Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday evening that in the next government he will pass a law requiring those who do not study Torah and do not enlist in the IDF to be imprisoned. He added that this would be done even without the agreement of leading rabbinical figures, according to a report by journalist Stein.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharpened his rhetoric on conscription Monday evening, stating that in the next government he will advance legislation that would sentence individuals who neither study Torah nor enlist in the IDF to prison. The remarks, reported by journalist Stein, also assert that this step would be taken even without the agreement of the leading rabbinical authorities.
This follows a statement earlier this evening in which Netanyahu told writer Gadi Taub that enforcing the draft on non-Torah students is possible without rabbinical consent. The new formulation adds a concrete punitive mechanism — imprisonment — signaling an escalation in the prime minister's public stance on the contentious Haredi enlistment issue.
The comments come amid ongoing coalition tensions over the draft law, with Netanyahu having previously acknowledged the failure of the current temporary legislative framework. The prime minister has positioned a broad national unity government as the vehicle for advancing a permanent solution.
3 developments
- DevelopingNetanyahu says he will activate all possible sanctions against anyone who does not study Torah
- StrongNetanyahu asks: 'How can police send Torah students to jail?' — security source says 'never happened'
- ConfirmedNetanyahu, Defense Minister Katz voted for Torah Study Basic Law as Knesset session erupts
- StrongNetanyahu says arrests and jail deter Haredi enlistment, suggests temporary pause in drafting
Source and signal
- Open-source intake