The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee resumed its discussions on Wednesday on the Draft Law and the law extending mandatory service, at the instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The discussion follows an announcement by Degel Hatorah faction MKs that they intend to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset in the upcoming preliminary vote, also scheduled for Wednesday.
During the discussion, Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Planning and Manpower Administration Division, presented challenging figures on the army’s manpower situation and said, "We have not yet received a new draft of the law. There is a need for 12,000 soldiers, and at the beginning of the year this will rise to 17,000 when soldiers are discharged after 30 months." According to him, the army already needs between 6,000 and 7,000 combat soldiers immediately.
Brig. Gen. Tayeb added that the number of recruits is rising partly because the sanctions are working, but warned that "there are already 30,000 draft dodgers now, and another 50,000 on the way to becoming draft dodgers."
He also noted that while the original plan was to aim for a target of 55 reserve duty days for reservists, "today we are at 80-100 days of reserve duty."
Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth noted the prolonged halt in legislation and the public storm surrounding the punishment of a soldier who wore a "Moshiach" (lit. "messiah") patch.
"Today we are resuming the discussion on the Draft Law after many long weeks, and at the instruction of the Prime Minister, out of a genuine and sincere intention to complete the legislation of the law that is so necessary at this time for the IDF, for the cohesion of the people, and out of the need to ensure that brothers do not turn to each other as enemies - certainly not during wartime," Bismuth said.
Later in his remarks, Bismuth linked the need to draft haredim to the "Moshiach" patch incident, saying, "You cannot want more haredim in the IDF and at the same time be alarmed by every expression of faith or Jewish spirit that they bring with them."
"If we want more haredim in the IDF, we must understand that they will not arrive as secular people wearing a kippah (skullcap -ed.); they will arrive with their value system, with faith, with symbols, and with a spirit that will integrate into a single Israeli partnership."
Bereaved father Yehoshua Shani addressed MKs Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz, who oppose the law, and said: "Show responsibility and support the Draft Law. This is the only law that will expand the enlistment of haredim and prevent the rift from deepening."