Israeli Knesset holds debates over updated conscription law draft
Two MKs from the Religious Zionism party announced their opposition to the current version as the debate was opened by Israel's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
Debate over the new draft law began Monday as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee opened discussions with participation from multiple parties.
Activists from Yoaz Hendel’s “Miluimnik” movement set up a protest tent at the entrance to the Knesset, lining the path with signs reading, “Don’t leave us under the stretcher.”
Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth opened the session by emphasizing that the draft law “is not a matter for the coalition or the opposition, but for the entire country.”
Bismuth insisted that the proposed conscription law serves both Israel’s security needs and the value of Torah study. “This law… will reveal a simple truth: anyone who votes for it is voting for the future of the State of Israel. Anyone who opposes it is choosing political games over national security,” he said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized the bill, calling it a “betrayal” of IDF soldiers.
“What you have brought here is a disgraceful evasion law,” Lapid told Bismuth. “This is a betrayal of our fighters. Anyone claiming a contradiction between Torah study and military service insults the Torah study of Hadar Goldin, Roy Klein, Eliraz and Uriel Peretz, Benya Israel, and all those who believed that defending Israel is a sacred duty. I guarantee this will not pass.”
Former committee chair MK Yuli Edelstein argued that the bill’s true purpose is political, accusing the coalition of using it to preserve itself rather than to promote conscription. “Without sanctions, nothing will happen,” Edelstein warned.
MK Meir Porush of Agudat Yisrael also opposed the bill, but on different grounds. He complained the draft unfairly targets the ultra-Orthodox. “Many here do not respect Torah scholars,” he said. “There are Bedouins and Druze who do not enlist, yet due to pressure from the Attorney General, this law is only against the Haredim. Under Jewish rule, such a law should be torn up.”
Itzik Buntzel, father of the late Amit Buntzel who was killed in Gaza, responded emotionally to Porush.
“Look me in the eye,” he said. “My children risk their lives while some in this country do nothing, not those who truly study Torah, but those wandering the streets. It’s time for equality: those who study should study; those who don’t should put on a uniform. And why aren’t you talking about the Arab sector, which lives at our expense while our children crawl through the sand?”
Religious Zionism MKs Michal Waldiger and Moshe Solomon also voiced opposition to the bill in its current form. As previously reported by i24NEWS, the party is expected to pressure Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the issue.
Brigadier General Shai Taib, Head of the IDF Planning Division and Personnel Directorate, told the committee that Israel needs a recruitment framework that ensures sufficient combat soldiers and support personnel. “We need an age-based model,” he said. “Without a clear system that defines who is coming in, it will be difficult to match our needs with the recruits we receive.”