Posted on 08/22/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel from the Shas Party gave an interview to Channel 12 News on Monday in which he commented on the Draft Law, and claimed that being haredi should not automatically grant a person an exemption from military service.
"Precisely as someone who served in the army and as someone who served in the reserves until he entered the Knesset, and all my brothers served in the army, one of them an officer in the IDF, I want to say clearly – being haredi is not a reason to be exempt from military service."
He also said, "Whoever studies Torah, I expect that in a Jewish state this will not be a criminal offense. The group of Torah students should be respected."
"At the same time, if a person takes advantage of this exemption and does not study Torah and tries to evade military service - we all together should work to recruit him for adapted military service," said Arbel.
Last week, MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of the Degel HaTorah faction of the United Torah Judaism Party, clarified that the Draft Law will be brought to a vote at the beginning of the winter session of the Knesset.
"Many people are writing things, most of which have nothing to do with reality, as was the case this week as well," Gafni told the Yated Ne'eman newspaper when speaking about the Draft Law. "There is a clear agreement that the law will be presented at the beginning of the winter session, not politically but professionally."
Gafni noted that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week "that all publicity about the issue is unnecessary, since the Draft Law is not a political law. There are facts. There are agreements. This professional law will be brought up at the beginning of the winter session of the Knesset."