The spiritual leader of the United Torah Judaism party, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, called the worlds eight billion non-Jews murderers, thieves and senseless at a conference held in Beit Shemesh on Wednesday, according to the founder and chairman of the Hiddush religious pluralism organization, Rabbi Uri Regev. Regev issued a statement quoting Shteinman as having said: "Today they say there are eight billion people in the world. And what are they all? Murderers, thieves and senseless. Did God create the world for these murderers? The world was created for the righteous people who study Torah. That is the purpose of creation ... The nations of the world have no redeeming qualities." Regev said the comments were the latest extremist statements by the rabbi. "It is hard to believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the civilian Zionist parties continue to accept parties in the coalition which are guided by hatred of non-Jews, intolerance, and the deligitimization of others," Regev said. In another issue involving the rabbi, ultra-Orthodox leaders intensified their struggle against the drafting of yeshiva students into the Israel Defense Forces on Friday. Shteinman, a leader of the Lithuanian haredim, called on the ultra-Orthodox to begin fasting over recent attempts to replace the Tal Law with a more stringent law that would enforce the draft for all Israeli citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs. The Tal Law was approved in 2002 to encourage ultra-Orthodox men to enlist voluntarily in the Israel Defense Forces, but in reality allowed tens of thousands to avoid serving altogether. In February, Israels politicians were taken by surprise when the law was deemed unconstitutional and annulled by the High Court of Justice. The court instructed the government to draft an alternative to the law, and several parties have already proposed a replacement. After a meeting with IDF reservists who opposed the extension of the Tal Law in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Knesset would discuss the issue of IDF exemptions within six months. "We must bring about a better and more just solution, but avoid tearing apart the nation. We have six months to do this," he said. Before the law was struck down in the High Court, Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested extending the law for one year, during which an alternative proposal would be formulated. Barak said he supported exemption from service for a set number of "Torah prodigies," but that all other ultra-Orthodox youth must take part in military or national service and join the workforce. Other proposals from parties such as Labor and Meretz have called for the drafting of all Israeli citizens, regardless of their religious affiliations or beliefs. In addition to calling for a fast, Shteinman was said to have instructed members of the Ashkenazic ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party to quit the government coalition immediately if a law which would force ultra-Orthodox to enlist for military service was pursued in the Knesset. Earlier this month, a spokesman for the United Torah Judaism party said the party would not send an official representative to the multiparty team assembled by Netanyahu to present alternatives to the controversial law. In a show of support for the position taken by the Ashkenazic factions, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of the Sephardic Shas party, instructed the chairman of the party, Eli Yishai, to boycott the multiparty team as well. MK Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism announced that he would not join the team but would "participate in the discussions from the outside." The team to formulate alternatives to the Tal Law is led by MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) and includes Professors Yedidia Z. Stern and Yafa Zilbershatz of Bar-Ilan University, and Maj. Gen. Avi Zamir, former head of the IDF Personnel Directorate. According to a report by Channel 2 on May 13, one of the proposals being discussed by the team is that every year, one-third of draft-age haredi men will perform military service, one-third will perform national service and one-third will continue to learn full time in yeshivot (religious institutions of study). United Torah Judaism members have said that they will not cooperate with the committee because of the essential problematic issue for haredi Knesset members. One party representative told Israel Hayom, "We will not take part in the activities of a team whose initial goal is to take young men out of yeshiva. It contradicts our basic philosophy. From another point of view, it is clear that not participating in the team will bring about a great deal of criticism and prevent us from having any influence over what the team concludes."