Ofer Winter's Party Proposes Doubling Combat Soldier Pay, Halving Haredi Draft Exemption

The 'Amcha Israel' party, led by retired Brigadier General Ofer Winter, unveiled its "Servicemembers' Plan" on Sunday, aiming to overhaul the conscription and compensation model for those serving in the IDF and national service. A central tenet of the plan is to limit the number of yeshiva students recognized as Torah scholars to 25% of the annual Haredi conscription cohort, effectively requiring at least 75% of this group to serve, contingent on security needs.

The proposal is built on three pillars: legislation and compensation for servicemembers, establishing tailored service frameworks within the IDF, and oversight by the Ministry of Defense of religious study programs. The party's guiding principle is "give and receive; don't give, don't receive," linking state benefits to the extent of contribution and service.

Under the plan, every citizen of conscription age would need to register for one of three tracks: IDF service, national-civilian service, or study in a recognized and supervised religious program. The party also advocates for a significant increase in compensation for servicemembers, proposing to double the pay for combat soldiers towards the end of their service. Specialized IDF units would be created to accommodate Haredi recruits, with accompanying support systems for them and their families.

The party intends to advance this legislation as a unified and binding framework before the formation of the next government, to be later enshrined in coalition agreements and the state budget. The Defense Minister would be responsible for setting criteria and oversight mechanisms, reporting to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee semi-annually on compliance.

The plan was co-developed by Winter, Lali Darai (mother of fallen soldier Saadia Yaakov Darai), and Aviv Ezra (reservist fighter and founder of the 'Dor HaNitzachon' movement). Winter has prior experience establishing service frameworks for Haredi soldiers, while Ezra has promoted benefits for reservists and the "Reservist Tag" initiative.

Winter's proposal sets a higher bar than the draft outline previously promoted by Knesset Member Boaz Bismuth, which envisioned a gradual increase in Haredi conscription targets to about half the cohort over several years. 'Amcha Israel' also commits to advancing its framework immediately upon the establishment of the next Knesset and government, and includes provisions for doubling combat soldier pay and establishing support for Haredi recruits and their families.