The Israel Cabinet today approved a draft bill providing compulsory national service for women, an issue over which several Cabinet crises developed, the Agudah parties quit the government coalition and several public storms broke out in Israel and abroad.
The bill calls for compulsory national service for those young women who are released from military service because of their religious convictions. Previous experience has shown that the number of such women will not exceed 2,000 to 2,200 annually.
The measure provides that when a girl is discharged from military service by her recruiting committee she becomes liable to 24 months of national service in an immigrant work village, social welfare institution, hospital, school, kindergarten or other educational institution or in an agricultural settlement or institution — provided the agricultural institution or settlement is under the auspices of one of the religious parties. In the event that she is sent to such a settlement or institution, an attempt will be made to station her as near home as possible, thereby permitting her to sleep at home after her day’s work.
During service hours Orthodox girls will be served kosher food, as is the whole army. Administration of the law will be in the hands of the Labor Ministry, but the Ministry of Defense will have the power to exempt from all types of service any girl who can satisfy the Defense authorities that she and her family hold religious views which prohibit state service.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
