Breaking: Haredi Parties Rejected Center-Left Conscription Deal Two Years Ago
A new report reveals that Haredi leaders rejected a "comfortable" Conscription Law deal offered by the Center-Left bloc two years ago, choosing instead to remain loyal to Benjamin Netanyahu.
As the Haredi leadership moves to dismantle the current government over the failed Conscription Law, a new report by Kikar HaShabbat reveals that a more favorable legislative solution was offered to them two years ago by the Center-Left bloc and was rejected out of hand.
The revelation comes on the heels of a dramatic order by Rabbi Dov Lando, the leader of the Lithuanian Haredi community, for the Degel HaTorah party to dissolve the Knesset due to a total lack of trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Secret Offer
According to sources familiar with the matter, secret meetings took place approximately two years ago between senior members of Degel HaTorah, including MK Moshe Gafni and representatives of the Gur Hasidic dynasty, and high-ranking officials from the Center-Left bloc.
During these discussions, the opposition offered a clear commitment: if the Haredi parties would break from Netanyahu and join their bloc, they would help pass a version of the Conscription Law that was significantly more "comfortable and beneficial" for the Haredi public than the one proposed by Likud.
"Through Fire and Water"
Despite the potentially favorable terms, the Haredi leadership reportedly gave a definitive refusal at the time, stating, "We will go with Netanyahu through fire and water." Shas officials similarly signaled that they would follow Degel HaTorah’s lead in maintaining the right-wing alliance.
A Failed Gamble?
Two years later, that loyalty appears to have backfired. Haredi lawmakers now privately admit that a Conscription Law will not pass in the current Knesset term. With the "fire and water" alliance now in ashes, political analysts suggest the current crisis, which threatens to trigger early elections, could have been avoided had the Haredi factions accepted the Center-Left's earlier overtures.
As military police arrests of yeshiva students continue and no legal solution is in sight, the decision to reject the 2024 offer is being viewed by some as a major strategic failure by the Haredi political leadership.