For more than a decade, Knesset member Eliezer Stern has been leading an aggressive campaign against local celebrities who did not serve in the IDF. In recent days, as we approach the Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers and Israel's Independence Day, the loaded public debate is re-ignited in the yearly ritual: should performers who dodged the draft and did not serve in the IDF be permitted to perform in official events? Stern is a most vocal and prominent opponent of this phenomenon.

It began when Stern served as the IDF's chief education officer and prevented singer Eyal Golan from performing for soldiers in 2001. Although Golan had served in the IDF, he wangled an exemption from doing reserve duty. Later on, Stern also waged well publicized struggles against singers Asaf Amdursky, Ben Artzi and Aviv Geffen because they “didn’t do the army” (the popular label for shirking IDF army service) or because they only did partial service. In addition, Stern prevented them from entering the army bases.

As anticipated, the religious Zionist Stern was accused of populistic, fanatical and religious persecution of successful secular performers — a charge that only galvanized Stern’s motivation to give the performers hell in the media and continue to prevent them from setting foot in IDF bases.

Stern, the son of Holocaust survivors, is married to Dorit, who lost her brother in action. Today Stern is a Knesset member representing Tzipi Livni’s HaTenua party, but even as a politician he continues to harass those celebrities who preferred not to don uniforms.