Woman caught evading service
Photo: Courtesy of the IDF Spokesperson Unit
Women accused of evading IDF service may appeal to Rabbinate
New bill says women accused of making false claims of religion to evade draft will appeal to Rabbinate rep
The ministerial legislative committee is scheduled to decide Sunday whether to propose a bill to the Knesset regulating the matter of women who evade IDF service.
A draft of the bill says the Chief Rabbinate and a representative from the IDF will be charged with deliberating appeals by women accused of making false claims of religious affiliation in order to escape from obligatory army service.
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A preliminary draft was handed to the committee by MK Israel Hasson (Kadima), and the Defense Ministry approved it for legislation. However the Shas Party chose to appeal the committee's decision before the government.
After receiving the appeal last Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to appoint a committee headed by Government Secretary Tzvi Hauser in order to debate it.
The committee formulated a final draft accepted by all parties, which states that women who profess false religious affiliation must be enlisted to the IDF within two years, or by the age of 20. If the woman is caught at age 21 or later she cannot be drafted according to the law.
Any woman who continues to claim she is religious after being accused of false statements can appeal to a committee established by the bill, which includes an IDF representative approved by the Chief Rabbinate and the defense establishment.
The debate on each appeal will be allowed to take up to two months, before which the woman is allotted two weeks to appeal the accusations against her.
If the bill is approved by the ministerial committee it will be proposed to the Knesset as part of the legislative process.
