Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present to his Cabinet a new plan for the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) into the IDF, just one day before the May 16 deadline for the state to submit an outline of its plan to the High Court. It is scheduled to be held the day before. The key public hearing on June 2 was made clear by non-portfolio minister MK Benny Gantz in a video statement on Saturday evening.
KAN reports that the prime minister will hold a preliminary vote in his cabinet on Wednesday to include the plan in a legal submission to the High Court, which will result in the court ordering the government to start conscription for all Khalidi men. The plan is not to force it. Military era.
Negotiations have been ongoing in recent weeks between Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs and representatives of Israel's haredi political parties to reach a compromise, which will be submitted to the government and eventually passed as a bill in parliament. There is a possibility that However, the two sides have not yet announced that they have reached such a compromise.
Haredi men have been legally exempt from military service in the Israel Defense Forces since the founding of Israel. However, the most recent law enabling the exemption was ruled unconstitutional in 2017 and, after numerous delays, officially expired on July 1, 2023. The government set aside an adjustment period to develop a new plan, which ended on March 31st. The state is required by law to begin recruiting approximately 60,000 haredi men of military age into the IDF.
Impact of passing draft exemption
The long-awaited military conscription plan could spark a political crisis. Gantz, however, reiterated his position in a video statement on Saturday that he does not support a bill that would continue blanket immunity for Hadi men, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in March that he would not support a plan that would announced. There was no support from Gantz. Meanwhile, Haredi parties, key partners in Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition, insist that Haredi men continue to receive the option to study full-time in eshvot, and that the Israel Defense Forces insist that serving Haredim It also claims that it does not make it possible to maintain the Lifestyle.
A departure from Gantz's National Unity Party or either of the two Haredi parties (United Torah Judaism and Shas) would likely lead to political instability and even the collapse of the government.
In addition, lawsuits are underway against the government's delay in conscripting Hadi men and providing financial support to military-age students in yeshivot. On March 28, the High Court issued an interim order suspending funding and recognizing that the state is required by law to conscript Haredim. The June 2 hearing will be heard before an expanded nine-member court to discuss whether to convert the interim order into a permanent order.
Plan still exempts about half of Haredim from IDF duties – report
Israel Hayom According to reports on Saturday evening, the government's plan includes a gradual increase in the minimum number of Hadi conscripts per year over 10 years, eventually increasing the number of eligible conscripts to around half of those eligible each year (approximately 6,000 per year). The goal is to conscript 7,000 people). 13,000 students per year). We were unable to independently verify these details.
Gantz claimed in a video on Saturday that the prime minister “does not promote honest service in the nation and is acting to introduce conscription into the Israel Defense Forces and programs that undermine Israel's security and resilience.” Gantz also criticized the timing of the prime minister's decision to present the plan just two days after Memorial Day, and accused Netanyahu of “dismantling Israeli society during wartime for political gain.” .
Fuchs, who is mediating negotiations between the parties, refuted Gantz's claims. In a post about X, he accused Gantz of acting in a divisive manner and criticizing plans that have not yet been fully presented.
