The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee decided on Tuesday to extend the deadline that enables the IDF to use emergency measures (known as Tzav 8 orders) to call up reservists for service, with haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Shas MK Yinon Azoulay casting the tie-breaking vote.
The committee voted 8-7 to extend the deadline from May 22 to May 29. The opposition succeeded in striking down the measure on Sunday after several coalition MKs were absent and when Likud MK Amit Halevi voted against the measure over what he claimed were insufficient guarantees in the IDF’s operational plans to ensure soldiers’ safety.
Coalition whip Likud MK Ofir Katz sanctioned Halevi by removing him from the panel “until further notice,” Halevi’s spokesperson said. Katz himself replaced Halevi in the committee for Tuesday’s vote.
The coalition has struggled to pass the emergency measures in recent weeks. The committee’s three haredi members have largely refrained from voting due to their criticism of delays in a bill to regulate haredi service in the IDF.
The panel’s opposition members have opposed the measure on the grounds that the government’s plans for expanding the operations in Gaza were unclear, and that the government was not doing enough to draft more haredim and lessen the burden on reservists.
What did the opposition argue?
In a letter to committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein on Monday, the opposition’s committee members argued that recent presentations by both the prime minister and defense minister had not provided clear answers regarding “how the new plan serves the war’s goal.” The MKs added, “The fundamental difference in the implementation of the plan compared to past plans” was unclear, as were the “mechanisms to end [the operation].”
They also criticized the fact that Halevi was removed from the committee, arguing that “not only does it not provide answers to key questions, but also indicates a mechanism of concealment and intimidation toward anyone who casts doubt on the government and cabinet’s decisions.”
“In the absence of a detailed plan explaining how the program achieves the war objectives, we will once again vote against the approval of the orders and warn you that approving the orders with the votes of those who avoid serving in the IDF will only increase the harm to solidarity and public trust in the government’s actions,” the opposition MKs wrote.
Following the announcement about the extension of an emergency draft, Uri Keidar, CEO of liberal the NGO Israel Hofsheet, said, “If we have reached a situation where Yinon Azoulay, who actively encourages draft evasion, is comfortable being the deciding voice in sending reservists to battle, then there truly is no limit to the shame.”