Bnei Brak mayor refuses to meet IDF manpower chief

Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Manpower Directorate, and the first woman to attain such a high rank in the army, was supposed to visit the predominantly ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak on Tuesday, but the visit was recently cancelled over fear of sparking anti-enlistment protests by haredim.

Barbivai was scheduled to meet with municipal officials and tour yeshivas in the city in order to encourage haredi enlistment in the IDF.

IDF officials on Monday did not deny on Monday the possibility that internal haredi politics played a role in the cancellation of Barbivai's visit.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that Barbivai's visit was cancelled at the request of the Bnei Brak municipality.

The Bnei Brak municipality said that the mayor had prior commitments that prevented him from meeting with Barbivai on Tuesday and had offered to postpone the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday night to freeze the decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Sunday approving the extension of the military service exemption for 1,300 haredi men of army age, allowing them to perform national service instead. The petition argued that it was not clear whether the defense minister had the authority to grant such exemptions following the expiration of the Tal Law last August.

Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid also filed an appeal earlier with the High Court of Justice earlier on Monday against the cabinet decision.

Also on Monday, a group of reservists that has led a national campaign for universal conscription re-established the Suckers' Camp in Tel Aviv near the Arlozorov train station.

Hatnuah Chairwoman Tzipi Livni visited the site on Monday and said that the government was violating the Israeli public's trust by continuing to exempt haredim from military service.

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