Could there have been anything more typical than Channel 2 journalist Amit Segal's report that Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein is pushing to delay a vote on the findings of the Peri committee? The coalition is boiling, the streets are blocked by demonstrators, but Weinstein is saying that he needs more time to formulate his legal position. This may be understandable, but as of now committee chairman Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri is opposed to a delay, which is also an appropriate position to have. It would be proper for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push the process along. The time for talk has ended. Now is the time for action. Weinstein isn't alone. Avigdor Lieberman is conditioning haredi enlistment on Arab participation in national service, which is a justified demand. The total exemption enjoyed by young Israeli Arabs gives them an advantage over their Jewish counterparts and must be ended. But if there is a reasonable way to solve the haredi enlistment issue, why should that be blocked by the failure to include the Arab sector? The Arab issue should also be dealt with, but Yisrael Beytenu is using it to woo the haredim by thwarting their enlistment. Habayit Hayehudi is also trapped. Extending the length of service of hesder yeshiva students is necessary. It would not be fitting for a man of values like Uri Ariel to come out against a such a measure. And what about Likud? Why is it not standing alongside its voters who send their children and grandchildren to serve in the Israel Defense Forces? Netanyahu's silence clouds the situation. While the Peri committee report is a step in the right direction, it has several visible flaws. The attempt to include the shortening of service for regular IDF soldiers appears as electoral bribery. But if the IDF can shorten mandatory service, even in light of the worsening regional threats, this would be a proper move, regardless of the haredim. It's clear that, given the Israeli reality, there will be a core of Torah learners exempt from enlistment. Peri recommended 1,800. Why this number exactly? It seems that members of the Peri committee didn't do any independent, outside-the-box thinking. The IDF should treat Torah learners like it does talented soccer players and musicians, who enlist in the army within a framework that enables them to continue their activities. Torah learners should enlist, receive a military salary and be allowed to continue to study. This would be original and challenging. It would be preferable to stop allowances for yeshivas. Only yeshivas that can prove that everything within their walls is conducted to the letter of the law should receive money. That would be different from the current system, under which yeshivas receive allowances first and cancellations of these funds are considered only later. At the same time, there would be no need to criminally punish draft evaders. Delaying haredi enlistment for three years is unnecessary. It must start now. It should not be left for the next Knesset. Without addressing these flaws, the well-intentioned Peri committee will have only partial success.
