Former prime minister Naftali Bennett said he would not allow Haredi parties to join a government under his leadership as long as they support legislation granting military service exemptions to yeshiva students.
His remarks came as United Torah Judaism, particularly the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction, has signaled openness to coalition negotiations and joining any government willing to pass such a law.
(Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images, Alex Kolomoisky, Moti Kimchi, Marc Israel Salem)
“The door is locked to anyone who supports draft evasion,” Bennett, chairman of the Beyachad party, told Kikar HaShabbat.
He said the issue posed a fundamental threat to Israel’s future.
“The most serious problem threatening the future of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel is the fact that 15% of the public already lives within a separate and disconnected Haredi state,” Bennett said. “There is no point in forming a government that will not solve this existential problem. If we do not deal with it now, it will never happen.”
Bennett also criticized a military service proposal put forward by Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot, under which 3% of each annual draft cohort would be exempted from service to study Torah.
“There will be no exception on this issue,” Bennett said. “Three percent is 30% of a Haredi draft cohort. There will be no frameworks and no allocations.”
He added: “Gadi spoke about 30%. There are 12,000 Haredim in each cohort, so I understand that he is talking about exempting 30% of the Haredim in every cohort. I think that is a crazy mistake.”
Bennett argued that Haredi political leaders would exploit such a framework.
“Gafni and Deri will once again twist the arm of the politician of the moment, and it will end with nothing,” he said. “The proof is four years of Haredi rule.”
United Torah Judaism representatives have repeatedly said in recent weeks that they are not committed to the political bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“There is no discussion of a bloc,” MK Yaakov Asher said. “We are in the bloc of the Torah world, and we will go with whoever meets our demands on this issue.”