A couple of inconsistencies that bother me regarding yesterday's vote in favor of the drafting of the Haredi community, specifically the yeshiva bochurim and avreichim:
1. Minister of Housing abstained form the "shivyon b'netel" vote. Ariel has been largely against the "shivyon b'netel" trend all along. One reason is because it has not really been equal, in the sense that the law and the movement all along has only been to draft haredim, but not to bring about equality in draft regarding Arabs. As well, Ariel has been opposed to it because of the inclusion of personal sanctions on those refusing to be drafted, turning them into criminals. I find it ironic that Minister Ariel abstained from the vote due to his opposition to it, but earlier in the day he praised what was about to happen.
Ariel said earlier in the day "today we are taking a significant step toward the integration of the Haredi public. We in the Bayit Yehudi have succeeded in taking a bad law that was disconnected from reality and have been able to arrive at an agreed upon, and worthy, outline for the integration of the Haredi community in a staggered and patient way... I believe the criminal sanctions issue will find a resolution in the Knesset committee." Ariel also went on to detail a number of other accomplishments Bayit Yehudi influenced in the formation of the shivyon bnetel bill.
So, on the one hand Ariel was against the bill to the point that he had to abstain, while on the other hand he is proud of its accomplishments. I am scratching my head...
2. Minister of Justice Tzippi Livni is not satisfied with the new haredi draft law. She says, and she is not alone in this opinion, that the shivyon bnetel law is not really equal. The difference between the various forms of dissatisfaction with the new law is in how Livni sees the inequality relative to how some others, like Avigdor Lieberman for example, see the inequality, and how they voted for it. Some, like Livni, voted for it despite not being satisfied with it, while others, like some of Lieberman's people, chose to abstain or oppose due to the way they perceive the inequality.
Minister Livni voted in favor, but really believes the law is not solving the shivyon bnetel problem. Livni sees a gross inequality in the fact that Yeshivat Hesder students only serve 16 (now 17) months of IDF service. She says that with the Haredim now being drafted for 24 months, we must extend the service of the Hesder students to achieve true equality.
I note that she is so concerned with true equality among Israeli citizens, yet she fails to make any mention of some of Israel's citizens who do no service at all. Only the ones who do some service are her target to do more.
From the start it was clear the hesder yeshivot would eventually have this problem. Once you go down the path of equality, it is difficult to justify any inequality, no matter how much else good they do. The haredim say they do a lot of chessed, and that should be considered similar to National Service, but it is not and is considered inequal. The hesder students say they serve in top units, elite units, combat units, in disproportionate numbers, and they combine it with Torah learning. But is we as a State want equal, that too is not equal. The question is why so few who are on the warpath for equality even bother to mention, let alone to look for a resolution for, the Arab inequality.
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