Speaking to journalists at the Knesset after United Torah Judaism pulled out of the coalition, Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee from Likud, took a firm stance on the issue of enforcing enlistment laws. At the same time, he urged the chareidi parties not to bring down the government.
UTJ’s withdrawal came after Edelstein presented a new version of the draft bill, which they say breaches the compromise the parties had settled on last month. That agreement was intended to stabilize the coalition amid rising tensions with Iran. Now, the Shas party is also weighing whether to follow UTJ’s lead and exit the coalition.
“Unfortunately,” Edelstein complains, “the representatives of the Haredi factions in the Knesset are not ready for the outline of the law that I have formulated.”
Edelstein explained that the proposed legislation shouldn’t have come as a shock, emphasizing that it “was based on the principles that we have discussed throughout the legislative process and includes a number of essential sections on which compromise is not possible.”
According to Edelstein, the law must include “effective personal sanctions, institutional sanctions if targets are not met, applying high recruitment targets, which will increase rapidly” and “effective oversight and enforcement mechanisms.”
“Without these, it would not be a conscription law, but a bluff law,” he adds, while appealing directly to chareidi representatives not to “dismantle the right-wing government.”
Although the new bill has yet to be distributed to members of his own committee, Edelstein stood by his decision not to release it yet. He stressed that he has consistently said he would “only pass a good law that would meet the needs of the IDF and significantly ease the burden of reservists and the serving public.”
Reflecting on his efforts to preserve the coalition during months of negotiations over the draft issue, Edelstein noted that, especially in light of the approaching war with Iran, he and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made a joint effort “to prevent the dissolution of the Knesset.”
“That evening, some of the clauses were agreed upon, but it was clear to everyone that the drafting work was not finished then. Since then, we have worked intensively, in consultation with the serving public, representatives of the chareidi public and IDF representatives, to complete the clauses and details of the law,” he states.
He said that just last night, he held an extended meeting with Netanyahu and chareidi lawmakers to present the draft bill he crafted, calling it a piece of legislation that “meets the needs of the IDF” and guarantees “that anyone who enters the army as a Haredi will be able to leave it as a Haredi.”
“The future of the country is not subject to political games at a time when the security challenges facing us are many and more existential than ever,” Edelstein continues. “The public will not forgive those who fail to rise to the occasion and unite for one common goal – the security and future of the State of Israel.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for UTJ leader Yitzchok Goldknopf said that Edelstein’s draft bill was missing several critical components. Chief among them was the demand to grant full amnesty to yeshiva students already issued draft notices. Additionally, the bill reportedly includes a requirement for yeshiva students who receive exemptions to log their attendance using fingerprint scanners.
{Matzav.com Israel}