MK Simcha Rothman spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News during the launch of his party's “Reservists Home" program, which aims to significantly reduce the burden of reserve duty on reservists. He said his party represents a constituency with many reservists and works on their behalf.
Rothman said that parts of the public do not fully understand the burden that reserve duty places on the families of those serving. The program, he explained, is intended to ensure that “the burden of reserve duty will be shared by more people," allowing reservists to spend more time with their families and at home.
Addressing criticism of the coalition and his party's conduct toward the haredi public and the issue of the draft law, Rothman said, “I think everyone understands that if a draft law had passed, in almost any version that was proposed during this term, the burden today would be lower both for reservists and for those serving in general."
He argued that some of the opposition to measures his party sought to advance stemmed from an approach in which “the very good is the enemy of the good."
Rothman also addressed part of the Reservists Law that was discussed by the committee he chairs. The legislation was intended, among other things, to give reservists priority when applying for positions in the civil service.
“An excellent law that I finished working on in the committee, intended to reward reservists, simply was not advanced," he said. Rothman argued that additional benefits and recognition for reservists became stalled because of a demand to advance all of the components together.
On the issue of haredi enlistment, Rothman argued that gradually advancing the draft law could have led to an increase in the number of haredi men serving.
“If we had started with lower numbers and increased them gradually, we could have gotten this train onto the tracks," he said. The result, he argued, would have been more haredi men serving and a reduced burden on the wider serving public.
Later in the interview, Rothman addressed the investigation involving reservists serving in Force 100 and sharply criticized the judicial system.
According to Rothman, the system “was prepared to throw those Force 100 reservists under the wheels."
“Those who truly care about those serving, those who care about the fighters, those who care about the reservists, are us, in Religious Zionism," he said.
Regarding the possibility of establishing a broad national government, Rothman called it “a wonderful thing," provided that it remains faithful to the values of the national camp.
He cited the right to all parts of the Land of Israel, judicial reform and settlement as core values, saying the government could be broadened “provided that you do not give up on the values."
Rothman added that his party does not engage in “politics of boycotts," but stressed that, in his view, a majority for the right-wing camp is essential.
“The ABC, the DNA and the majority that must exist in order to advance all the values that are important to the national camp is 61 seats for the right-wing camp, and then of course everyone can join," he said.
At the end of the interview, Rothman addressed the possibility that the right will fail to win a majority in the elections, saying that “everyone should be concerned about the horrific scenario" of a different government being formed.
According to Rothman, the only way to ensure that such a government does not come into being is for the national camp to win 61 seats.