As the Knesset prepares to renew deliberations on the proposed draft law in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, a senior Chareidi official involved in the negotiations is revealing what he calls the real picture behind the emerging legislation. According to him, the current draft will not result in additional Chareidi enlistment — and is unlikely to withstand a legal challenge.
The source explained that the framework being discussed is designed to preserve the existing situation, not change it. “The current version of the law won’t bring more Chareidim into the IDF over the next two years,” he said. “Out of the target of 10,000 Chareidi recruits over two years, the requirement is only to reach 75%, and 10% of that can be national service. In other words, sanctions won’t apply unless recruitment falls below 75% of the targets.”
He noted that the proposal essentially formalizes the status quo. “The new draft law is an attempt to create wording that ensures what was is what will be. Everyone understands it won’t pass judicial review. The law will recruit the same number of Chareidim as today, when there is no law at all — around 3,000 a year.”
For that reason, the official believes the legislation is unlikely to survive scrutiny in the High Court of Justice. Its primary purpose, he said, is political: to show that efforts are being made to regulate the status of yeshiva students. “The law is very likely not going to pass, and even if it passes, it won’t survive the High Court. Attias drafted the law so he can show the rabbonim that real steps were taken to fix the situation — maybe it will even bring us back into the government, with or without actual legislation.”
He added that discussions could still take a sharp turn once the committee begins its formal debate. One scenario under consideration stems from the committee’s legal adviser, who has proposed significantly raising the first-year recruitment requirement. “If the demand increases to 7,500 in the first year, then we would really have to bring in another 1,500 Chareidim immediately,” the senior official said.
{Matzav.com}
