Margi Says Those Not Studying Torah Should Enlist, Rebukes Anti-Draft Slogan

Shas MK Yaakov Margi said Tuesday that anyone not studying Torah should enlist, during an interview on the dispute over the Torah Study Basic Law and Haredi conscription. He said that if the decision were his, the law would not be needed and all those not learning would be drafted, while 6,000 recruits currently needed by the IDF should be enlisted immediately. Margi said the law was meant to signal judges to consider Torah study and that a solution would not come from rabbinic or political leadership. Addressing protesters who chant “we will die rather than enlist,” he replied that if they did not want to enlist, they should die.