Lapid: 'There will be no government' if Haredi enlistment is blocked
After ultra-Orthodox parties announce they will attempt to bypass HCJ ruling that annulled law exempting tens of thousands of Haredim from enlistment, Yesh Atid Leader Lapid threatens to 'flood the streets with protesters' and even alludes to breaking up gov't, should they succeed.
Yesh Atid Leader and MK Yair Lapid threatened to "will flood the streets" with protesters if the ultra-Orthodox parties follow through on their promise to bypass the recent High Court of Justice ruilng, which annulled a law that exempted tens of thousands of Haredim from enlistment.
Lapid made his statement during an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, in response to an emergency meeting held by members of the Knesset's ultra-Orthodox parties Thursday evening. Following the meeting, the Haredi MKs announced they plan on writing and pushing for a law that would allow the Knesset to overrule this HCJ's ruling.
Staying on the subject of Haredi recruitment, Lapid then spoke about the challenge faced by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who expressed his support for the HCJ decision yesterday, saying that "anyone over the age of 18 must enlist."
"This is a test for Lieberman," said Lapid. "He should announce that there will be a real enlistment law in the next Knesset session according to the principles of the original law that we passed, or else there will be no government.
"He is the defense minister, the head of a party that represents the Russian public, out of which a high percentage enlists and opposes religious coercion. He has an obligation to IDF soldiers and to the IDF recruitment process. The ball is in his court."
The High Court decreed on Tuesday that the most recent amendment to the Conscription Law—providing army draft exemptions to a large number of yeshiva students—be canceled within a year.
The HCJ's ruling stated that a previous Knesset decision that sought to provide many 18-year-old Haredim with a pass on the mandatory IDF draft, was "disproportionate" and "harmed equality" within Israeli society.
Lieberman stressed that "We're not waging war on the Haredi parties or the High Court." Rather, he said that "We're trying to take a common sense approach to the problem," but made it plain that "We're definitely talking about service for everyone. Every young person reaching the age of 18 has to either enlist or perform national service. It cannot be any other way."
