MK Boaz Bismut, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, criticized the committee's legal advisor Miri Frankel after the panel voted on legislation that would freeze criminal proceedings and arrests against yeshiva students who evade military service. Bismut said: "With all due respect to the legal opinion you sent this morning, there is also reality. In that reality, our responsibility is to extinguish the fire in the streets, reduce the rift in Israeli society, and advance the vision of Haredi enlistment in the IDF."
MK Boaz Bismut, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, publicly criticized the committee's legal advisor, Miri Frankel, after the panel voted on a bill that would freeze criminal proceedings and arrests against yeshiva students who evade military service. The vote caps weeks of debate on the legislation, which the coalition is pushing despite fierce opposition from lawmakers who argue it undermines military equality. Bismut's statement directly challenges Frankel's legal opinion, asserting that the committee's responsibility to reduce societal tensions and advance Haredi enlistment must take precedence over legal objections. The bill has been a flashpoint in the coalition's efforts to legislate a solution to the Haredi draft crisis, with the opposition accusing the government of granting immunity to draft evaders.
5 developments
- StrongKnesset committee legal advisor opposes deserters bill, says it bypasses conscription law
- StrongOpposition MKs ask Knesset panel to delay vote on arrest-freeze for yeshiva draft evaders; chair rejects
- DevelopingKnesset panel proceeds with arrest-immunity debate for Haredi non-enlistees; opposition furious Sukkot chairs session
- DevelopingOpposition lawmakers ejected from Knesset committee on media bill
Source and signal
- Internal intake