As Sukkot draws to a close, the ‘aharei hahagim’ (after the holidays) period will begin in earnest. No place will the change in atmosphere be felt more strongly than in the Knesset, which is gearing up for its winter session and another few months of dramatic legislation.
Amid the continuing controversial judicial legislation that has dominated the discourse in the Knesset and on the streets, one issue, however, will stand above the rest and perhaps determine the fate of the government’s survival – the draft bill.
The issue of a law that would give ultra-Orthodox youth an exemption from compulsory IDF service has risen many times over Israel’s history and especially so in the last couple of decades, as the governments have struggled to legislate a law that is deemed equal and legal by the High Court of Justice.
The Deferment of Military Service for Yeshiva Students Law (the Tal Law) was passed in the Knesset in 2002 and allowed young haredi men to push off their IDF service as long as they spent at least 45 hours weekly in yeshiva and they didn’t have a job outside of their studies. The latter stipulation was later loosened for men who were at least 23 and/or who had put off their service for at least four years. The law allowed them to keep pushing off their service until they were 26, at which point they wouldn’t have to serve.
The High Court struck down the law in 2012 on the basis of inequality, as it provided a mechanism only for the ultra-Orthodox sector to avoid military service. The same ruling was made in 2015 with an amended version, and another amendment was once again denied by the High Court in 2019. The court kept giving the government extensions to legislate a new law while Israel underwent five rounds of elections in three years, with the last extension expiring at the end of June.
Protest near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station
The Tal Law’s expiration gave rise to further chaos, as it meant that there was nothing to stop the IDF from trying to conscript haredi men or imprison them for refusal. This chaos was exhibited in mid-September when a yeshiva student was arrested for draft dodging, leading the extremist Jerusalem Faction to hold a large protest near the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.
Since the government was formed at the beginning of the year, the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party tried to prevent the law from expiring before a new one was legislated by pushing for a new law that would once and for all exempt yeshiva students from military service.
According to coalition agreements, the law was supposed to be legislated alongside the state budget, which passed in March, but it was put off. The government then promised to pass a new draft law during the Knesset’s summer session, but the focus was instead placed on the judicial reform. Frustrated by the delays, UTJ now demands that the law be prioritized when the Knesset comes back into session on October 15. It now has a signed commitment from the Likud that the law will be legislated during the coming session.
UTJ MKs have repeatedly threatened consequences in recent months if the law isn’t legislated as soon as the winter session begins. These include withholding support for the judicial reform, the first part of which passed in July; party leader and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf resigning; and toppling the government.
WITH ONE week to the beginning of the winter session, however, there is no draft or outline that has official widespread agreement. The haredi factions want an arrangement similar to the Tal Law, with Goldknopf saying that he wants exactly what was in place until now.
The outline that UTJ has pushed for would allow haredi men to continue deferring their service and lower their age of exemption from military service from 26 to 21.
This would allow haredi youth to defer their service due to yeshiva studies until they turn 21, and then those who don’t continue in yeshiva would be able to join the workforce earlier instead of waiting another five years.
Knowing that the High Court would be likely to strike down the law, as it has done multiple times previously, however, the ultra-Orthodox factions demanded the law be legislated with an override clause that would prevent the same outcome. This demand was made after a proposal to legislate a Basic Law that would equate the status of yeshiva students to that of IDF soldiers was met with outrage and immediately dismissed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The outline is not acceptable to many of UTJ’s coalition partners, such as the Likud, Religious Zionist Party, and Otzma Yehudit, which greatly value IDF service, with many speaking out against it and saying they would refuse to vote for it. Netanyahu is also against it, as he claims he won’t support anything that would allow all haredim not to be subject to conscription.
But while this is the outline that UTJ wants, multiple sources indicate that it is changing its tone and understands that it will have to compromise. While in the past, haredi factions have wanted broad exemption for all haredi youth based on their religious identity, they now realize that the situation is changing, and the indication is that the only value they won’t give up on is that serious yeshiva students should not be forced into military service.
“They don’t want to lose their haredi identity, but they do want to be part of Israeli society and make money and provide for their family,” said a source from the opposition.
ONE SUGGESTED outline that could help achieve that goal has been proposed by National Unity leader and former defense minister Benny Gantz. The proposal, which he has been working on over the past few years, would see all Israelis being required to do service, including ultra-Orthodox and Arab high school graduates. This service could be done in the IDF, but it could also be done in a variety of social organizations and institutions that would be approved by the state. A compensation and benefits program would then be set up according to the nature of the service.A source close to the matter said that this outline is the best way to achieve equality and social unity.
“The draft law has always been heavily criticized,” he said. “And this time it will be worse. If we get to a point where everyone serves, even if it isn’t in the army, we’ll have social unity.”
One concern voiced on multiple fronts regarding the new draft law is the social reaction to it. With the unrest that has characterized society since the beginning of the year, the concern is that the resentment from sectors that do serve in the army will lead to stronger feelings and, therefore, stronger reactions that will further divide the people.
Gantz’s outline has widespread support both from within the government and without, according to the source. In recent weeks, Gantz has been meeting with leadership in various ultra-Orthodox factions and has presented his outline to them, and while they haven’t explicitly said they support it, they have not dismissed it either.
“They do have their problems with it, so it’s possible some changes will have to be made to it,” the source said.
The outline is also in keeping with the values that Netanyahu holds on the subject – service for everyone, higher compensation for more service, and enabling young ultra-Orthodox men to join the workforce at a younger age if they don’t enlist.
Despite seemingly broad support for the outline, politics may prove to be a major obstacle. Since Gantz is in the opposition, and considering the great divide in the Knesset surrounding a series of other issues, a source close to the subject believes that the outline as it is now will be dismissed by Netanyahu to avoid giving Gantz credit.
But there is only a week left before the winter session begins, and the committee appointed to deal with the draft law has no outlines ready. With UTJ threatening to bring down the government if there is no draft law soon, the coalition will have to make a quick decision, even if it’s supporting an outline from the opposition. Otherwise, it may see itself on the other side of Knesset.