The Religious Zionist Party is expected to support the new conscription law. The decision comes after extensive consultation with the party's rabbis.
According to a report today (Wednesday) by Yaara Shapira in Kan News, the party leaders gathered last night for a special faction meeting with senior rabbis, which lasted until late at night.
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The meeting, which began at 8:00 PM and ended at 1:30 AM, heard different opinions. Rabbis from various streams in the National Religious community were present, including Yehoshua Shapira, David Dudkevich of Yitzhar, Yigal Levinstein of the Mechina Baali, Tamir Granot, Yaakov Madan, Elisha Wolfson, Elyakim Levanon, Eitan Isman and other rabbis - all well-known and recognized in religious Zionism.
At the meeting, Minister Ofir Sofer presented at length his request that the party oppose the law, because in his opinion it will not significantly affect the recruitment of Haredim into the IDF.
Several heads of the Hesder yeshivahs raised claims during the meeting that the army is not prepared to absorb a large number of Haredim. In addition, some of the rabbis claimed that the army also poses challenges to religious Zionist soldiers, among other things due to the integration of women in the IDF and in combat units - which they claim makes it even more difficult for Haredim to integrate into the army.
Later in the meeting, the rabbis expressed the position that improving the conscription law cannot come at the expense of dissolving the government or harming the alliance with the Likud and the Haredi factions, and therefore, even if action should be taken to improve it, the law should not be opposed at the cost of dissolving the coalition.
Minister Smotrich accepted this position.
