The Knesset and the government have not done enough to combat IDF service evasion and draft-dodging, IDF Human Resources head Maj.-Gen. Elazar Stern said on Monday.
During a visit to the army's central recruitment base, Stern said Israel would need a strong, deterring army for years to come, and regulations must be put in place to deal with this issue, including exempting released soldiers - especially combat soldiers - from paying university tuition fees.
Stern added that celebrities who avoid serving do not deserve their "idol" status and that nowadays, anyone with a good doctor could get out of army service.
In response, MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor) said that Stern had betrayed his post by remaining silent in the face of the mass draft-dodging that the Tal Law made possible.
Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan also criticized Stern over the Tal Law, saying that the person who made it legitimate for yeshiva students not to serve was to blame.
However, Shas MK Yitzhak Cohen lamented a lack of unity, saying that there was evasion outside of the IDF and inside the IDF, and that it was a shame that the words of an IDF general on the eve of Tisha Be'av should serve as fodder for divisiveness, rather than ahavat hinam (unconditional love) and bringing people together.
During the past few days, the IDF's Human Resources Department has been making arrangements for dealing with teenagers who insist on serving in specific fighting units while the Ground Forces Command requires more soldiers for the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps and Artillery Corps.
IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi decided to allow harsher punishment for those who refuse to serve where they are assigned.
"The youth will not dictate to us where they serve," said Ashkenazi.
