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Itongadol.- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has weighed in on the controversial issue of punishment for hareidi men who do not enlist in the IDF. The Prime Minister declared that he is against sending yeshivastudents to jail – putting him on the side of the Jewish Homeparty, which favors non-criminal sanctions, and against the position of Yair Lapid\’s Yesh Atid.
“I won’t be a part of sending Jews to jail for studying Torah,” Netanyahu declared.
His statement came in response to a question from Gershon Mesika, head of the Samaria Regional Council, at a Likud party event.
The Shaked Committee, which is tasked with drafting a law on hareidi enlistment, has seen its work delayed by debates over the question of punishment. The Yesh Atid party strongly favors criminal sanctions.
Hareidi leaders have expressed strong opposition to criminal sanctions for yeshiva students, and pro-enlistment leaders have warned that strong sanctions could create a backlash that would mean fewer hareidi men in the army, not more.
The hareidi community generally views Torah study as a contribution to Israel’s defense. MK Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas party, told Channel 10 this week, “I believe that someone who learns Torah from morning to night is contributing just as much to national defense [as a soldier].”
“Hareidi men who are not learning in yeshiva should serve in the IDF,” Deri said. However, he said, those who prefer to contribute to the state by learning Torah should be allowed to do so.
MK Omer Bar-Lev (Labor) has proposed a compromise plan that would create a longer grace period during which sanctions would not be enforced.