Bennett says no coalition with Haredi factions: 'Door shut to draft dodgers'
Former PM warns that Israel faces an existential threat from a separate Haredi society and rejects Gadi Eisenkot’s plan to exempt 3% of each draft cohort, saying it would effectively spare nearly a third of eligible Haredi men
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett firmly ruled out any possibility of Haredi parties joining a government he leads, while they insist on legislation allowing exemptions from military service for yeshiva students. This stance came as the United Torah Judaism faction, especially the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael group, expressed interest in coalition talks and supporting a government that would pass such a law.
Bennett, head of the Beyachad party, declared the door closed to anyone who supports draft evasion, emphasizing that it jeopardizes Israel's future. He argued that the Haredi population, constituting 15% of the public, forms a separate and isolated state within Israel, and forming a government that fails to address this "existential problem" is pointless.
Bennett also dismissed a military service proposal by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, which would exempt 3% of each draft cohort to study Torah. He stressed that 3% represents 30% of a Haredi draft cohort, and such a framework is unacceptable.
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