Premier Moshe Sharett is prepared to alleviate conditions of service for Orthodox women drafted for non-military national duty, he indicated in a letter to Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog, which was made public here today. He made similar statements last night in a conference with Rabbi I. M. Levin, Agudas Israel leader and member of the Knesset.
The regulations governing implementation of the national service law for Orthodox women were ready last week, but were held up by a request from the Premier for reconsideration. According to the letter to Chief Rabbi Herzog, the Orthodox young women will not be required to stay away from home over night. In the case of women who chose service in agricultural settlements, they will be assigned to religious settlements. Also, the letter said, requests for exemptions from service on conscientious grounds will be “interpreted liberally.”
A spokesman for the Agudas Israel today said that the Orthodox party would not appeal to the United Nations on this dispute. The spokesman said that the dispute would be settled among the Jews and no appeal will be made to the outside world.
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.
