Tel Aviv, MINA – Ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately delaying a bill that would formalize a military conscription exemption for the Haredim, following yet another postponement of the legislative debate.
The Israeli daily, Yediot Aharonot, reported on Sunday that the bill, drafted by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth, was supposed to be discussed last week but was once again delayed on instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office, as quoted by MEMO.
An official from Agudat Yisrael, part of the United Torah Judaism bloc, told the newspaper that Netanyahu actually has no intention of passing the law but is trying to buy time and complicate the situation.
The ultra-Orthodox parties accuse the ruling Likud party, led by Netanyahu, of “punishing” them in response to a massive demonstration held last Thursday in Jerusalem, where more than 300,000 Haredi members protested the arrest of yeshiva students who refused to enlist in the Israeli military.
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A senior Haredi leader said the government’s decision to postpone the debate “shows that the government is punishing the senior rabbis who called for prayers to counter the harm inflicted on Torah students.”
The bill, which would grant an almost total exemption from military service to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, has sparked widespread criticism, including from members of the ruling coalition, who argue that the bill deepens social divisions amidst the ongoing conflict and security pressures.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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