There’s only one thing that’s more obvious than the tension and nervousness among the ultra-Orthodox as the moment of truth draws near in the battle over the bill that would see them drafted into the army — and that is the disappearance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the sparring arena. The echoes of the fundamental High Court ruling two weeks ago on Feb. 4, halting government funding for rabbinical colleges whose students defer their draft, are still resonating, as is the judges’ harsh criticism of the government, but Netanyahu has opted for silence.
“I would have expected to hear from the prime minister that this is the right bill, and that this is the bill that will be voted into law,” Knesset member Ofer Shelah, chairman of the Yesh Atid Knesset faction, told Al-Monitor on Feb. 13. Shelah is the faction’s representative on the Shaked Committee, which, by next month, is supposed to complete legislation of the Equal Sharing of Burden law — Yesh Atid’s flagship issue. The main controversy now is whether the law will include criminal sanctions against ultra-Orthodox men who evade the draft. Yesh Atid is threatening to bolt the coalition unless the law includes such criminal-punitive measures.