Israeli opposition leader opposes draft conscription law
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked on Sunday the draft conscription law that will be introduced later this week considering it a reflection of ‘the most terrible government in the country’s history’.
“The exemption bill that will be introduced this week is the face of the most terrible government in the country’s history: lies, evasion of responsibility, discrimination between blood and blood,” said Lapid on X.
“No shame,” he added, noting that ‘after six months of a painful war, the IDF (Israeli forces) is short of soldiers, and the government is offering an exemption from conscription for tens of thousands of young men’.
“This is a disgrace and any
one who continues to sit in this government is a participant in this disgrace,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday disowned the exemption bill planned to be presented to the Israeli government on
Tuesday.
“I will not stand behind this bill and I will not support it,” he said.
“There is still time to sit down together and draft a joint proposal,” said Gallant, calling on Netanyahu and War Council
Minister Benny Gantz ‘to use the remaining time to form a consensus on the conscription law for the benefit of the Israeli army and the State of Israel’.
Recently in Israel, the conscription controversy returned to the forefront after the rightwing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu sought to approve a draft law excluding ultra-orthodox Jews from military service and increasing the period of compulsory service from 32 to 36 months.
The decision was met with widespread rejection from the opposition led by Lapid, who called for ultra-orthodox Jews to perform military service like others.
The issue of recruiting ultraOrthodox Jews who evade military service under the pretext of devoting themselves to studying the Torah has always been a thorny issue in Israeli society.
Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has threatened earlier in March that ultraOrthodox Jews will leave the country if they are forced to serve in the army.
The exemption bill that will be introduced this week is the face of the most terrible government in the country’s history YAIR LAPID