Plesner Committee
The Plesner Committee (
The committee included representatives of all the coalition parties, with the exception of the religious parties (Shas and the United Torah Judaism parties), which boycotted the committee. On July 2, 2012, about a month and a half after it was established, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the committee after several representatives withdrew from the coalition in protest over the way the committee was conducted. On 4 July, the chairman of the committee Yohanan Plesner published the committee's report although he was the only one who signed it.
Background
On 23 July 2002 the
As a result, the government established the Plesner Committee. It consisted of ten members, included both Knesset members and representatives of the public. The committee began deliberations on 21 May 2012, and the Prime Minister asked them to report by the end of July 2012.
Members of the committee and professional teams
Committee members were:
- MK Yohanan Plesner, a representative of the Kadima party and committee chairman
- MK Ze'ev Elkin, a representative of the Likud party.
- MK Israel Beiteinuparty. Withdrew from the committee on June 28.
- MK Jewish Homeparty. Withdrew from the committee on June 28.
- MK Einat Wilf, a representative of the Independence party.
- Yehuda Segev, former head of Manpower Directorate.
- Attorney Jacob Weinroth. Withdrew from the committee on July 1.
- Yoav Kish, public representative, leader of the "HaMachana HaMeshutaf" (המחנה המשותף) movement
- Professor Yaffa Zilbershatz, a professor of law at Bar-Ilan University
- Professor Yedidia Stern, a professor https://www.haaretz.com/2012-02-19/ty-article/forgotten-artwork-by-one-of-the-fathers-of-the-dada-movement-restored-to-life-in-israel/0000017f-da74-dea8-a77f-de76b8550000 law at Bar-Ilan University
Dissolution
Following the withdrawal of the representatives of the parties
Netanyahu's instructions on the dissolution of the committee created a political crisis within the coalition and an unsolvable dispute between Netanyahu and Kadima's chairman Shaul Mofaz.
MK Plesner's report and recommendations
After the dissolution of the committee its chairman Plesner published a report on 4 July 2012 which was based on the draft of the committee's report. Plesner stated that he wrote the report himself, and some members of the committee, including Yedidia Stern, ostracized it. The aim set by in the report is to recruit 80% of the
The main recommendations:
- The main aim: from 2016 onwards about 80% of all male Israeli Jewish Haredim at the age of 18 would serve a significant amount of time in the army or in civil service.
- Personal responsibility: the responsibility for serving the state would be on the individual - financial penalties, criminal punishment and the denial of benefits would be imposed on draft dodgers.
- Recruitment age: all people would be required to serve until age 22 except for a selected group of 1,500 yeshiva students.
- Service routes: the army and civil service will develop designated routes to accommodate the large number of male Israeli Jewish Haredi recruits.
- Community and institutional responsibility: heavy fines and sanctions would be imposed on yeshivas at which large numbers of draft dodgers attend.
Proposed sanctions on individual haredi draft dodgers
- An immediate fine of 7,500 NIS.
- An additional fine of 75 NIS for every day in which a draft dodger failed to report for military service.
- Cancellation of the individual's yeshiva allowance and of the individual's special income support scholarship which is granted to yeshiva students.
- Cancellation of the individual's yeshiva student status at the National Insurance Institute.
- Eliminating the individual's eligibility for state support for housing and mortgages.
- Eliminating the individual's eligibility for a discount on property tax.
- A yeshiva which would have more than a quarter of its students absent would stop receiving support payments, and if at the next check up it would be the same that yeshiva would be closed.
- Ministry of Education would visit yeshivas, and if any of the 1,500 selected yeshiva students would be missing from the school, it would be fined 50,000 NIS.
References
- ^ Court Bans ‘Tal Law’ for Religious Exemptions from IDF.
- ^ Glickman, Aviad (2012-02-21). "High Court rules against extending Tal Law". Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
External links
- MK Plesner's report (Hebrew)
- Plesner Committee, published on ynet (Hebrew)
- Plesner Committee, published on NRG Ma'ariv (Hebrew)