Political drama: Netanyahu disolved Plasner Committee. Storm

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dissolved the Plasner committee yesterday (Mon.), in a surprising move during a discussion which was held in his bureau.

"I am committed to a more equal allocation of the burden. Already in January, even before the ruling of the Supreme Court, I declared that I will act in order to increase the equality in burden, gradually, among the hareidi and the Arab publics, without inciting one public against the other. This was and stayed my stance. Unfortunately, the Plasner committee did not manage to arrive at a line which is agreed upon, as a result of members withdrawing from the committee, and it cannot consolidate a recommendation which will get a majority in the Knesset.

"The committee fell apart. I thank the five representatives of the public for their concerted efforts," said Netanyahu and continued: "The dismissal of the committee does not cancel our responsibility to treat the issue of equality of burden. Therefore I plan to do the following – to call upon the heads of the coalition parties in order to try and arrive at a proposal which will gain a majority in the Knesset".

After he handed in the announcement of the dismissal, Netanyahu approached Mofaz and suggested to him: "Let's take the reins in our hands and come to find a solution".
Netanyahu also sent a hinted warning to the hareidi parties, that if an agreed upon solution will not be reached by the 1.8, the Tal Law will be canceled and the law of military service will come into force - what will oblige a full recruit without any exemptions at all.

"I prefer to come to an agreed and gradual solution, but if we don't reach that by the 1st of August, the IDF will recruit according to its needs, and I believe it will do so while taking into consideration the different publics, in order to prevent a breach in the nation," said Bibi and ended: "Since the Law of Military Service does not give an answer to the joining of the Arab and hareidi publics to civil service, we will act in parallel to rectify this issue".

It must be mentioned that besides the solution of recruiting the Israeli Arabs, which stands as a basic demand to support the law on behalf of the rightist parties, the central conflict so far between Netanyahu and Mofaz on the issue of the Law of Equality of Burden, was around using personal sanctions. Mofaz argued that without the sanctions the law is not effective, while Netanyahu opposed this view.

Mofaz was ridiculed and hurried to declare: "I reject the announcement of the Prime Minister"

Netnyahu ridiculed with his surprising announcement the chairman of Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, that only a short while beforehand had announced at the seating of the Kadima party that the committee headed by Yochanan Plasner, "is doing important work, and is on the way to hand in its summaries". Thereby Mofaz was once again caught as a "zigzagger", in a situation in which he was not updated by the Prime Minister about his intentions.

In Kadima they hurried to respond: M.K. Yochanan Plasner quickly gathered a press conference and announced that he is adamant to hand in the report which he produced, including a detailed proposal of law, this coming Wednesday.

For Mofaz, it took time to recover, and then he threatened to dismantle the wide coalition which he joined only a few months ago: "I reject the announcement of the Prime Minister and give a full backing to the Equality of Burden Committee headed by M.K. Planser. The committee was set up based on a mutual agreement of Kadima and the Likud parties, and therefore its one-sided absolving by the Prime Minister does not oblige Kadima, which will continue to stand up to its public commitment.

"The conclusions of the committee will be published and will form the basis for any real, proper, ethical, lawful and effective trial of an historical correction in the area of equality of burden. If the Prime Minister chooses not to turn to this required direction, the national unity government will reach the end of its path," said Mofaz.

The formal decision of Netanyahu came after the withdrawal of the Yisrael Beitenu and "Habayit Hayehudi" parties at the end of last week, and the withdrawal of attorney Yaakov Weinrot, who served as an overseer on behalf of the hareidim, yesterday.

At the same time, rumors were published today that M.K. Zeev Elkin also plans to withdraw from the committee. And so, the committee lost is mandate, and Netanyahu took a surprising and unusual step of absolving it.

Responses in the political system. "Netanyahu was wrong when he set up the committee"

The political system - surprised and stormy – started responding to the announcement of the Prime Minister:

M.K. Moshe Gafni announced: "The prime Minister abandoned the hareidi public who was his partner for years, because of cheap populism of parties who act out of political motives. Netanyahu has to show responsibility and leadership and not abandon the public to chaos and anarchy.

"Netanyahu was wrong when he set up the committee whose motives and conclusions were known in advance. The role of the Prime Minister is to govern, and not to let politics and anarchy take over. Instead of giving the responsibility over to an anonymous and biased committee, the government is the one who had to hold discussions on the matter.

The deputy Minister of Health, Harav Yaakov Litzman, responded: "The absolving of the Keshev committee proves what was known in advance, that the intention of M.K. Plasner was against the hareidi public, and out of a political motive to attain positions which will be freed for Kadima, as a result of a possible withdrawal of Yahadut Hatorah and Shas. I call upon the Prime Minister to show responsibility and keep his commitment to the coalition agreement to maintain the stance of the Yeshivos and not be drawn after political initiatives which are not practical".

In Shas they reacted to the dramatic news: "We are sorry that instead of reaching an understanding, the Prime Minister has chosen to set an ultimatum which will lead to a breach in the nation. The crashing to pieces of the Plasner committee is another proof that founding the committee in its present format was a mistake. A committee which offers the only solution of giving a political fee, a committee which did not have the sense to understand the meaning and complexity of the topic which it dealt with, and circled its aims even before the start of discussions. The importance of this issue obliges setting a serious and matter-of-fact committee which will hold unbiased discussions".

Yair Lapid responded to the news: "Netanyahu proves that he did not intend to solve the burning problem of the equality in burden, and made sure to drag the time. He again chose his natural partners over the majority in Israel, which enlists to the army, pays taxes and does not finish the month".

M.K. Eichler: to move the army gradually to a "volunteer army for pay"

The chairman of the Committee for Criticism of the State, M.K. Uri Ariel, responded: "Netanyahu is now paying the price for removing the religious and hareidi publics from the Plasner committee. Netanyahu should gather all the representatives of the public, including hareidim and Arabs, in order to find a proper and agreed upon solution for serving the country by the hareidi and Arab publics, even before the first of August".

Following the announcement of the Prime Minister regarding the decree of obliged enlistment for all, M.K. Yisrael Eichler raised his proposal to cancel the conscription and paying the soldiers of "professional army" of volunteers, like in modern armies in the world.

"Recruiting Arab and hareidi forced soldiers and forced workers will only cause a deepening of hatred against the state which is hostile towards them. Conscription is a remnant of the Russian Czars and deprives of human rights for freedom and equality. Gedolei Yisrael see in placing hareidi soldiers in camps with girls as a Gzeiras Shmad, which hareidi Jews will be willing to sacrifice themselves for".
Therefore M.K. Eichler suggests to move the army gradually to a "volunteer army for pay. Thereby anyone who is fit and suitable for it will enlist. The army will not be forced to recruit whoever is not fit for military service. Thereby milliards of shekels will be freed, for the goal of giving proper reward to professional army graduates".

In his words, who ever wants war and breeds blood, should not talk about "the army of the nation", when for a long time it is not clear to which nation he belongs.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!