Netanyahu’s zigzag: The weekend persuasion campaign over the bill exempting yeshiva students from military draft began with a mapping effort. Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz called coalition lawmakers and drew up a list of those firmly opposed to the draft law and those still wavering. Those who might support it with reservations will be summoned to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a round of persuasion and pressure.
Netanyahu is trying to contain the Haredi parties’ effort to move up the dissolution of the Knesset, while continuing to zigzag in ways that make the rationale behind his political maneuvers difficult to follow. After saying earlier in the term that the draft exemption law was “historic,” then shelving it, and recently telling the Haredim he lacked a majority to advance it at the end of the term, he is now, following Degel HaTorah faction’s declaration that “there is no longer a bloc,” trying to pass it with full force.
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Netanyahu and the leaders of the Haredi parties
(Photos: Yair Sagi, Reuven Castro, Amit Shaavi, AFP, Alex Kolomoisky, Yoav Dudkevich, AP)
The prime minister is trying to persuade opposing lawmakers to pass the draft exemption law so that even if a bill to dissolve the Knesset passes a preliminary reading Wednesday, he can convince the Haredi parties to delay its further advancement.
“All the wavering lawmakers will make a pilgrimage to Netanyahu. He will apply the familiar pressure — say the bloc is in danger and raise security issues as well. If there is a majority, the bill may come up,” a coalition source said Friday.
At the same time, the draft exemption bill is returning to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which will hold a discussion Wednesday to advance it toward a final vote, alongside a debate on extending mandatory military service. The exemption bill still requires two or three more committee meetings before it can be brought to the plenum.
The rationale behind Netanyahu’s move is unclear, since a week ago he believed he did not have a majority, and the assessment now is that the situation has not changed. Coalition efforts are focused on wavering lawmakers, with the understanding that Knesset lawmakers Yuli Edelstein, Sharren Haskel, Dan Illouz and Ofir Sofer cannot be persuaded to support the bill. Add to those four opponents Yitzhak Goldknopf and Yaakov Tessler, who also oppose the bill, and the coalition is left with 62 lawmakers, several of them wavering, and a high likelihood that it lacks a majority.
The prevailing interpretation is that Netanyahu is deeply concerned about the bloc breaking apart before the election. “He thinks that if the Haredim do not get a draft law, the bloc will head into the election divided, without a blocking bloc against the opposition,” a senior source said Friday.
At the same time, that argument does not square with the understanding that the current efforts are also expected to fail. The clear conclusion is that Netanyahu believes the issue of equal military burden does not damage his supporters’ motivation to vote for him. Bottom line: Netanyahu is once again choosing to plead with the Haredim at the expense of those who serve.
Pleading at the expense of those who serve
A senior Haredi party official said: “The prime minister is now making serious mistakes. He knows he does not have a majority to pass the draft law. He is only angering the Haredim more, and the price will be harder. He should lower his head and accept the election date the Haredim are asking for.” The official also claimed that “the people close to him are bringing him down.”
United Torah Judaism sent a sharp message to the prime minister, saying Netanyahu’s room for maneuver had narrowed to zero and that the era in which political tricks and displays of persuasion were enough was over. Degel HaTorah has already said it will vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset.
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Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni confers with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokesperson)
Netanyahu’s circle is working intensively to appease the Haredim, especially after remarks by Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of Degel HaTorah, who instructed the party’s lawmakers to support dissolving the Knesset. Netanyahu fears United Torah Judaism, and especially Degel HaTorah Chairman Moshe Gafni, are moving away from the bloc, and he is investing significant effort in an issue he sees as endangering his alliance with the Haredim.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to revisit the draft exemption bill. “Netanyahu knows he is facing defeat in the election and will do everything to gain a few more days in the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said. “His attempt to sell out Israel’s security and try to pass a draft-dodging law is another betrayal of IDF soldiers and reservists.”