Israel’s charedi Shas and United Torah Judaism parties are refusing to set foot in the Knesset chamber to vote with their coalition partners until they receive a new draft of the hotly contested conscription bill, Channel 12 reported.
The standoff marks a sharp escalation in tensions over the government’s efforts to draft thousands of charedi men into the IDF. United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Roth confirmed to Radio Kol Barama that his party is already boycotting private member bills sponsored by coalition MKs to protest delays in moving the legislation forward.
The controversial bill — shelved temporarily during the 12-day war with Iran — is now back in the spotlight. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein is expected to unveil a new version in the coming days.
Kan reported that the draft legislation envisions conscripting more than 4,800 charedim in the first year alone. An earlier, unreleased version included a battery of severe penalties for draft dodgers: stripping property tax discounts, canceling public transport subsidies, removing housing lottery eligibility, slashing daycare and academic support, and revoking tax breaks for working women married to men who avoid military service.
Facing charedi threats to support a bill to dissolve the Knesset, Edelstein — a veteran Likud heavyweight — appeared to soften some of these punitive measures last month in a last-ditch bid to keep the coalition intact.
Those efforts were quickly overtaken by Israel’s dramatic airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which triggered nearly two weeks of fighting and put any draft reform talks on hold.
Both Edelstein and Shas leader Aryeh Deri were briefed on the pending strikes before they occurred — knowledge that reportedly made them more willing to compromise on the divisive enlistment plan.
With the war now over, the fragile coalition faces renewed pressure as the charedi parties dig in their heels, vowing to block the Knesset’s legislative agenda until their demands on the draft are addressed.
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10 Responses
It’s time ti change the structure of government where small non essential groups can hold the government up by constantly threatening they’re leaving. Do leave bring it down bibi will do better aline with a non religious group with out you So you’ve accomplished nothing but hurt everyone but your pocket book
Grifters
They should be deported for violating the law
B’H, walk out and bring the government down. Bennet, Gantz, Lieberman, Lapid, some members of Likud will need neither UTJ, Shas, Agudah, Right wingers. Get ready to serve or leave the State of Israel.
Wow! These comments sound like Rebbi Aviva when he was still an am haaretz!
Why don’t they cut the support of Arabs. That not. The army and Supreme Court is controlled by lefty atheists who hate religious Jews. There is no reason for any normal guy to join an army that has more compassion on Gaza civilians than their own soldiers. Thirty percent of secular Israelis don’t go to the army because they know that the fat elite leaders don’t care about young soldiers dying. They are busy fressing their pork chops in Tel Aviv. Soldiers are given poor equipment and have to rely on worn out booths. It’s American Jews raising money for their new booths. Some army. Religious soldiers hardly advance to the top. They are used as cannonfater. Every day young soldiers are killed. Instead of just stop all food and fuel shipments they want soldiers to fight room to room to please the European nations.
They will draft yeshivash boys but not Arabs. There is a way how to get out the draft very easy without putting out a show that you are crazy. Just say you’re a Ben Gevir follower and you can’t wait to kill every Gaza civilian in sight once you get a gun. They will send you home.
Why should my taxes go to tax breaks for Charedim who aren’t learning in Yeshiva? For those who are learning, I support the position that Torah Learning is the same as National Service. But for those not learning full time? No way.
Uncle Ben the idiot is your insipid and non important comments on some one spelling mistake or lacking a comer
But as for those comments you don’t appreciate to bad because they’re true. Time to tell the supposed religious parties. You’ve had to good under bibi Walk out now his numbers are up and he will get another party to reach majority
You’re out and get nothing
Kollel Faker; Interesting how you and your ilk don’t care about the tens of thousands of leftist Tel Aviv draft dodgers. Your vehement hatred of the Charedim emanates from your core loud and clear, just like the hatred Akiva the am haaretz had for Talmidei Chachomim.
It’s sad the way some Jews talk these days, worse than many Christians and Muslims. At least love your own kind. And if you can’t then at the very least shut up