Israeli PM avoids coalition crisis over new draft bill

The first major coalition crisis in the new Israeli government ended with a compromise on Monday night, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped in on final draft legislation aimed at conscripting ultra-orthodox yeshiva ( religious seminar) students. On Monday, Yair Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid, and the Minister of Finance, warned that the government might collapse over some disputed clauses in the bill's draft. "There will be an equal sharing of the burden," Lapid said, "or this government will break apart." Yesh Atid has become the second largest party in Israel in the January elections mainly due to a campaign which promised to impose the current conscription law on ultra-orthodox and force them to "share the burden" of military service. Lapid's threat came after talks of a ministerial committee, appointed in order to reform the draft rules, dispersed without results Sunday night. The Israeli security law obliges all Israeli Jewish citizens to serve in the army. However, ultra-orthodox have traditionally been exempted from this law, and instead are allowed to study in yeshivas. The dispute in the committee, headed by Ya'akov Peri (Yesh Atid) , revolved around the penalties to yeshiva students and rabbis that will refuse to serve in the army. Under the new proposed law, a refusal to report to the recruitment bureau would be treated as a criminal offence. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon objected the enforcement clause, saying that he should have the final say on imposing criminal sanctions in such cases. However, Netanyahu ordered Ya'alon to drop his objection. Netanyahu said there would be plenty of time for amendments, "it would be wrong to delay the legislation at this early stage," he said. The bill still requires the Knesset's (parliament) approval before it will take effect. The bill allows some exemptions to be granted to exceptional Torah scholars, but limits the number to 1,800 a year, out of about 8,000 ultra-orthodox men who are at the age of conscription each year. The coalition crisis seems just as the beginning of a fierce public debate which the bill is expected to stir in Israel. Ultra- orthodox said that learning the Torah is their duty to the Jewish nation and fear that serving in the army would harm their traditional way of life, while secular argue that they unfairly carry the entire burden of Israel's security. In August, the Supreme Court ruled that the Tal Law, which enabled these exemptions to the ultra-orthodox was discriminatory, urging the state to find an alternative to the issue.