Plesner Committee Explained

The Plesner Committee (Hebrew: ועדת פלסנר), also known as the Commission for Equality in the Burden (Hebrew: הוועדה לקידום השוויון בנטל), was a committee established by the Government of Israel to formulate recommendations on the recruitment of Israelis to the Israeli Defense Forces, in particular the recruitment of Haredim and Arabs. The committee was established prior to the anticipated expiration of Tal Law which exempted yeshiva students from mandatory military service in the IDF.

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 Knesset passed the Tal Law, based on the recommendations of the Tal committee. The Tal Law set the conditions for the exemption of yeshiva students from military service. The law was a temporary one pending further consideration and set to expire after 5 years. On 18 July 2007, the Knesset extended the law by a further 5 years. On 21 February 2012, the Israeli Supreme Court declared the Tal Law unconstitutional,[1] by 6 votes to 3,[2] and that the law could not be extended after it expired on 1 August 2012.

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:

Dissolution

Following the withdrawal of the representatives of the parties Israel Beiteinu the Jewish Home party, on 2 July 2012 Prime Minister Netanyahu informed that the committee would be dissolved because it could not form a recommendation without a majority.

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 Israeli Jewish Haredim from 2016 onwards, and impose heavy fines on draft dodgers and on the yeshivas at which large numbers of draft dodgers study. The main recommendations:

Proposed sanctions on individual haredi draft dodgers

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153020 Court Bans ‘Tal Law’ for Religious Exemptions from IDF.
  2. News: Glickman. Aviad . High Court rules against extending Tal Law. Ynetnews.com . 2012-02-21 . 2012-02-22.