Occupied Jerusalem- On Tuesday morning, the Israelis woke up to two issues, the first of which was the ratification of the law exempting the Haredim from conscription and compulsory military service, and the second was the killing of an officer and three soldiers from the “Givati Brigade” in a building bombing in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
The two titles reflect the conflicts over the identity of Israel, and the issue of sharing the burden between religious people and others, and fuel internal disputes that perpetuate societal fragmentation and expand the circle of division and polarization in the political scene.
As for the conscription law, which was approved by the Knesset on the first reading, and 63 representatives voted in favor of it while 57 opposed it, it responds to the efforts of the far-right parties to form a safety net to ensure the coalition’s survival and continuity in power.
Messages
By passing the law, which was opposed by Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to exempt Haredi Jews from military service. It is scheduled to be referred to the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee for further deliberations and voting in the Knesset before putting it to a second and third reading vote, until it becomes an effective law.
“While the dead soldiers and officers were being mourned in military tents, the far-right government coalition gathered in the Torah tent and voted with this law, to ensure that the government would not disintegrate,” said Yossi Verter, party affairs analyst at Haaretz newspaper.
He pointed out that its approval carries many political messages, as the extremist Haredi parties address various segments of Israeli society, telling them, “Die and we will not enlist.”
According to Werther, the Haredim “do not know the term together,” and they insist on perpetuating separation and isolation, so that the slogan “We win together” concerns them only on the way to voting on the survival of the government coalition (of which they are a part), while their slogan in wars is “We die separately.” “.
Regarding the letter sent by 63 members of the Knesset who supported the law, it confirms – in his opinion – that they voted to form a safety net that would protect the government coalition, “while Netanyahu’s arrogant smile symbolizes a person whose legacy has become the separation between the people and the elected,” as he put it.
In light of this reality, Werther does not rule out the expansion of the phenomenon of evasion of military service among Jewish youth, saying that it will be difficult to direct criticism at mothers and fathers who will beg their sons and daughters to refuse to serve under this government.
Fraud approach
Eran Vigoda Gadot, a lecturer at the University of Haifa who specializes in the study of administration and governance in Israel, strongly criticized the far-right government and Netanyahu’s approach of evasion and deception in order to ratify the law against drafting the Haredim.
He believes that this law poses the greatest threat to Netanyahu and his political future, and he does not rule out the collapse of what he described as a “fraudulent approach” aimed at promoting the law during the deliberations in the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and during its discussion in the Knesset before voting on it in the second and third readings.
Gadot considered the approval of the law “a very bad thing,” imposing conscription on certain segments of society, exempting other segments and giving them a cover to evade military service. “When those who consider themselves part of the Israeli and Jewish state, and enjoying its best fruits, choose not to participate in sharing the burden, they tear the people apart,” he said.
The Israeli researcher believes that the attempt to gain valuable time and preserve the survival of the government and Netanyahu will not succeed, even after the shock of October 7, 2023, “because the vast majority of Israelis give their confidence to the security services and the army, amid a decline in confidence in politicians.”
Under the title “With the call-up of thousands of reserve soldiers for the third time, the government is perpetuating inequality,” the political affairs correspondent for the “Israel Hayom” newspaper, Yehuda Schlesinger, wrote an article in which he reviewed the repercussions of legislating this law on the political scene, and its impact on Israeli society in light of the war. With deaths and injuries among the soldiers.
Schlesinger questioned the statements of some Knesset members from the Likud Party who “claim that they will make amendments to the law during deliberations to ensure the recruitment of about 3,500 Haredi Jews.” He downplayed the message of the rabbis of the “Religious Zionism” movement, to which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich belongs, which demanded amendments to the law and avoidance of legalizing the exemption.
unsuitable
Political affairs correspondent Schlesinger attributed this to the fact that the enactment of the law aims to provide a safety net for the right-wing government, a consideration that, in his opinion, coincides with Netanyahu’s interest to remain as much as possible in the prime minister’s chair and avoid trial on charges of corruption and breach of trust.
For her part, Ravit Hecht, political affairs editor at Haaretz newspaper, said that the law that Netanyahu intends to pass does not fit with the needs of the Israeli army after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, and with the social and civil reality in Israel, which has become based on “fragmentation, division, and conflict between secularists and religious people.” “.
She pointed out that the provisions of the law raise controversy – even within the government coalition – regarding the numbers of Haredim eligible for conscription, as ministers and members of Likud will seek to increase their numbers in the army, while the Haredi parties insist on enshrining comprehensive exemption from military service.
She explained that Netanyahu – by promoting this law – is practicing a great deception in an exemplary manner in order to legislate it in line with the interests of his partners in the government from the Haredi parties, and to postpone the start of its implementation, regardless of the wording and clauses, to the future, specifically until after the end of this government’s term. “This is what keeps the issue burning.”
Hecht promised that approving the law on the first reading might constitute a temporary lifeline for the Netanyahu government, after the resignation of the head of the National Camp, Benny Gantz, from the emergency government. However, in its opinion, the far-right government will lose more public legitimacy, with Netanyahu looking for another lifeline.