and the very fact that there are special appointees means that a compromise is in the offing. There is a law which states that draft age is 18, end of story, no need for committees. Just as there is a law which states that a driver must stop at a red light, for you and me and everyone else, no exemptions, no committees, everyone has to stop or be fined.

..if you accept anything less than equality.

Procrastination is only an excuse for the weak-minded.

With moves afoot in the government to institute obligatory national service for haredi yeshiva students, Rabbi Simcha Avraham Halevi, the rebbe of the Ashlag hassidim, declared on Saturday night that in order to achieve an equal share in the burden of national defense, all secular youth should have to undertake religious studies. “The Jewish people survived it’s entire cruel history not through the might of arms, not through airplanes or tanks, not through the deterrent effect of the IDF and not through the power of the State of Israel, but through the merit of Torah study and the fulfillment of its commandments,” proclaimed the rebbe during his weekly Torah lesson. “Therefore, we are obligated to bring about equality in the burden among our brothers of the Children of Israel, so that all secular youth bear the yoke of preserving and defending the inheritance of the Jewish people and fulfill his national duty through Torah study and the fulfillment of the commandments.” Speaking about Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to establish a working group to implement the principles of the Plesner recommendations on achieving national service for all citizens, the Rebbe of Ashlag said that “malicious programs” are being plotted by the heads of government “to stick their paws” into the yeshiva system “with their empty claims about equality and responsibility.”

Dont hold your breath waiting for any real leadership from Bibi, its simply not in his DNA.

like they did to Sharon

Why is he choosing to apply the law of criminal files only against the chariedim? shouldn't this law apply equal to every body the same?

Once these seculars go in the army then you can put the Haredim in who at least are doing something for their country.

for Heredi enlistment and not Arab enlistment? Is this whole enlistment business just a way to vent off anti-Torah anti-Jewish vehemence? Are they so afraid of losing their "right" to eat pork on Yom Kippur?

And DON'T understand the complexities of this issue nor the implications of DISTROYING OUR SCHOLARS AND FUTURE RABBIS. THIS should be taken into consideration. esp. that most young guys sitting and learning are spending most of the day doing it! It's not easy and it requires a lot of sacrifice of material and body desires. whereas, i'm pretty sure that most young protesters have never experience this extreme discipline and dedication! What i do think should be available is a special Yeshiva for men/women without a background who would like to spend their day learning Torah instead of the army.

As a mother of a combat soldier and as a working, tax paying citizen of this country who respects religion and believes in a pluralistic society... I believe you are the person who does not understand the complexities of this issue and most probably have never served yourself in the army nor has your children. I am shocked that you would even consider that our soldiers (protesters) have never experienced extreme discipline and dedication!!! They are there because they know what it means!!!They serve our country, they protect us (yes even you)!! Should I tell you about 'sacrifice of material and the body' when my son comes home after two weeks in the field? REALLY?? I honor our scholars and our rabbis and future rabbis.....one does not negate the other. Yet, I do believe everyone must serve their country, even in a non combative framework. I chose to live here in this country and to bring my children up in this country. As citizens of this country we all need to share in the responsibilities in preserving the country who so many have fought and died for. I wonder who will protect the right to have that special Yeshiva of yours? Most probably my son...

While I have no objection to the enlistment of Arabs for National Service, the difference between them and the Haredim is most significant. In the case of Haredim, even from the time of Israel's inception, compromises were made to not enlist SOME Haredim, in response to requests/demands from the Haredi communities. With regards to the Arabs, the GOVERNMENT DECIDED not to enlist them in order to prevent there being a 5th column in the army ( with sabotage and the leaking of vital information always being a possibility), as well as forcing the Arabs to face the dilemma of having to fight for a cause the do not subscribe to, against people of their own kind and religion, with whom they identify. That is why your argument is so weak. I would like to know how 1500 exemptions for extra-bright scholars in the time of Ben Gurion, has ballooned to the statistic of 85% of all Haredim not doing the army.

The military also demands plenty of disipline , wake up man.

Serving in the IDF is the greatest privilege any Jew can have. If Boaz Nol and his sheep feel they are suckers because they serve, the solution is simple: release them immediately from the army. Even better, make an exemption to any whiny Leftist, we do not need them in the IDF. As for the cost for drafting Haredim, what ever age you draft them it is far higher than half a billion. Since the only reason the Tal law was canceled was the High Court's intervention, the cost should come directly from the judges salaries.

all these years? That is the point of my argument. I don't want them in the army. I want them servicing their own communities. WHY HASN'T THIS HAPPENED UNTIL NOW? Sounds like special favoritism to me?

the country by learning Torah - the greatest protection - and others who are do not have the head for Torah and are not religious should be the ones protecting by arms. The government doesn't grasp the danger Israel is in if they believe that the state will be protected without Torah learners. How foolish of them! Besides, religious Jews may not serve in such an immoral corrupt army whose goal is to destroy Torah and orthodox Judaism altogether.

Every citizen age 18 years must serve in the army- Arabs, Jews Christans all of us are equal this country needs you, come foreword and be counted.

We are told enlisting them at 23 would cost a lot of mazuma, to support the kids present by then. So, what different is that from what's happening now, they're still being supported.

...Arabs must be included in all deliberations and consequent decisions!

The amount of money paid to a Yeshiva student is laughably low, while the amount of money paid to a married soldier with children is high. There is also the cost if they are wounded or die (God forbid) during service. If they are in the Yeshiva they and their family get nothing. If they are in the IDF, the wounded, the widows and the orphans are paid very generously. And don't forget, when they study in the Yeshiva, they cost nothing. In the army, we will pay for food, barracks, electricity and public transportation not to mention training, uniform and ammunition. My guess is it will be more than 1 billion NIS annually, but that is the cost when you have whining Leftists.

The insistence of a different age of recruitment is based on the fact that the military is viewed (very much correctly in my experience) as a secularizing environment. It is rife with a culture that most ultra-Orthodox and many religious Jews in general seek specifically to *avoid* to maintain their beliefs and way of life. Further, the Kashrut of the food is often questionable at best. Further, In my experience, with the exception of the Netzah Yehuda battalion (Nahal Haredi), there is no true environment for ultra-Orthodox in the military beyond pilot programs (AKA the Shachar programs). And even for those few separate programs, there are those keenly interested at dismantling them, in the name of equality and "The people's army." So what these protesters don't realize, probably because those feeding them snippets of information aren't saying, is that they have effectively declared war on the ultra-Orthodox public. The Rabbis and the public in general won't compromise on the age of enlistment - it's one of the few issues which are well and truly impossible to compromise on. And I suspect that there are some people who will profit immensely, politically, from starting such an internal cultural war. And they will be the only ones to do so. The rest of us will lose.

...into a free and democratic Palestine Israel, 2 States, 1 Country, with 5.7 million Jews, 8.7 million Arabs, in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and outside Palestinian refugees who were expelled, and who fled in 1948 from their homes and land, and their descendants (3 million).

It's hard to call in a minority population when not even the entire majority is a part of the national service. It would be a lot easier to call to task the Arabs in Israel if EVERY faction of the Jewish population was obliged to serve the state.

By not mentioning Arabs, even if for a form of Sheurt Leumi, they are invalidating their own point. They sound like they are more interested in bad mouthing Haradim than in equal service. This is why I cannot support them.

The army's goal is to destroy Torah and Orthodox Judaism????????????????? Which virtual reality do you live in????????

Drafting them could have a negative immpact on Jewish population growth. We need more Jews!

Why do you say that " The Rabbis and the public in general won't compromise on the age of enlistment - it's one of the few issues which are well and truly impossible to compromise on." Why?

Where was this protection during the Shoa ? Please give a serious answer ! Not serving in this army , that protects you and your parasite alikes ? Leave MY , not your , country then .