Change Bloc offers chareidim draft bills to break deadlock

The Change Bloc is holding talks today (Wednesday) with legal advisers and representatives of United Torah Judaism in an attempt to draft an agreed text for a draft law that could pass the Knesset before a government is formed, Shireet Cohen Avitan first reported.

On the table is a temporary legislative solution designed to meet the demands of the chareidi parties and allow coalition talks to move forward.

One of the main obstacles to agreement is the position of the Attorney General, who has opposed applying continuity provisions to the draft bill that advanced in the 24th Knesset. The Attorney General demanded that the bill be advanced as government legislation, and the Change Bloc is now trying to find a legal path that would allow the legislation to move forward before a new government is formed.

Legal advisers in the Knesset have also made clear to MKs that under the current framework, a new draft law cannot be advanced before the government is assembled.

The solution now being examined is focused legislation for a short interim period, which would provide a temporary answer to chareidi demands and allow coalition negotiations to proceed without waiting for the completion of a permanent draft law.

But the draft law is not the only issue on the table. The Change Bloc is also considering advancing a bill that would halt the arrest of chareidi draft evaders, an issue considered especially sensitive in the chareidi community. Here too, the legislation would be temporary, accompanied by guarantees for amendments later.

The move is drawing political interest also because of the shift in positions on similar legislation. At the end of the previous Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to advance legislation that would halt the arrests, and came under sharp criticism from the opposition for it.

Now, it is the Change Bloc that is trying to find a legal solution to the same issue, with one of the central figures in the move being Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman, who in the past called Netanyahu "a hostage of draft dodgers."

Earlier today, the Knesset approved the establishment of the temporary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by Liberman. The committee is expected to serve as the arena for discussion and advancement of the bills in question, if a legal formula is found to allow their advancement.

Even if political agreements are reached between the sides, however, the path to legislation is still not guaranteed. Political sources have expressed concern that the legal adviser to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Miri Frankel-Shor, will create difficulties for advancing temporary solutions that would allow the continued exemption from service for chareidi young men.

At this stage, contacts are continuing in an attempt to formulate a framework that will meet legal requirements and be acceptable to United Torah Judaism representatives, with the aim of allowing coalition talks to continue.