“There has never been such a pile of evil and maliciousness as this document.…” MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, the head of the haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) political party said.
Updated at 12:14 pm CDT
Haredim Outraged At Draft Committee Recomendations, Threaten Violence
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Outrage.
That’s how haredi politicians reportedly reacted when MK Yohanan Plesner released his committee’s recommendations for a new law on drafting haredim that will replace the Tal Law, which effectively allowed haredim to dodge the draft through yeshiva study. It was declared unconstitutional by the High Court of Justice in February. But rather than voiding the law immediately, the High Court allowed it to remain in effect until 11:59:59 July 31.
Plesner’s committee was disbanded by Prime Minister Netanyahu several days ago, just as it was ready to publish its conclusions on the pretext that resignations by right wing and a haredi member meant the committee was deadlocked. It wasn’t.
Plesner took the committee’s findings from their raw state and wrote what would have been the final report by himself, releasing it this morning.
The haredi response to Plesner’s report was predictable outrage.
“There has never been such a pile of evil and maliciousness as this document. Plesner’s personal position was [already] known to us, and his conclusions were known from the outset,” MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, the head of the haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) political party said.
Plesner recommended Israel operate on the principle of obligatory national service for all and “personal responsibility” for its fulfillment – meaning that those who shirk that responsibility would be penalized.
Draft dodgers would be classified as criminals. Haredi draft dodgers would be penalized by blocking state benefits – like subsidized housing or city tax breaks – they may otherwise have received. They would also lose their monthly yeshiva subsidy, currently valued at NIS 850 (USD $217), for the rest of their lives. Additionally, all draft dodgers would be fined NIS 7,500 fine ($1,915) plus NIS 75 ($19) for every day of draft dodging.
Haredi yeshiva students would be mandated to register for the draft at 17, and would need to re-up every subsequent year until they turn 22. At that point, they would be forced to enlist in the IDF, or in non-military national service, or in a third option that has not yet been decided but which would be worked out between the Ministry of Defense and a “yeshiva committee.”
There would also be financial inducements to serve.
Students who enlist before turning 22 would be given extra government benefits.
“We chose a slow, measured solution that takes into account the needs of the population. We thought it right to allow a delayed enlistment, but [the cut off point for when fines and penalties kick in must be] while the men are still young enough to properly share the burden [with those who willingly serve],” Plesner said.
Plesner also wants to cut of the length of mandatory IDF service for all male recruits, haredi or not, reducing the length to 32 months from the current 36 starting next year. Farther in the future, at a time to be determined by the IDF and the government, the length would be cut by another four months, from 32 to 28.
Any soldier choosing to remain in the IDF more than the mandatory amount would receive an additional NIS 3,000 (USD $764) per month.
In response to Plesner’s report, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef reportedly ordered Eli Yishai, the leader of the Sefardi haredi Shas political party Yosef founded and Israel’s current Minister of the Interior, that the imposition of personal sanctions against haredi draft dodgers would mean that Shas would have to quit the coalition. Yosef is the party’s spiritual guide.
Haredi MK Rabbi Yisrael Eichler, who is the head of the haredi UTJ political party, threatened civil war if haredi yeshiva students are drafted or penalized for refusing to serve.
“Anyone who wants to avoid turning Israel into Lebanon or Syria has to free all its citizens from the obligatory draft,” Eichler reportedly said.
Rebel Shas MK Rabbi Haim Amsallem, who is the leader of a new social and political movement, Am Shalem, of haredim and non-haredim that primarily seeks to moderate haredi extremism, attacked the haredi response to Plesner’s report and the haredi refusal to serve in the IDF as “a desecration of Gods name.”
Even though he had some reservations about Plesner’s final recommendations, Amsallem told reporters that universal national service is a religious concept and an actual Torah commandment.
“Torah is the air we breathe and is crucial for the continued existence of the Jewish people. But Torah does not oppose military service, if it allows for a religious lifestyle, and [the Torah] does not oppose participation in the work force,” Amsellem reportedly said.
Haredim believe their yeshiva study provides spiritual protection for the Land of Israel. Their rabbinic leaders have repeatedly ordered haredim to resist universal draft and have threatened countrywide riots if haredim are drafted.