The coalition is growing more confident that the ongoing crisis over a law passed by the previous government, making universal military conscription mandatory and reversing an automatic exemption for yeshiva students, can be resolved.
The dispute over drafting yeshiva students (ultra-Orthodox men who study Torah, which the haredi world has been fighting tooth and nail, has been the biggest threat to the stability of the current coalition.
The bill aims to distribute the burden of military service equally among all of Israel's citizens, but the haredi public argues that by studying Torah and engaging in spiritual learning, the yeshiva students are contributing to the state as much as soldiers.
Israel Hayom has learned that in the past few days, heads of the coalition parties have outlined a potential compromise under which the law would be passed as a cabinet bill by the end of the Knesset's summer session, before the current legislation expires this September, in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling. Once the current law expires, the haredi public will be vulnerable to the conscription laws that apply to all citizens.
Under the compromise, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman tasked a team of Defense Ministry professionals to formulate the new version of the law, in accordance with the requirements of the defense establishment. A draft of the bill will be submitted first to Lieberman and then to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a small forum that will discuss it. The compromise itself will not be made public.
The prevailing sense in the coalition is that by this coming Sunday at the latest, the defense establishment will complete reworking the draft bill. The Defense Ministry's legal adviser, Itai Ofir, is overseeing the work on behalf of the ministry.
The select government forum that will discuss the draft bill has not yet been finalized. At this point, it appears that members will include Lieberman, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and coalition chairman MK David Amsalem, as well as representatives of the haredi factions – Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, MK Moshe Gafni (both from United Torah Judaism) and Interior Minister Arye Deri, the head of Shas. Justice Minsiter Ayelet Shaked could also be appointed to the forum.
Once the forum members receive the draft bill, they will have only a week to debate it. After the forum finishes discussing it, a final version will be returned to professionals in the Defense Ministry for approval, and they will submit it to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, who also has to sign off on the bill. Once Mendelblit approves the bill, it will be handed over to the Knesset so the legislative process can begin.
Senior coalition officials say they are optimistic about the chances of passing the new bill by the deadline and thereby preventing a crisis that could lead to an early election.
Two weeks ago, Litzman and Gafni said in a letter to Netanyahu that United Torah Judaism would not remain part of the coalition unless a revised conscription bill is passed by the start of the upcoming summer session.
However, despite the prevailing optimism and the assessment that Lieberman will not obstruct the passage of the new bill, some lawmakers are concerned that at least one coalition partner could decide that it has more to gain politically by rejecting the agreement and pushing for an early election.
