In the coming days, ahead of a vote in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on legislation granting military draft exemptions to ultra-Orthodox men, the committee’s legal adviser, attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor, is expected to submit a final version of the bill.
However, coalition officials are considering advancing the legislation even if it disregards her legal opinion, in an effort to satisfy ultra-Orthodox parties. A source familiar with the discussions said committee members are expected to adopt the legal draft in order to improve the bill’s chances of surviving a challenge at the High Court of Justice.
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(Photo: Yair Sagi, Reuven Castro, Amit Shabi, AFP, Alex Kolomoisky, Yoav Dudkevitch, AP)
Later this week, possibly Wednesday or Thursday, the committee is set to resume deliberations on the bill’s wording to move it forward in the Knesset. If approved by the committee, the legislation would proceed to second and third readings in the plenum.
Ultra-Orthodox parties are exerting heavy pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth to advance the bill, aiming to return to the coalition and the ministerial posts they left during the crisis over the draft issue, even without the legal reservations attached.
A coalition source said the ultra-Orthodox factions “understand we are entering an election period, and they want to manage the elections from inside the ministries they left. It’s critical for them.”
According to the same source, “This will be Likud’s big test — whether it stands by its promise to advance the bill.”
Legal clash over sanctions
Tensions are expected to peak in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Ultra-Orthodox representatives oppose the legal adviser’s version, while Frenkel-Shor insists on imposing immediate sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, even if overall enlistment targets are met.
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Coalition considers bypassing legal advice to advance the bill. Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
In other words, she seeks to prevent blanket immunity from sanctions for individuals who do not enlist, regardless of whether others meet recruitment quotas. Frenkel-Shor has made clear that only a version that passes the committee’s legal review would have a stronger chance of withstanding scrutiny by the High Court.
Despite that, coalition officials are seriously considering advancing the bill while ignoring her legal objections, calculating that the matter will likely end up before the High Court in any case. Under that scenario, the ultra-Orthodox parties would return to the coalition, and the government would gain time — even though coalition members acknowledge that the chances of the law being struck down would be high.
First steps back into the coalition
Against this backdrop, Shas is taking what appears to be an initial step toward rejoining the coalition. MK Yonatan Mashriki, who resigned as chairman of the Knesset Health Committee when his party withdrew from government roles during the draft crisis, is expected to resume the position next week. He will replace MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who was appointed in his stead.
Last summer, in protest over the lack of a formal arrangement exempting yeshiva students from military service and over arrests of ultra-Orthodox men who failed to comply with draft notices, ultra-Orthodox factions resigned from all government posts and Knesset committee chairmanships.
Now, amid reports of a possible breakthrough on the bill and the parties’ desire to influence the state budget and social legislation, Mashriki is set to return to his post — signaling what could be the first stage in a broader return of ultra-Orthodox parties to the coalition.