Will the meeting held on Tuesday afternoon by the Haredi MKs - Moshe Gafni, Ariel Atias and Meir Porush - with Defense Minister Bogy Ya'alon be recorded as a historic meeting? Will we divide the history of the 'conscription' and the Haredi attitude towards the army 'before the meeting with Bogy' and 'after the meeting'? - Only time will tell.
What is clear is that the meeting had great significance, far beyond the technical side of its existence.
If IDF officials thought they would go ahead with the "Forward" conscription law, while they were eager to fantasize about military training centers, where psychological influence would be exerted on yeshiva graduates who would come to the conscription offices - then the demonstration of the million, and the real hesitation that followed regarding cooperation with the army, made it clear to those who needed to make it clear: Force will only keep the ultra-Orthodox away, even the last of the ironclads.
This understanding, which has seeped into the ranks of the military echelon, is what led a few days ago to the deletion of a news item from the IDF website - a news item that described in detail the plans that would be implemented on every potential Haredi recruit. That's the only way to keep the Haredis away, the person explaining it explained to them. The message was internalized.
The MKs arrived at the meeting this afternoon equipped with a large stock of red lines. The army will cross them - the order of reporting by 'first order' will be eliminated. They will withdraw from them elegantly - the regular process of reporting, failure to sign binding documents, postponement every year will continue.
'On the 'evening' of the meeting, last Friday, Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri managed to gather all the members in his office in the Rehavia neighborhood. MK Yaakov Litzman, who doesn't really like attending meetings on conscription issues and/or meetings with defense ministers who voted in favor of the law and/or meetings with prime ministers who supported the law, also participated. Any such meeting, if held, is kept under a veil of secrecy, which sometimes explodes and sometimes doesn't.
He did not attend today's meeting. It was too 'exposed' to the media. After all, let's not forget that it was the Rebbe of Gur who gave his promise to Gerash Auerbach on the eve of the Knesset elections to represent the 'Bnei Torah' circles faithfully on the issue of conscription. A meeting with Bogy Ya'alon to convince him to back down from red lines that are at the heart of Haredi Judaism was not included in that promise.
With the red lines drawn on Friday, MK Ariel Atias arrived on Sunday at the office of Brigadier General Gadi Agmon, head of the Planning Division and Director of Human Resources.
By the way, an attempt to understand who Gadi Agmon really is and which side he is on - has yielded interesting answers from those who know him, and from the Haredi direction. Some have sworn that he sees ahead, in the political direction, and Yesh Atid is the destination. Others have even added that his wonderful connections with MK Ofer Shelah are evidence of this. Either yes, or no. There was someone who defined him as a "politician in uniform" and as someone who knows how to tell everyone who listens what their ears want to hear. In other words, with Yesh Atid - he is Yesh Atid, with his Haredi friends - he loves Haredi.
Either way, there is no doubt that he is the one making the decisions today, and it is expected that a defense minister in the State of Israel will not make a decision before consulting with him.
Atias has excellent connections with Agmon, which led to a 'good' meeting. Naturally, there were no conclusions, but there was some message exchange.
Now the name of the game is turning the promises (even the realization of 80% of which would be considered a great success) into reality on the ground.
But with Agmon's promises, no matter how good they are, you don't go to the homes of the Rebbes and great men of Israel.
""And what does the Minister of Defense say?" - the question will immediately come, and rightly so. Still, there is no doubt that Agmon's recommendations to the Minister of Defense are decisive - and very decisive.
The meeting with the Defense Minister himself opened with a great many compliments. And not without a cover-up. After all, there is no doubt that among politicians there is great respect for Yaalon, the man who tried to outline a plan that they could almost live with in peace – a "bogie plan" – and did not pass the Knesset only because Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman opposed it.
We appreciate the fact that you never rode the populist wave of attacking the Haredim, the Haredi MKs told him. Even Agmon received kind words there. If the million-strong rally was the 'prayer', today's meeting was the 'Doron', hopefully we won't have to get to that 'war' episode.
""Torah students will not be harmed," the minister reassured them. "Anyone who wants to study will not be put in jail," he said, explaining the various stages and the process. It's not that they don't know, after all, there were three people there who did their doctorates on the subject of conscription, burning days and hours at the 'Shaked Committee,' headed by Shas's Dr. for Conscription Affairs - Atias, and Degel's Dr. - Gafni. There is not a letter of the law that has escaped their notice, there is not a sentence in it that they don't know by heart.
""I don't believe in coercion," Ya'alon told them, "We're trying to build trust.".
So what, actually, do the Haredi representatives want, or - what are their red lines?
Well, first there is the demand not to require yeshiva students to report together with the rest of your "people" of Israel and youth. A separate place will be allocated for ultra-Orthodox to report. Will the demand be granted? Highly doubtful, since it would be technically difficult for the army to withstand all the ultra-Orthodox arriving in a concentrated manner at the military training center established at Tel Hashomer. But the possibility of providing separate hours and days for the ultra-Orthodox public will be examined.
Will anything stand or fall on this demand? – Not sure, since if the other demands are accepted, there is a chance that young men will report to the various recruitment offices. After all, this is what happened in previous years as well. Asking that the new recruitment law will further improve positions is really a bit excessive. But you can always try.
Another demand is the complete cancellation of the medical examinations conducted for yeshiva candidates, all they want is to sit and study Torah. Not that there hasn't been progress on the subject, after all, over the past few months, and after many incidents that have been recorded, including horror stories from those who volunteer, the army agreed that some of the examinations would be performed by family doctors. They insisted on performing all the rest themselves, through IDF doctors, so that the medical profile determined for the candidate would be 'safe' and not 'smeared' by family doctors, who might cut corners and fake votes.
The demand of the Haredi MKs was firm: there is no point in setting a profile for a boy who, in any case, intends to postpone his enlistment every year. He will finish his studies at the yeshiva and decide to go into military or civilian service - then, and only then, will the IDF be honored to delve into his medical profile.
This demand, although it is an 'improvement' from the situation that has been the case for many years, is quite firm. Indeed, there are several rebbes who have decided that if the medical examination process continues, they will instruct their followers not to show up at all. The Rebbe from Vizhnitz is very firm on the issue. The Rebbe from Gur is still undecided, as is the Rebbe from Slonim.
The basis of the meeting was the understanding that the understandings with which the MKs would return to the rabbis should be such that they would bring unity among the rabbis of Israel. In other words, understandings that would satisfy everyone's demands. It is possible that the Grand Rabbi Auerbach will order his students not to report, but it is important that the Council of Torah Elders, including the Council of Torah Elders of Degel Hatorah, as well as the Shas Council of Sages, reach a unified opinion that the army's demands for reporting should technically be met. Of course, after the Haredi requirements are met.
Another, firm demand – and this time it is a cross-council demand and a demand that is an absolute red line for everyone – the cancellation of the entire 'persuasion' plan, as revealed on the IDF website.
The MMACH will not be canceled, meaning that in Tel Hashomer the Haredim will come to a building that was prepared for this purpose, but, and here comes the big "but": no one will try to convince a yeshiva student to enlist and/or go to work. A yeshiva student who arrives and brings with him a note from the "Yeshiva Committee" will go through a simple procedure. No one will try to convince him, even with a word or a hint. He will also not pass the persuasion stand that was set up on site on behalf of the Ministry of Economy.
Only an ultra-Orthodox person who says he is interested in going to work or enlisting will be directed to appropriate officials who will explain to him the options available to him, and will also be directed to the Ministry of Economy, where he will be presented with the economic and employment paths and options.
Did the meeting end well?
Depends on who you ask.
The ultra-Orthodox MKs left with the feeling that everything they wanted had already been given to them, and that everything was good. The minister's entourage emphasizes that the proper procedure will be maintained, and that the minister will pass the matter on to the level responsible for them in the IDF. After orderly decisions are made, they will be neatly put into writing and sent as a response to the MKs.
In other words, until the paperwork arrives, we can't open champagne and congratulate the graduate. Until the paperwork arrives, we can also recite a few more verses of Tehillim, to tip the scales in our favor, in favor of the yeshiva students.
If the arrangement is indeed made, it will be possible to say that the conscription law also brought a blessing in its wings. Then, Bogey Ya'alon will go down in history as a modern-day Ben-Gurion, as someone who succeeded in building, over the ruins of the conscription law and its ramifications, a bridge over which Torah students can safely step.
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