Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party has introduced a bill that aims to prevent citizens who did not complete their IDF service from running for the Knesset in the next elections.
Ynet learned that Knesset Member Moshe Matalon submitted the proposal on Tuesday. According to the bill, Israelis who did not serve in the IDF or complete the National Service program will not be able to run for Knesset. If passed, the bill would essentially mean that the haredi and Arab parties would be dissolved. Yisrael Beiteinu realizes it will be difficult to pass the bill into law.
"An Israeli citizen will be able to be elected to the Knesset if he has completed army, national or civil service," the proposal states – meaning those who enlisted in the IDF but did not complete their service will not be permitted to run for Knesset, unless the reason for their early discharge was "justified."
The proposal falls into the category of the controversial "citizenship-loyalty bills" promoted by Yisrael Beiteinu. The introduction of the current proposal is another indication of the tension between the various factions that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.
"Serving the country is part of the Israeli ethos," Matalon explained. It cannot be that people who did not serve their country will sit in the Israeli Knesset. Knesset members are supposed to be role models."
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