Government ministers expressed fury at the Attorney General’s Office during Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, following a letter she sent earlier Sunday morning demanding that the government make concrete decisions on imposing economic-civil sanctions against bnei yeshivos who fail to enlist in the IDF.
The meeting took place before the High Court’s dramatic ruling on Sunday, demanding that the government impose draconian sanctions on Bnei Torah and their families.
In the letter, the Attorney General’s Office wrote that the “meeting that will take place today must end with the adoption of operative decisions and instructions to government ministries to act as soon as possible to promote concrete steps to implement the duty of conscription.”
The practical meaning of the letter is a demand to government ministries, primarily the Ministry of Labor, Welfare, and Finance, to withhold benefits and subsidies from Bnei Torah in order to increase recruitment rates through economic persecution of Chareidi families.
A source from the UTJ party told Kikar Hashabbat: “This is a blatant attempt to turn government ministers into policemen against the Chareidi public. Instead of looking for solutions through dialogue, the legal advisory system is pushing to starve families and harm lomdei Torah.”
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi began the discussion by clarifying that the government’s policy is that whoever isn’t learning Torah should enlist, but has no interest in harming lomei Torah. “Why are we considering measures against Lomdei Torah?” he asked.
Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs noted that officials at the relevant government ministries have expressed opposition to the Attorney General’s demands to impose economic sanctions on lomdei Torah and their families.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed that he is opposed to such sanctions, saying that the measures “directly contradict government policy and also harm the economy.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slammed the Attorney General for its discrimination against Chareidim: “I say as a father to a son in the special forces—are you also asking for sanctions against Arabs?”
He added: “Secondly, you will not be forgiven for alienating the Chareidim who do want to enlist.”
Settlement Minister Orit Struck, the mother of a large family, emphasized the importance of government support for families: “Without day care centers, I would not have reached the point where I am sitting here,” she said.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the Attorney General and her colleagues a “gang of anarchists,” saying that “their efforts to topple the government failed, so now they want to destroy the country.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
