civil society,' and offered a 'responsible, unifying, and practical solution to the issue of military conscription in Israel.'
It added that the proposal was submitted on Tuesday to members of the Knesset from both the coalition and the opposition 'to promote it as broad legislation and to build support for it across all factions.'
Government MKs propose new "Haredi draft" bill
The conference was hosted by three MKs from the coalition: Dan Illouz (Likud), Moshe Passal (Likud), and Yitzhak Kreuzer (Otzma Yehudit). It is estimated that five other MKs from the coalition participated as well, as did eight or so from the opposition.
The coalition of nonprofits criticized the recent decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove the defense panel's chairperson, MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), from his position over Edelstein's fallout with the haredi parties in negotiations over the bill last week.
'Regardless of who chairs the committee, only an effective conscription law will succeed in passing in the Knesset,' the coalition said.
Edelstein attended the Coalition of Service Organizations' conference in the Knesset and promised that the only law that would pass would be one that would lead to widespread conscription. He had met with representatives from this coalition numerous times in recent weeks.
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