The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Sunday discussed the proposal for the Security Service Law, with the central question being whether to include provisions regarding the inclusion of haredi "hesder" yeshivas in the law.
The draft presented to the Committee proposed to remove the section dealing with promoting the integration of haredi men into the workforce and the mechanism which allows for "dedicated vocational training."
The change is based on the desire to adjust the law to address security challenges and the manpower shortage in the IDF, especially after the October 7th massacre.
The Union of Haredi Hesder Yeshivas sent a sharp protest letter to MK Boaz Bismuth, who heads the committee, saying, "We approach you with a deep sense of pain and frustration," the letter read. "The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee refrains from including in the Draft Law a proper and full section addressing the haredi hesder yeshivas, while the law itself includes two full chapters granting formal recognition to the Religious Zionist hesder yeshivas and post-high school yeshivas."
The union argued that the lack of recognition for haredi hesder yeshivas constitutes "a severe blow to the value of equality and clear discrimination against haredi individuals serving in the IDF," and that it means "the immediate closure of 14 yeshivas and sends a message of disrespect to the hundreds of haredi soldiers already serving proudly."
Rabbi Karmi Gross, head of a haredi hesder yeshiva, said during the debate: "There is something that does work today, and that is the haredi hesder yeshivas. We have found the successful way to bring haredi students who will study in yeshiva, gain a profession, and serve in the IDF in a meaningful way. This is a model worth emulating and should be formalized in the law."
Avraham Lieber, a member of the union committee, added: "It is a mistake not to include the union in the law. We are convinced that we could triple the number within three years if we had the budgets. Right now, we are at full capacity."
Yaakov (Kobi) Blitstein, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, responded: "In the past, there was no agreement between the yeshivas. Today, there is, and we are now beginning to roll the matter forward. We do not see any obstacle to establishing another union, beyond the National Religious Hesder Union. It does not have to be done through the law."
The Committee's legal advisor noted that if the haredi hesder yeshiva track is identical to the regular hesder yeshiva track, consideration could be given to embedding them in the law. However, the wider implications of equality regarding vocational training for all soldiers in regular service must be considered.