Senior government officials are saying that passage of the conscription law will be postponed at least until the next winter session, as reported in Israel Hayom.
According to the report, today (Sunday) there will be a discussion on the issue chaired by Prime Minister Netanyahu. At the center of the discussion will be legislation of the conscription law, as well as the "Prestige of Service Law", which is intended to significantly raise IDF soldiers' pay.
The conscription law has been in the plans for years under various governments. The pattern has been that the government enacts various laws while the Supreme Court overrules them. One of the main tasks of the current government is to remove the explosive issue from the Israeli agenda. Haredim pushing for the legislation are demanding that the issue be resolved once and for all, and not remain the focus of criticism.
Under the coalition agreements with the haredi parties, the conscription law was supposed to be introduced before the state budget so that the haredim could have the budget as a bargaining chip. What ended up happening, however, is that the coalition did not have sufficient time to pass both and the budget was passed first. Now, the haredim are demanding an immediately passage of the conscription law.
Apart from the desire of haredim to have the law passed, the state also needs to provide the court, which granted the government an extension until the month of July to resolve the issue, an answer regarding the question at hand. In the meantime, the law is slated to expire and in fact will oblige everyone - including the haredim - to enlist unless Minister of Defense, Gallant decides otherwise.
Regarding the government's response to the Supreme Court, it will be able to pass a preliminary decision, present revisions to the current version of the law, or pass it in its first reading. One of these measures will prove to the court that it is paying due diligence to the issue and needs another extension.
The haredim demand is that a law be passed that, unlike past measures, will have no recruitment targets for its sector. Another demand is that the law not include fines for individuals who fail to comply with their conscription orders.
Yet another explosive issue that will be discussed by the government is the lowering of the exemption age. The Treasury wants to lower it as much as possible, but the security system believes that this will create an unequal situation for non-religious soldiers.