Ultra-Orthodox parties continue to grapple with IDF draft proposal, leaving coalition in limbo

The latest proposal for a new IDF draft law continues to create rifts among the different ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) factions, leaving the fate of the law, as well as the coalition, uncertain.

Rifts have developed between the three Haredi factions that represent different constituencies: The Sephardic Shas Party, and the two parts of the Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, the “Lithuanian” Degel HaTorah and the “Hasidic” Agudat Yisrael.

UTJ left the coalition over the draft law dispute, while Shas abandoned all its ministries and posts and joined a boycott on coalition votes in the Knesset, but didn’t quit the coalition officially so as not to collapse the government.

Meanwhile, they instituted a boycott of all coalition votes, meaning it doesn’t have a majority for any legislation in the Knesset.

All three factions have their own committees of rabbis who make the decisions before issuing instructions to their politicians.

Haredi journalist Yishai Cohen explained that the Agudat Yisrael faction is currently the main group opposing the current draft for being too stringent, while several lawmakers in other coalition parties oppose it for being too lenient.

“I tried to make a list of who’s for and who’s against… We’re getting close to the edge, and Yuli [Edelstein] claims there are at least two more MKs expected to vote against this law… From what I’m hearing in the prime minister’s conversations, he says he’ll manage to bring a majority,” Cohen told Radio 103FM.

Goldknopf and Tesler are two senior members of the Agudat Yisrael faction, whose “Council of Torah Sages,” a committee of senior rabbis, has yet to greenlight the proposal drafted by Likud MK and chairman of the Defense Committee, Boaz Bismuth.

A senior Agudah official told Maariv: “Just as Degel HaTorah wasn’t bound by the decisions of our council, we’re not bound by theirs. After Degel makes its decision, we’ll start our own deliberations – but make no mistake: we’re not obligated by anyone else’s decisions. If we believe it’s the right path, we’ll oppose Bismuth’s proposal as well.”

Israel Hayom reported that the draft was presented to Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the two senior rabbis in Agudat Yisrael, and that he expressed “a certain degree of satisfaction” about the wording.

Meanwhile, new opposition is also coming from within the Shas Party, which is generally seen as the most lenient on issues of military enlistment.

Speaking with 103FM, Cohen explained that recently leaked recordings showed Shas Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef is worried the law could affect the Sephardic Haredis more than the others.

“We hear Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, asking about Bismuth’s draft law, which includes recruitment targets: ‘Who will meet those targets? Who are the 10,000 Haredim who will be drafted? – the Sephardi Haredim.’ That’s what worries him.”

“He wants a guarantee that recruits will come from all streams of Haredi society,” Cohen said.

According to Ynet News, the Haredi lawmakers, particularly those from Agudat Yisrael, are still trying to “sell” the new draft law to their rabbis, who generally have followed a much harsher course.

They have reportedly pointed out that the law will enable the Haredi leadership to claim that the recruitment goals have been reached without actually sending tens of thousands of Haredi men into the ranks of the IDF.

For example, the law would classify anyone who studied in a yeshiva for at least two years between the ages of 14 and 18 as Haredi, meaning that those who have since left the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle would be included under this definition.

The yeshivas (religious schools) would also be able to create their own definitions of who counts among their students, and the status of yeshiva students would automatically be formally recognized, ending the issuance of draft or arrest orders to them.

Bismuth reportedly wants the green light from all faction leaders before he officially presents the law in the defense committee, in order to prevent further discussions with the Haredi parties down the road.

According to Israel Hayom, some in the coalition are optimistic that Rabbi Hirsch and Agudat Yisrael will soon approve the draft, possibly enabling the return of the Haredi parties to the coalition, thereby ending the vote boycott, as early as next week.