"Criminal sanctions is to make fun of the law"

Due to a sharp confrontation between Yesh Atid and the Jewish Home: Shaked Committee - the committee which prepares the Haredi conscription law - debated for hours this morning on converting criminal sanctions to economic sanctions in the new recruitment law. The question of what sanctions will be activated by the law is separating the discussions from the submission of the law, which is ready for approval in the Knesset.

The deadline is January 1st - the date by which the state has undertaken to submit the law. If by the beginning of the new year the committee will not be able to cross the hurdle and align between the representatives in the committee, the conscription law applies to everyone.

The question of conversion of criminal sanctions set by the Perri Committee with economic sanctions, is the focus of a bitter argument between the Jewish Home and Yesh Atid.

Towards the discussion this morning, committee chairman MK Ayelet Shaked, prepared a document on economic sanctions legislation rather than criminal sanctions. Shaked offered to change the clause prescribing criminal sanctions against yeshiva students who will evade military service - and replace them with negative financial incentives, for example, one who is evading will not be eligible for public housing, rental assistance, for a mortgage at the fixed rate of 3% and property tax reduction. Also, draft dodgers will not be able buy an apartment in projects of subsidized mortgage and the option is being considered to eliminate scholarships for yeshiva students aged 18-26 who will not be drafted, when Haredi society will fail recruitment targets. These are significant economic sanctions worth hundreds of millions of shekels.

"The goal of each member of the committee is that finally as many haredim as possible will enlist, and will go out to the labor market," said Shaked. "The question is about the way. The Haredim have clarified that in the Haredi sector recruitment requirement means applying criminal sanctions which means that one learning Torah becomes a criminal. Even if it hard for us to grasp it, that is the feeling in the Haredi community. It is clear that those who do not study Torah and do not enlist are evaders, and will go to jail."

The committee held a heated debate on the subject, though they did not reach a decision during the hearing.

"Risking one's life is not a criterion, nine out of ten soldiers do not risk their lives, and yet the army needs them. What they say here is that whoever studies Torah is criminal," said MK Moshe Gafni.

Gafni is acting in the committee as deputy of MK Meir Porush, who is abroad on the occasion of a family simcha. Besides him, MK Ariel Atias is participating too.

"If they decide that it's criminal, I will say to those who enlist not to either," said Gaffni.

MK Shaked tried to protect the possibility for economic sanctions. "Despite claims by the Perri Committee, economic sanctions can be run such as public housing, rental assistance, state mortgage, taxes, mortgage assistance, yeshiva budgeting and more," she suggested.

Gafni, sarcastic, replied, "You can make a decision that a yeshiva student will live in a tent..."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!