Universal service unites Israel, secures Gaza borders, rejects privilege, and reinforces national resilience against threats.
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman has drawn a sharp line in Israel’s political sand, demanding a binding commitment to a universal and equal Draft Law as a foundation for Israel’s next government.
In a letter sent Saturday night to opposition leaders challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Liberman called for immediate agreement on principles that place Israel’s security, equality, and shared responsibility above sectoral politics.
At the core of the proposal is a simple but uncompromising demand: every Israeli citizen, at age 18, must report for enlistment—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Circassians alike. No symbolic exemptions. No political carve-outs.
Under the plan, only the IDF—not politicians—would decide who serves in military roles and who is directed to civilian service, strictly according to national needs and individual capability. Quotas, targets, and blanket exemptions would be eliminated entirely.
Civilian service would be centralized under the Defense Ministry, cutting out outside NGOs and fragmented bureaucracies that have diluted accountability for years.
The most controversial clause directly confronts chronic draft evasion: those who refuse to serve lose state benefits and institutional funding, enforced through personal and organizational sanctions defined by law.
Liberman’s final principle is absolute: 100% rights and benefits for those who serve, zero for those who evade. He insists this law must be passed in the opening session of the next Knesset, making equality of service a non-negotiable pillar of national policy.
For a country fighting on multiple fronts, Liberman’s message is clear: national survival demands national participation.
