Israel's parliament (Knesset) will begin on Tuesday to prepare controversial legislation aimed at regulating the issue of the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) exemption from IDF service.
The bill will be prepared in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) chaired by Likud MK Yuli Edelstein.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, representatives of the haredi parties, the finance ministry, and the defense establishment, attempted earlier this year to form the text of a government-sponsored bill that would both meet IDF's need for manpower and be acceptable to the haredim.
The negotiations failed, and instead of having the Knesset begin legislation from scratch, Netanyahu opted instead to adopt a bill that passed its first reading in 2022, during the Bennett-Lapid government's tenure.
Israel's attorney general, and members of Knesset from both the coalition and opposition criticized the move, as the 2022 bill is not relevant to the needs of the IDF after the outbreak of war following the October 7 Hamas massacre.
However, members of the coalition who opposed the bill decided to support the measure to bring it to the Knesset, arguing that this was technical and that they would not support the bill's second and third reading if it was not modified in the FADC.
Measure passed last week unanimously
The measure passed last week with all of the coalition voting in favor, save for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who voted against it.
The legal basis for the haredi exemption expired on July 1, 2023, and the debates in the FADC are set to begin as Israel's High Court of Justice is preparing a ruling on whether the state must begin to recruit haredim in large numbers, given that the exemption violated the notion of equality. The High Court of Justice will also rule on whether the state will be able to continue providing funding to yeshivot for military-age students.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid accused in a press conference ahead of his Yesh Atid party's weekly meeting on Monday that by aiming to continue exempting thousands of haredim from IDF service, Israel's government was "undermining national security."
Earlier on Monday, Lapid held a meeting with the party's members in the FADC in order to chart their strategy during the debates. The opposition leader said in the press conference that an appropriate version of the bill must pass by the time the Knesset goes on recess at the end of July.
"I call on the Members of Knesset from the coalition, those who still care about Israel's security and its values, come to the committee, work with us, we will pass a real, effective recruitment bill, so that our fighters will know that the Israeli Knesset stands behind them," Lapid said.
Newly voted chairman of the Labor Party, Yair Golan, said in a press conference ahead of his party's weekly meeting that the "failing government chosen in the midst of a war to critically harm national security."
'Rabbi's bill'
MKs Sa'ada and Gotliv made headlines again on Monday after they announced that they would vote against a second controversial bill, known as the "Rabbi's Bill," which was scheduled for a Tuesday morning debate and vote in the Knesset Constitution Committee.
The bill proposal is to give Israel's Chief Rabbinate and Religious Affairs Ministry greater control over appointments of government-paid municipal and neighborhood rabbis, instead of the current system where the cities themselves have the power to appoint their rabbis. The bill is widely viewed as an attempt by the coalition's orthodox parties, especially the haredi Shas party, to appoint its own members to the position, as well as gain influence over issues of religion in state, even in secular areas.
The bill is at the very beginning of its legislative process, and Tuesday's vote is to send it to the Knesset plenum for its first reading out of three. The coalition first attempted to advance the bill in 2023, but ceased due to the outbreak of the war. It attempted again in March, but was blocked by the National Unity and United Right parties, who were then part of the coalition.
Along with sharp criticism from the opposition, coalition MKs Sa'ada, Gotliv, Illouz, and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli voiced their opposition to the bill, but out of them only Sa'ada and Gotliv are members of the constitution committee.
The coalition enjoys a 9-7 advantage in the committee, and therefore a "no" vote from Sa'ada and Gotliv means it will not pass. Ben-Gvir has also voiced opposition to the bill in the past, and the representative of his party in the committee, MK Yizhak Kroyzer, may oppose the bill as well. Due to the opposition from within the coalition, it was not clear by press time whether or not the vote would actually be held.
The opposition also launched a filibuster in the Knesset plenum that was expected to run late into the night, with the hope that this would lead to a cancellation of the constitution committee debate, which is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.
Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman defended the bill on Monday, arguing that the decision to promote is was made by the leaders of the coalition, and accusing the rebel MKs of opposing it for political gain.