Military Draft Bill Creates Rift in Israeli Government

A member of Israel's war cabinet said on Sunday he would quit the national emergency government should proposed legislation that continues to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from mandatory military service be passed into law.

"The nation cannot accept it, the Knesset (parliament) must not vote for it, and my colleagues and I will not be members of the emergency government should such legislation pass in the Knesset," said centrist cabinet minister Benny Gantz.

Gantz, a former military chief who has more support than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu according recent opinion polls, joined the unity government to help manage the war against Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack.

"The conscription law being drawn up by the government is a serious moral failure that will create a deep rift within us at a time when we need to fight together against our enemies," Gantz said.

His party alone would not be able to bring down Netanyahu's government. But Israel's defence minister has also come out against the bill, signaling opposition within Netanyahu's own right-wing Likud.

The proposed legislation has not been made public, but according to portions leaked to Israeli media it perpetuates long-disputed military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and may even expand them. It also plays down the economic toll of the decades-old policy, which Israel's top economists have repeatedly warned carries a heavy price.

🔗Source: Reuters

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