Reservists: PM, Mofaz sold us out
Activists campaigning for equal distribution of the burden say dissolution of Plesner Committee proves coalition 'never wanted real alternative to Tal Law'
"Unfortunately, the cynics were right. They claimed from the very beginning that Benjamin Netanyahu is not really looking out for those who serve in the army and that (Kadima leader) Shaul Mofaz would sell us out," army reservists campaigning against the Tal Law said in a statement Monday following the prime minister's decision to dissolve a committee tasked with finding an alternative to the law, which exempted ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from mandatory military service.
"Despite the sincere efforts of (committee chairman) Knesset Member Yohanan Plesner, Netanyahu and Mofaz didn't give the committee a chance. They chose to side with the haredim and the draft-dodgers at the expense of those who serve – and the public will not accept it," the activists said.
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"If we let them get away with it now, they'll continue to care only about their (Knesset) seats and in 10 years' time there will be no one left to serve in the army."
Idan Miller, one of the leaders of the "suckers" movement, said Netanyahu "continues to deceive the public. All the political elements in the PM's coalition were mobilized this past week to create the illusion of a coalition crisis, when everyone's real goal was to interfere in the committee's work and block the historic process that would lead to the equal share of the burden in Israel."
Miller said the activists plan to hold a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday "to tell the PM that we won’t tolerate his deception any more and will stop being suckers. If he doesn't come to his senses and resolve the burden equality issue, we'll punish him at the polls."
Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, said the dissolution of the Plesner Committee before it submitted its recommendations "clearly shows that Netanyahu never planned to solve the burning issue of the equal distribution of the burden."
Opposition leader MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) said in response to Netanyahu's decision to dissolve the Plesner Committee that "the commotion and disputes surrounding the Plesner Committee are setting a new record of ridicule and futility.
"The prime minister has lost control over the coalition, however he can remain calm because even if Kadima is humiliated to the ground it will not give up its place in the coalition, which allows it to survive," she said.
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