\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe IDF needs, more than ever, additional soldiers to carry the heavy burden of defending the state,\u201d the letter said, arguing that mandatory service reflects Israel\u2019s \u201cshared destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over 60 mayors and local council heads urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Boaz Bismuth to stop the advancement of the latest IDF haredi draft bill<\/a>, in a Monday letter.<\/p>\n The initiative followed the tabling of the newest draft, which the signatories say will deepen social divides and damage public trust. The letter calls the proposal \u201ca severe blow to mutual responsibility,\u201d and warns that it endangers societal cohesion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IDF needs, more than ever, additional soldiers to carry the heavy burden of defending the state,\u201d the letter said, arguing that mandatory service reflects Israel\u2019s \u201cshared destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n The heads of authorities warned that when some bear the burden, and others are exempt, both security and the sense of mutual responsibility suffer.<\/p>\n The municipal leaders wrote that the current outline \u201chas neither equality nor solidarity,\u201d calling it a danger to Israel\u2019s social fabric that would \u201cdeepen the rift between citizens and state institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n