Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heard in newly released recordings admitting that he effectively removed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in order to push forward legislation aimed at exempting ultra-Orthodox Israelis from military service. The comments were revealed Wednesday evening in a report aired by Channel 13.
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From left, Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu and Herzi Halevi
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In a private conversation with a senior rabbi, Netanyahu is heard saying: “We need to save not only the State of Israel, but also the Torah world—and that is something I deeply believe in. With God’s help, that is what we will do. To achieve this, we need time to pass the law properly, in a way that cannot be challenged. We had enormous obstacles that we removed. You know, when the defense minister is against you and the chief of staff is against you, you can’t move forward. Now we can move forward.”
Netanyahu further told the rabbi: “I personally spoke about 20 times with Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. I told him, ‘Look, I’m personally taking command of this. I want you to hold more discussions.’ And he started doing that.”
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The prime minister continued: “There are people trying to undermine us. The army is now doing exactly what we asked of it—creating pathways, enabling the military to absorb ultra-Orthodox recruits while preserving a Haredi lifestyle. It’s amazing what’s being done, so that people enter the army as Haredim and leave as Haredim. We don’t want them to enter Haredi and leave secular. In fact, because we replaced the chief of staff and the defense minister—who had blocked this throughout the entire period—we can now move forward with greater security and professionalism.”
The recordings are released amid growing tensions between coalition partners and public scrutiny over unequal service obligations.