Despite the IDF’s success on the ground, its pace and the pressure of its operations have decreased in recent months, which lengthens the conflict in the north and negatively affects Israel’s international standing, New Hope—The United Right chairman and Minister-without-portfolio MK Gideon Sa’ar argued on Monday during a press conference ahead of his party’s first official meeting after splitting from National Unity last week.
According to Sa’ar, the fact that the main decisions about the war are being made in the small war cabinet instead of the statutory National Security Cabinet is problematic, and he repeated his demand to become a part of the smaller cabinet as well. Sa’ar claimed that when National Unity first joined the government, he was supposed to have been appointed to the cabinet, but he agreed that National Unity Minister-without-portfolio MK Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, take his spot.
“But we should have already been in a different place,” Sa’ar said. We need to act faster, with more forces, and increase the military pressure on Hamas.”
He also argued that the destruction of Hamas’ ruling capabilities was also not proceeding as planned.
“Hamas’ takeover of humanitarian aid meant for civilians strengthens it and undermines the goal,” Sa’ar said.
Threats to quit government
Sa’ar also repeated a statement from earlier this week that if he is not given a seat in the war cabinet, his party will quit the government. Even if it does, according to a clarification by Sa’ar’s spokesperson, it will not call for an election.
Several other party leaders held their press conferences on Monday ahead of their parties’ weekly meetings.
Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman, MK Yair Lapid, criticized what he claimed was the coalition’s “disgraceful” attempt to wiggle its way out of a decision to draft young haredi men into the IDF in order to fill ranks of casualties and meet Israel’s heightened security needs.
“The fact that they again are making up tricks and finagles and delays is not just an affront to our soldiers, it endangers the state of Israel,” Lapid said. The Supreme Court on Sunday gave the government a small extension to March 27 to deliver its response to why it was not drafting haredi men after the law that enabled the exemption expired last June.
“If they care about security, they must tell the haredi parties and friends that there are no more games. You need to internalize that you are done getting without giving. Whoever does not enlist will not receive even one worn-out agora [the equivalent of a penny],” Lapid added.
Yisrael Beytenu Avigdor Liberman also addressed the haredi draft issue in his press conference. Liberman argued that it was no longer possible to talk about quotas for haredi men to enlist in the IDF every year, and that it was time for a law that every 18-year-old will serve for three years, after which “they will do whatever they want,” Liberman said.
Talks between haredi parties, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Netanyahu have been ongoing over the past few weeks in order to find a way to solve the current haredi draft crisis. The crisis began after the government announced last month its plan to extend mandatory and reserve duties for current soldiers, but without recruiting soldiers from a broader pool of candidates, such as haredim, in order to lessen the burden on those who are already serving.
The crisis also coincided with a court case against the haredi exemption that is currently underway in Israel’s Supreme Court. The previous law that enabled haredi exemption officially expired at the end of June 2023, and the government decided that it would pass a new law by the end of March 2024. However, with that date nearing, the government does not seem close to solving the issue, and it is likely to request other extensions until the end of June. Government funding for yeshiva students also stems from the law that expired, and thus, if no solution is found on time, haredi men may no longer be legally entitled to an exemption, and yeshivot may lose their funding.
Yisrael Hayom reported on Monday evening that one of the possible solutions was to raise the age of exemption for haredi men from its current 26 to somewhere between 35 and 40. This means that haredi men who leave their yeshiva before that age would need to serve in the IDF. The idea is that this will allow whoever wants to study full time to continue doing so, but on the other hand, will disincentivize haredim who are not interested in studying from using their yeshiva student status as a cover to avoid IDF service. Haredi men who are yeshiva students cannot legally work.
Some ministers, such as Smotrich, thought prior to October 7 that the age of exemption should be lowered to as low as 21 in order to enable haredi men to join the workforce earlier, without having to do IDF service first. The new idea to do the opposite and actually increase the age of exemption would be a significant conceptual shift.
