Tensions over the controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription law have continued to escalate ahead of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair MK Boaz Bismuth’s expected presentation of the bill’s outline next week, with a massive haredi protest scheduled for Thursday in Jerusalem.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to participate in today’s haredi protest against conscription to the IDF.
The “Million Man Rally” event, which will hold a prayer session, is scheduled to take place between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., according to the organizers of the Cry of the Torah, which include the haredi parties United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas.
According to the Cry of the Torah, the main demonstration will be held near the entrance to Jerusalem, closing off the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem Highway to private vehicles at the entrance in both directions, starting at 12:00 p.m. Jerusalem's Yitzhak Navon train station is also slated to be closed from 12:30, Ynet reported.
The UTJ and Shas both resigned from the government in July following the fallout in negotiations over the mandatory army service for haredim bill, which was being developed under former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairperson Yuli Edelstein (Likud).
“The discussion will now take place next Monday, in order to allow the prime minister time to review the draft version of the law that has been submitted for his examination,” the statement said.
N12 reported on Tuesday that a leaked version of Bismuth’s outline showed significant changes to the bill, reverting to previous versions that failed to enforce haredi conscription into the IDF.
Bismuth’s office has not responded to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment regarding what the report said about the outline.
Key changes in the bill reportedly include the cancellation of the quota requirement for haredi combat soldiers, allowing the civil security service to count toward the quota of haredi recruits, and revising the definition of who qualifies as haredi, as per N12.
<em></em><strong>'It’s a full-blown law for draft evasion'</strong>
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) slammed the report on the bill on Tuesday evening, saying, “It’s not a conscription law, it’s a full-blown law for draft evasion. If this bill is advanced, not a single haredi will enlist.”
Edelstein also criticized the reported outline, stating, “When I see this bill, I realize that those who dismissed me were right: I don’t have the skills to come up with a draft-dodging scheme instead of a proper conscription law, in the midst of an existential war, when our reservists are collapsing under the pressure.”
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said, “This is not a draft law, but an evasion law designed to permit tens of thousands of draft evaders to dodge army service retroactively.”
“The low goals, the ridiculous sanctions, and the complete disregard for the previous High Court ruling prove that the government has chosen to deliberately undermine the rule of law and the principle of equality,” the statement added.
Uri Keidar, the executive director of the Israel Hofsheet movement, said, “Every hand raised in support of this disgraceful proposal is a poke in the eye of reservists and their families in an act of complete contempt for the immense sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of Israelis over the past two years.”