Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman moved quickly to capitalize on Wednesday's political upheaval inside the Religious Zionism party, issuing a direct appeal to national-religious voters and declaring, "Religious Zionism opposes draft-dodging, and religious Zionism votes Liberman."
The appeal came in direct response to the dramatic resignation of Minister Ofir Sofer from Bezalel Smotrich's party, a decision that has landed amid mounting anger within large segments of the national-religious community, many of whom serve in the military and reserves and feel their Knesset representatives have abandoned the principle of equal service burden in the middle of the war.
Internal Turmoil and the Risk of Fracture
The backdrop to Liberman's move is Sofer's announcement that he is leaving the party, a dramatic decision reached after the party's stance against drafting Haredi men into the army and its support for legislation cementing their exemption from service. Sofer, who has represented a hardline position on burden-sharing, made clear to associates that he could no longer accept the policy direction Religious Zionism has taken on the issue.
Alongside Sofer's resounding departure, Religious Zionism is contending with a second deep internal crisis. MK Moshe Solomon will reportedly also not run on the party's list in the next election. Solomon's apparent decision likewise stems from internal anger and deep frustration over the party's support for the Torah study Basic Law recently passed in the Knesset, a move that drew harsh criticism from the national-religious public serving in both reserve and standing military duty.
