The Knesset will discuss the issue of drafting children whose parents were killed in the line of duty into the IDF and other security services, Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday. The issue has come to the fore with the tragic death of Assaf Ramon Sunday, after the death of his father, Israel's first astronaut Ilan Ramon, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 2003.
Currently, soldiers with a parent that has fallen in the line of service must have their remaining parent or guardian sign permission for them to join a combat unit. MK Danny Danon (Likud) has introduced a bill to allow soldiers to decide the issue for themselves, but several Mks, including Moshe Matalon (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Nachman Shai said that in the wake of the tragedy, the Knesset needed to stay out of the decision making process.