Haredi party threatens to leave gov’t if new IDF Draft Law isn’t approved before next state budget

Overshadowed by active ground fighting on two fronts, the political battles over the approval of a new IDF Draft Law continue unabated and threaten the stability of the government.

On Tuesday, Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf warned that his United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party would withdraw from the government unless a new draft law was passed before next year’s state budget is approved.

“Without a doubt, the conscription law will pass before the budget is approved by the government, and even before that. If it doesn't happen, we won't be in the government,” Goldknopf said in a wide-ranging interview with Makor Rishon.

However, he also signaled flexibility on hardline Haredi positions, saying he would support recruiting ultra-Orthodox youth who are not actively studying Torah in yeshiva.

“Those who are not in the army and work - let them be recruited, it is not our concern,” he said. “Our law does not protect those who do not study Torah.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly issued a directive that a state budget for next year be approved until the end of November. However, the IDF Draft Law bill is currently stuck in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Its chairman, Likud party MK Yuli Edelstein said he will only allow the bill to pass if a “broad consensus” among Knesset Members is reached. Last week, Edelstein said the bill will not fully satisfy either side but will be a “good law” that will provide additional necessary manpower for the IDF.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has set another hurdle for the bill, as he also demands a broad consensus, as well as certain stipulations for security needs.

However, Makor Rishon cited a senior government official saying that either “Gallant will align” with Netanyahu’s instructions, “or move,” meaning he will be replaced, most likely by Gideon Sa’ar, who recently rejoined the government.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu has assured ultra-Orthodox parties that a new IDF draft law would include broad exemptions for Haredi men, despite a High Court ruling in June that deemed the current exemptions illegal and ordered the government to begin recruiting Haredi men into the army.

Goldknopf’s threat to leave the government was criticized from both sides of the aisle.

Likud member and Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer sent a protest letter to Netanyahu stating that Goldknopf’s remarks "do not align with the current national sentiment regarding the importance of IDF service."

“For the past year, we have been visiting the cemeteries and families of the fallen every week, visiting the hospitals and rehabilitation centers, and experiencing the strength of the spirit… In this context, things take on new validity,” Sofer wrote, emphasizing that many religious men have lost their lives in the fighting.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also slammed Goldknopf, who he said wants to insist on “legalizing the evasion [of army service] of his constituents,” in the face of about 750 dead and more than 1,000 wounded soldiers over the past year.

“If the coalition will let him do this, what will they say to those who were wounded in the battles for the defense of the homeland? What will they say to those whose children were killed? How will they justify themselves?” Lapid asked.

Israeli media reports suggest that negotiations between Edelstein and the Haredi parties are advancing, with an agreement on the precise wording of the new bill reportedly nearing completion.

The bill will need the green-light from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee before being approved in a second and third reading in the Knesset plenum.