"PM says he would advance elections over haredi enlistment'

Leaders of movement calling for mandatory IDF, civil service for all meet with Netanyahu; Boaz Nol, among group's leaders, says PM promised to go to early elections if gov't doesn't pass mandatory service law.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Protest against Tal Law 390 (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Protest against Tal Law 390
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Boaz Nol, among the leaders of the protest against the "Tal Law," said Sunday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised to implement a law requiring enlistment in the IDF or national service for everyone, and that he was willing to call early elections to pass such a law if it proved necessary.
Nol made the comments following a meeting in Jerusalem between Netanyahu and the "Camp Sucker" movement, which has led the protest against the law providing the legal framework for ultra-Orthodox men to defer IDF service indefinitely.
Netanyahu held the meeting a day after Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman suggested that failure to implement a law that would ensure enlistment in the IDF or national service for all could endanger the future of the coalition.
Sources close to Netanyahu said Sunday morning that he would not hesitate to hold early elections, following statements over the weekend from four political parties indicating an accelerated push to advance polling dates.
The "Camp Sucker" movement is led primarily by the Forum for Military Service Equality (Forum La’shivyon Ba’netel.) The group has led many protests around the country in protest of what they view as discrimination against those who serve in the IDF, and the currently have a protest camp set up in Jerusalem.
The Tal Law was ruled unconstitutional by the High Court of Justice in February, prompting the prime minister to promise he would find an alternative to the law which would more equally distribute the national burden.
On Saturday, the anti-Tal Law camp called on Netanyahu to support an initiative calling for enlistment for everyone which they say over 300,000 citizens have signed a petition supporting. "If Netanyahu chooses this path, he will receive our blessing, but if he tries to fool us, he will find himself facing an uncompromising and aggressive struggle.