Mofaz Threatens To Quit Unity Government
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded a state-sanctioned committee charged with forming a new law on drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the Israel Defense Forces on Monday, in an apparent blow to coalition partner Kadima, which joined the premier’s cabinet based on an agreement that the government would formulate a new Haredi enlistment law.
The committee, headed by Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner, was dissolved after a reported disagreement over the wording of the new bill, which was geared to replace the so-called Tal Law after that was struck down as unconstitutional by the High Court.
Last week, coalition partners Yisrael Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehudi announced their withdrawal from the committee, over what they said was the the committee’s refusal to accommodate their demand to draft all Israeli Arab citizens when they turn 18.
In fact, the Plesner Committee at the time agreed to adopt a model of universal service that would also include the Arab community, but it did not go far enough for Yisrael Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehudi.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
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