A senior source in the hasidic-haredi Agudat Yisrael on Tuesday night sharply criticized the proposed Draft Law which was leaked on Channel 12 News, claiming it is a “political fabrication” aimed at bringing Shas back into the government.
Agudat Yisrael is one half of the Ashkenazic-haredi United Torah Judaism party. Shas is the Sephardic-haredi party.
“This isn’t a Draft Law - it’s nonsense,” he said. “Someone put together a draft to create the illusion that a law exists, but in reality, it’s a deeply problematic proposal that we will not be able to keep to.”
According to the source, “The purpose of the leak is to bring Shas back to the government. The law includes sanctions on yeshiva students and unrealistic enlistment quotas that we will not be able to meet. It doesn’t even have approval from the Attorney General, and in the end it will also be struck down within three years. So what have we accomplished?”
He added, “They want us to lend a hand to support such a bad law, just so that in another three years there will be an even worse law? [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu must honor his commitment and present the law as he promised us.”
Addressing the content of the draft, he stated, “Everyone knows 4,800 haredim aren’t going to enlist within a year, there aren't 10,000 yeshiva students who will enlist in two years, so right now it’s nonsense. There isn’t even an Attorney General's opinion on whether it would pass the Supreme Court. In short, it’s an empty piece of paper.”
The strong criticism comes amid ongoing tensions between factions within Agudat Yisrael and the Prime Minister over the failure to pass a Draft Law.