New Draft Law Unlikely To Compel Chareidi Enlistment In IDF

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idf-frum-soldierThe Israeli Finance Ministry is crafting a proposal to induct chareidi men at age 20 into police and fire-fighting units. The plan aims to replace the Tal Law, following criticism by the High Court of Justice of inequality in the legislation, Haaretz reports.

However, the government reportedly has no immediate plans for a compulsory draft of chareidi men. They will continue to be exempt from military service if they study full-time in a yeshiva.

The High Court ruled in February that the Tal Law, which allows full-time yeshiva students to defer military service, is unconstitutional and may not be extended in its present form. The law went into effect 10 years ago and is due to expire in August.

But the treasury expects its plan will encourage more charedi men to join the army or civilian national service programs, which will enable them to join the labor market.

The main changes the treasury proposes are reducing the average induction age for charedi men from 22 to 20 and offer them service in the police and fire-fighting forces in addition to special military service programs.

The treasury’s plan will be submitted to the government.

The Tal Law was passed in 2002 following the recommendations of a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Zvi Tal.

Since military service raises severe objections among the charedim, the treasury proposes an option of serving in the police and fire-fighting forces, assuming these two non-military organizations that nonetheless contribute to state security will not deter charedim in the same way.

Induction into the police is a simple procedure, as 6,000 IDF soldiers are already serving as policemen. If this proposal is accepted, the police would continue receiving policemen-soldiers, only now they would be charedim. The IDF would thus benefit from an additional 6,000 soldiers who would no longer be required on the police force, treasury officials say.

In addition, charedim would be able to choose special IDF service tracks as well as voluntary civilian national service programs.

The treasury will offer charedi men incentives to encourage them to join the police and fire fighters, or even the IDF at the age of 20, by setting quotas for lifelong yeshiva students.

The High Court of Justice ruled that the yeshiva students to be exempted from military service must be limited to a reasonable number. The treasury suggests continuing to budget yeshivos for students according to their respective quotas.

Consequently, students above the quota would no longer receive a stipend. (The state pays yeshivos stipends on the basis of their number of students. ) Yeshivos that accept students above their quota may have their budgets curtailed.

The treasury also assumes that most charedi men are not comfortable with the poverty forced on them by the law, which conditions the exemption from the IDF on yeshiva studies and unemployment.

The treasury’s reasoning is that allowing charedi men to serve in the police, fire fighters or civilian national service would make it easier for many of them to leave the yeshiva and join the labor market.

However, the proposal requires the consent of the charedi community.

The proposal’s weakness lies in the lower induction age. The treasury insists on the age of 20, because the High Court ruled that induction at 22 violates the equality principle. Also, at 22 most charedi men are already married with children and mobilizing them becomes very expensive.

Every charedi recruit costs the state NIS 150,000 and is not worthwhile economically. Recruitment at the age of 20 reduces the cost and enables charedim to join the labor market when they are more flexible and easier to fit in.

This may also be the reason the community will object to the proposal. The age of 18 to 22 is seen as critical for yeshiva students. The removal of them from a yeshiva environment before they are married may be an issue to many in the Torah community.

{Haaretz/Matzav.com Israel}


5 COMMENTS

  1. ‘ induct chareidi men at age 20 into police and fire-fighting units. ‘

    Naturally to the unrespected units.The new air fire-fighting unit,for example, is closed to charedim.

  2. This whole issue is a red herring. The secular pols want what the army cannot handle. The army is not understaffed at present, and it does not have the budget to “empty the yeshivos. What is fair and practical is universal draft by lottery.

  3. it never works to have ppl of a completly diffrent cultore dictate to a minorty how they need to cunduct their lives apparthied?

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