Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, slammed the term “evasion law,” which some media outlets have been using to describe the law being formulated to regulate the status of lomdei Torah.
Speaking in an interview with 103FM Radio on Tuesday morning, Rothman said: “I came to the conclusion, and every reasonable person knows this, that even if the government passes a law under which all members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah will enlist in Golani, you’ll call it an evasion law.”
“When this government passed the same law that the previous government passed, you called it the ‘Equality of Burden Law,’ and now it has become the ‘Evasion Law.’ This issue requires a process; if we do it incorrectly, it will fail, and if we do it correctly, it will lead to integration,” Rothman asserted.
Rothman’s brother is HaGaon HaRav Natan Rothman, a renowned marbitz Torah at Wolfson Yeshivah in Bayit Vegan, a Rosh Kollel and the mechaber of Sharei Daas and many other sefarim.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
The deliberate obtuseness of MK Rothman is breathtaking. The law, when proposed by the previous government, was based on the presumption – which was unfortunately shown by 7 October to be incorrect – that the army was able to rely on technological means and a smaller number of soldiers to protect Am Yisrael. October 7 and the war that resulted showed that this was not the case – there was a need for bodies, for “boots on the ground”, to provide the necessary protection – so it became clear that exempting a massive number of otherwise eligible individuals from service was not, in fact, feasible.
an Israeli Yid
To The Sincere Jew From Israel:
If I understand correctly, there should have been Yeshiva bachurim guarding the festival on Simchas tora ?…
“an Israeli Yid” – Another Israeli Yid here. As most Israeli Yidden well know, this has nothing to do with “boots on the ground ” or October 7. I’m sure you are aware that the people and institutions most aggressively pushing for drafting Chareidim are not davka the biggest war-hawks. In fact, many of them are the ones pushing a ‘two state solution’ or even a ‘one state solution’ (a secular ‘state of all its citizens’). Many of their kids go to college in Europe instead of to the Army. There are also those who are just trying to topple the Netanyahu government by forcing Bibi to antagonize the Chareidim. Drafting Chareidim is a big headache for the Army, and something they would rather avoid. No army wants soldiers who are ‘not with the program’ ideologically, require special accommodations, are incompatible with ‘progressive gender inclusivity’ (something dear to the Bagatz and the Left), cost more money, begin service later, are married with kids in their early twenties the latest, etc. etc.
If at some point in the future there will be a Chareidi majority, so there will be a Kosher Jewish army… That’s not what the Left wants, and that’s not what this is about. Simcha Rothman went to KBY, and he and his voters come from the demographic most devoted to serving in the Army themselves. He knows what he is talking about. Why are you a bigger ‘kanai’ for the Army than he is?
Israeli Yid: The take away from Oct 7 should most certainly not be “boots on the ground”. It should be to make use of the security measures put in place (start with taking the intelligence warnings sincerely and maybe waking up the superiors). You wouldnt need the extra “boots on the ground” if the basics where adhered to.