A draft of Defense Minister Israel Katz's proposed Draft Law is set to be presented to the Prime Minister by the end of next week as part of a deal with Haredi MKs to maintain the coalition, according to Kann reporter Yaara Shapira yesterday (Wednesday).
According to the report, the Draft Law aims to enlist 4800 Haredi soldiers this year, 5700 the following year, and eventually 9000 soldiers by the end of 7 years - 50% of the eligible Haredi draft cohort, a target Katz has repeatedly set his sights on.
Furthermore, those who dodge the draft will be denied daycare subsidies, and yeshivahs with large numbers of draftees will be fined.
Meanwhile, those who volunteer in civilian defense and rescue organizations such as ZAKA may be exempted from the draft.
Katz defended his proposal today in the face of claims that it is more a "draft dodging law," claiming that a policy exclusively of enforcement has so far backfired and actually led to a reduction in Haredi enlistment.
The law does face a major stumbling block to passage, though: MK Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who has already announced his opposition to parts of the proposed law and who would be in charge of any effort to pass it through committee - or kill it in committee - between Knesset votes.
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