Meretz MK: 'Tal Law' committee must be inclusive

Nitzan Horowitz asks Netanyahu for permission to join committee on IDF service, says opposition must be represented.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Haredi IDF soldiers Tal Law 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Handout .)
Haredi IDF soldiers Tal Law 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout .)
There must be secular society and opposition party representatives on the committee to compose an alternative to the "Tal Law," Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
Horowitz asked Netanyahu to allow him to join the committee and present his proposal to replace the law that allowed yeshiva students to indefinitely defer military service, which will no longer be valid on July 30.
"Equality in the burden of service is an extremely important public issue," the Meretz MK explained. "In this spirit, I proposed a civilian service bill, which is balanced, equal and the most comprehensive of all the legislation on this topic that were submitted to the Knesset."
According to Horowitz, this matter cannot we dealt with "in the gates of one political camp," and the opposition must be represented as well.
"A one-sided, limited discussion cannot bring forward a worthy arrangement," he added.
Horowitz called for secular organizations to be represented in the committee, in addition to religious groups, and said that his testimony will fix its "distorted" make-up.
MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima), who is secular, will head the committee to find an alternative to the Tal Law. On Monday, Shas and United Torah Judaism announced that they will not participate in the discussions.
However, Jacob Weinroth, an attorney who served on the Tal Committee, will be representing the haredi position to the new committee.
Also Tuesday, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan stated that he will hold the ruling coalition to its promise to change replace the Tal Law. Speaking to Israel Radio, Dagan stated that he doesn't believe in compromises on the IDF draft. "We have a law that says that every 18-year-old has to join the army," he said.
Asked if authorities should take the haredim by force to the drafting office, Dagan responded in the affirmative.
Jpost.com staff contributed to this report.