Amid a conscription crisis that threatens to bring down his government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein on Wednesday.
Edelstein is among the Likud lawmakers who insist that some Haredim perform national service under any new conscription law, and that draft dodgers face legal sanctions.
During the meeting, “it was clarified that there is a way to bridge the gaps on the issue of conscription,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office. The statement added that the premier scheduled a meeting for Thursday afternoon with Edelstein, former Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Atias of Shas, who is coordinating Haredi recruitment negotiations, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs “to advance the solution.”
The Haredi coalition partners—Shas (11 Knesset members) and United Torah Judaism (seven Knesset members)—are considering leaving the government over stalled legislation for military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men.
They are threatening to support an opposition-led motion to dissolve the parliament if an exemption bill is not passed immediately.
Passing an exemption during a war when many IDF combat reservists have served hundreds of days would trigger considerable opposition from within the coalition and among its supporters, as well as protests by its opponents.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has resulted in hundreds of Israeli military casualties and placed a major financial strain on thousands of reservists and the economy at large.
The opposition, led by Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, has submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset, with a preliminary vote expected next week. If a “constructive vote of no confidence” passes, where there is a positive majority for a prospective successor, it would trigger an early election.
