Israel's Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein presented an ultra-Orthodox representative with a copy on Sunday of a softened version of a bill regulating the conscription of yeshiva students into the army, which led to the legislation's advancement, The Times of Israel reported.
The ultra-Orthodox parties insisted on seeing the changes in the legislation ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's diplomatic trip to the United States, which reportedly contributed to a delay by a few hours in his departure for Washington, D.C., to meet President Donald Trump.
The final version of the changes in the legislation will reportedly be presented to lawmakers within 48 hours, according to the Times.
The changes in the legislation angered opposition politicians, who harshly criticized what they consider a bill so watered down that it won't do anything to address the problem. Opposition parties have long called for an end to the decades-long exemption of most ultra-Orthodox males from military service.
"If Yuli Edelstein, under pressure from [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, presents the law to the ultra-Orthodox before presenting it to soldiers and reservists, that sums up the whole story of the 'evasion law,'" Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote.
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman declared that "the time has come to put an end to the rule of the evaders. Conscription for all – this is the call of the hour."
The Democrats head Yair Golan insisted that Edelstein's actions served as "proof that this law won't draft a single ultra-Orthodox person."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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