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Coalition parties Jewish Home and Yesh Atid yesterday clashed over a bill which aims to create a more equitable military draft system, including mandatory enlistment for the vast majority of ultra-Orthodox students.

The bill, which was drafted by a ministerial committee headed by Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri of Yesh Atid, passed a first Knesset reading in July. The proposed legislation requires that all but 1,800 full-time ultra-Orthodox seminary students be required to enlist in either the IDF or civilian national service once they reach the age of 21. Failure to do so will result in imprisonment.

The Knesset’s Committee for Sharing the Burden, headed by Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked is working to refine the proposed legislation. However, a loophole in the bill apparently allows for ultra-Orthodox students to enlist up to the age of 26 and Jewish Home is keen to keep this provision in the bill. In practice, the IDF is expected to reject many ultra-Orthodox 26-year-olds, who are likely to be married with families, making their enlistment particularly expensive. Yesh Atid faction head, MK Ofer Shelah yesterday said that the stipulation “contradicts the meaning of the bill. What kind of equality is this? This cannot be and it won’t work.”

Jewish Home is apparently also keen to remove the clauses in the bill which allow for criminal sanctions against those ultra-Orthodox students who meet the relevant criteria but refuse to enlist. Elements in the party believe that enlistment targets should instead be set as threats are unlikely to encourage ultra-Orthodox enlistment.

Jewish Home and Yesh Atid became unlikely allies during coalition talks following January’s election and party leaders Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett forged a close relationship. According to the Jerusalem Post, both parties are keen to play down any talk of a coalition crisis over the bill and are confident that they agree on the basic tenets of the proposed legislation.