Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon met with six Kadima MKs on Friday to discuss drafting ultra-Orthodox youth into the Israeli army. The meeting with the so-called Kadima renegades came just days after party head Shaul Mofaz decided to take Kadima out of the coalition over disagreements over the draft. The MKs and Ya'alon discussed ways to bridge the gaps that had led to the unraveling of the two-month partnership between Likud and Kadima. Mofaz has faced mounting criticism by some in his faction for his decision to bolt the coalition last week and was not informed of the meeting in advance. Ya'alon was expected to brief the cabinet on his plan to draft haredi and Arab youths at its session on Sunday. His proposed bill for haredi conscription may come up for a vote in the cabinet as early as next Sunday. Speaking before the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Ya'alon plan would "give more to conscripts and less to draft dodgers." He said the plan would significantly increase the number of haredi drafted into the Israel Defense Forces and the number of haredim and Arabs doing national service. The High Court of Justice ruled in January that the de facto waiver haredim enjoyed under the so-called Tal Law was unconstitutional as it discriminated against the majority of the Jewish population that does serve in the military. The justices said the government had to enact new and more just legislation to replace the law when it expires on Aug. 1. Mofaz's decision to leave the coalition came after talks over the new law deadlocked on the number of haredim who would have to be drafted, their age and the enforcement mechanism this would require. Netanyahu said Sunday, "I said six months ago, before the High Court ruling on the Tal Law, that we would introduce a new law that would gradually increase the number of conscripts from both the haredi and Arab communities. We are set to do this now, 64 years on [from Israeli independence], with a very different reality. This will be a historic and realistic change that will be realizable, and not just a maneuver aimed at generating headlines." Ya'alon met on Friday with Avi Dichter, Israel Hasson, Yulia Shamalov Berkovich, Yaakov Edri, Doron Avital and Otniel Schneller of Kadima. Dichter, who ran against Mofaz in the last two party primaries, was one of the most vocal opponents of Mofaz's decision to leave the coalition and has long pushed for Kadima's inclusion in the coalition. After Mofaz took the party out of the coalition, Dichter openly questioned Mofaz's judgment, suggesting that other factors may have been in play other than the impasse over the haredi draft. Dichter associates said the talks with Ya'alon were expected to continue. Army Radio reported Sunday that a move to split the party could come as early as this week, but it was not a foregone conclusion. If the renegade MKs want to split from Kadima to create their own faction, they need at least seven MKs. "Kadima has run its course. Outside forces including [former leader] Tzipi Livni and [former Kadima MK Haim] Ramon have undermined the party," MK Otniel Schneller told an Israeli radio station. Mofaz associates took issue with the Ya'alon talks, with one saying the move "has people scratching their heads." Most of the renegades who attended the meeting said an agreed mechanism was within reach over the issue, although Israel Hasson said that Ya'alon had failed to convince him on the merits of his proposal for haredi conscription, and he had left the meeting with the impression that Kadima's departure was justified. When Mofaz announced his departure from the coalition last week, he insisted that he had left no stone unturned in his effort to strike a compromise with the Likud over the hot-button haredi draft issue. The draft had been one of the three main items on his agenda for joining the coalition in May, just hours before the Knesset was to call early elections. Mofaz's decision to leave the coalition came after talks over the new law became deadlocked over the number of haredim who would have to be drafted, their age and the enforcement mechanism this would require. "Sadly, I have determined that you do not have the willingness, the determination, the courage or the leadership to perform your duty; it is doubtful whether Israel can wait for the required decisions. With your actions, and through your inaction, you have fled the battlefield," Mofaz wrote in a letter addressed to Netanyahu explaining his decision. In his response to Mofaz, Netanyahu wrote that he regretted Mofazs decision to pass up on an opportunity to effect historic change. After 64 years, we were on the cusp of introducing real change in the division of the burden, Netanyahu wrote. I presented you with a proposal that would have led to the conscription of the ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs from the age of 18. I explained to you that the only way to implement this was through a gradual process that would not tear apart Israeli society, particularly in this period, when the State of Israel is facing many momentous challenges. I will continue to work toward the responsible solution that Israeli society expects."
