Senior Haredi lawmakers reportedly turned down a political proposal two years ago that may have offered a pathway to resolving Israel’s long-running military draft dispute, according to new information emerging amid the current coalition crisis.
Kikar Hashabat reported that at a tense meeting of the Degel HaTorah faction on Wednesday, spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando instructed party lawmakers to advance efforts to dissolve the Knesset, citing the ongoing failure to pass a new conscription law. The move underscores growing instability in the coalition and signals a breakdown in the longstanding alliance between ultra-Orthodox parties and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Degel HaTorah and Shas have recently intensified their warnings that they may support early elections, arguing that Netanyahu has been unable to deliver a law that secures exemptions for yeshiva students.
However, according to sources familiar with the matter, senior figures in Degel HaTorah-including MK Moshe Gafni-alongside representatives of the Gur Hasidic faction, held discreet talks approximately two years ago with senior officials from Israel’s center-left bloc. During those discussions, the Haredi representatives were allegedly offered a political arrangement in which, if they aligned with the center-left in elections, they would receive backing for a more favorable draft exemption law than what is currently being negotiated.
Despite the proposal, Haredi leaders reportedly rejected it outright, declaring their commitment to Netanyahu as unwavering.
Shas, for its part, is said to have indicated at the time that it would follow Degel HaTorah’s political decisions.
Now, after years of delays and failed legislative efforts, Haredi parties themselves acknowledge that a draft law is unlikely to pass in the current term, raising the prospect of renewed political upheaval.