The State of Israel's response to the Supreme Court regarding the Haredi Draft Law was distributed to the government ministries on Wednesday evening in preparation for its submission, and it states that "we must prepare to draft yeshiva students and to cease support [for yeshivas] - as early as next Sunday".
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara stated in her response that the government will not be able to provide support to yeshivas whose students do not serve in the army - after a short period of adaptation to the new situation.
The response was published shortly after Baharav-Miara reacted strongly to a letter sent by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to the Cabinet ministers, in which he accused her and the Minister of Defense for the fact that the Cabinet did not vote on the Draft Law.
"The government's proposal is not based on a minimal professional infrastructure. We have not been presented with any opinions or documents to show how the government intends to formulate an arrangement that will lead to increased equality in the sharing of the burden of the service. The need for a professional infrastructure is particularly significant in a place where the government works to increase the sharing of the burden on the serving public - in regular service and in the reserves - and at the same time requests to extend the postponement of the enlisting of the yeshiva students," noted attorney Gil Limon, Baharav-Miara's deputy, in the response on her behalf.
He added, "This is why we insisted that the government's decision include an essence and a professional infrastructure for legislation, at the very least of goals which have the ability to respond to the duty of equality and the needs of the army."
Earlier, Fuchs claimed in a letter to the Cabinet ministers that Baharav-Miara and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had thwarted the advancement of the Draft Law.
"It was impossible to get a professional position from the Ministry of Defense," he wrote, and informed the ministers that there would be no Cabinet meeting regarding the law.
Gallant’s office said in response, "The accusations detailed in the letter of the Cabinet Secretary to the ministers are biased and false. Any request received regarding the cooperation of the professional ranks in the Ministry of Defense or any information regarding the Draft Law was answered in the affirmative, and will be answered in the affirmative in the future. In accordance with the directive of the Minister of Defense - the personnel of the Ministry of Defense will cooperate and carry out every action which is required to reach a law that is agreed upon all members of the emergency government, and which will meet security needs."
Kan 11 News reported that it appears as though the government will claim, in the response to the Supreme Law on the Draft Law, that there was a genuine attempt to reach an agreement regarding the law, but that it was unsuccessful and the budgets of the yeshivas should not be affected immediately. The government's argument to the Supreme Court is that cutting funds immediately will be disproportionate and that the yeshivas are relying on these budgets.