Agudat Yisrael figure and senior Gerrer Hasidic leader Moti Babchik criticized the lack of coordination among haredi parties, saying that a unified approach could have led to different results.
In an interview Monday morning with Kol Chai Radio, Babchik addressed the growing tensions within the haredi factions, the dispute over the draft law, and the legislation freezing arrests.
At the start of the interview, Babchik said that Gerrer Hasidim would hold a protest rally this evening outside Prison 10, following the arrest of a yeshiva student from the community who failed to report for his military draft summons.
According to Babchik, the rally is expected to be attended by the Gerrer Rebbe along with thousands of participants, following a previous demonstration that he estimated drew around 20,000 people.
Babchik later rejected claims by Shas MK Yinon Azoulay, who suggested that elements within Agudat Yisrael were working against advancing draft legislation.
He clarified that since the beginning of the current Knesset term, he had worked alongside representatives of Shas and Degel HaTorah in discussions with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but stressed that his firm position remained opposed to imposing sanctions on Torah scholars.
According to Babchik, when discussions continued without his involvement, he approached former Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein directly and conveyed the red lines set by the leadership of the Gerrer Hasidic movement. "I told him that I do not know what others agreed to, but I made clear what the position of the Gerrer Rebbe was," he said.
Regarding the law freezing arrests, Babchik acknowledged that he believed the legislation was unconstitutional and likely would not withstand Supreme Court review. However, he explained that haredi lawmakers supported it in the Knesset because they faced political constraints in voting against a bill presented as preventing arrests.
Babchik also criticized the lack of coordination between the haredi parties, saying: "If everyone had sat around one table and moved forward with a unified position, we could have achieved different results."