Failure to Promote Equal Sharing of the Burden

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute and the former Chair of the 2012 Government Committee for Equality in the Burden of Service, reacted to the IDF's Numa Committee's recommendations.

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"Twenty-two years after the Supreme Court's decision calling for legislation to resolve the issue of ultra-Orthodox recruitment, it is now clear that we have witnessed a complete and ongoing failure to meet this challenge and promote a more equal sharing of the national burden of military service. While the Committee's recommendation to lower the exemption age are troubling from a moral point of view, it is nevertheless a necessary step that must be taken. Such a decision would provide thousands of ultra-Orthodox men, who will in any case not serve in the military, the opportunity to pursue professional training and better integrate into the workforce.

In addition to lowering the age of exemption, we must dramatically increase economic incentives and benefits for all those that do serve in the military. This will also encourage more enlistment.

The IDF's goal should be to recruit the maximum number of ultra-Orthodox men ages 18-21 and ensure that they serve in meaningful positions that help protect the country – not in frameworks that are unequal and at times even fictitious."

Plesner added: "Ultra-Orthodox recruitment is a subject that is sure to be a core issue in the coalition negotiations after the election and the next Knesset will be called upon to prepare and pass relevant legislation. Now is the time for all the parties competing in the election to publicly state their concrete position on this issue and declare how they intend to resolve this matter."