Liberman proposes draft law with sanctions on yeshivos

Liberman: sanctions on draft dodgers

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman presents comprehensive conscription plan requiring every 18-year-old to report to draft board • Proposes economic penalties on those who refuse and on yeshivos that enroll them • After these sanctions pass, every draft dodger will be standing in line at the induction center

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman released a comprehensive draft bill on Friday that his party plans to bring to a Knesset vote immediately after the formation of the next government. The proposal would require every 18-year-old, Jewish and non-Jewish, to report to a draft board, and would impose economic sanctions on those who refuse and on the yeshivos in which they study.

"An end to draft dodging!" Liberman wrote in his announcement. "How do you put an end to draft dodging? Through a universal draft law, with two tracks: military and civilian."

Under the Yisrael Beiteinu bill, every 18-year-old, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and Circassian, would be required to report to an induction center. Liberman made clear that enforcement would not rely on imprisonment, but on economic penalties.

The sanctions system Liberman proposes includes a long list of measures: cancellation of the individual's personal stipend and cancellation of the yeshiva's state funding for that student, a criminal record, loss of municipal-tax discounts and subsidies for daycare and housing, a ban on leaving the country, denial of a driver's license, and a ban on employment in the civil service and local authorities.

"I am certain that after these sanctions are approved, every draft dodger will be standing in line at the induction center," Liberman concluded.

The bill comes against the backdrop of the fierce political battle over the conscription of bnei yeshiva, which has become one of the central issues in the coming election campaign. Liberman and his party have made the draft a foundational principle, working in coordination with center-left parties in what they call the "Correction Bloc."

Four center-left parties recently established three joint working groups, one of which is tasked with formulating the guiding principles of the next government, including equality in national burden and universal conscription. The group will also address the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, term limits for the prime minister, and advancing a constitution for Israel.