Lawyers have been tasked with saving Israel’s ailing coalition, as government ministers have so far failed to reach resolution over the controversial universal draft bill.
Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Kadima Deputy Shaul Mofaz have been locked in negotiations for the last week over the drafting of a replacement to the 'Tal Law' bill which allowed ultra-Orthodox Jews to defer military service, after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional earlier this year.
The coalition partners were reported to be staging a last-ditch attempt to agree to the terms of a new bill before its August 1 expiry date, but after negotiations failed to reach a compromise, lawyers were due to take over talks.
Netanyahu dismissed his appointed Plesner Committee, which had recommended universal military or community service, to the chagrin of centrist Mofaz who insisted a clause be incorporated into the new bill to inflict penalties for those who refused to comply, threatening to withdraw his party from the unity government Netanyahu orchestrated in May to give himself a resounding majority in the Knesset with 93 out of 120 MKs. Netanyahu’s party meanwhile favoured less stringent measures and opposed a policy of sanctions on individuals evading service.
With the next cabinet meeting looming on Sunday, ministers aren’t hopeful of the chances of reaching a compromise, with Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon saying “so far, I’m sure by Sunday we won’t be able to have this kind of legislation,” alarmingly adding “I am very pessimistic regarding our ability to make it during this Knesset session,” which is due to close on July 29.
Articulating the Likud’s party’s reservations regarding Kadima’s preferred penalties measures, Ya’alon, who together with Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner had been charged with drafting the new bill, declared: “I believe it is too much. For the ultra-Orthodox, it seems like declaring war and I do not support it.” The main objections to the previous law were that, whilst it was intended to enable some ultra-Orthodox men to briefly compulsory conscription in order to engage in religious study, before returning to complete military or civil service, it was being used by thousands to avoid service altogether. Referring to the prospect of the coalition’s demise, Likus MK Ya’alon acknowledged: “Today we have a very stable coalition, but it might be that the Tal legislation...might create a crisis between us and Kadima”. Refuting that a Likud-Kadima split would signify the end for Netanyahu’s administration, he insisted “(should that happen) the coalition will be smaller, but it will survive”.

EJP