After consultations
Smotrich: Religious Zionist Party Will Support Draft Law
Finance Minister announced that the party will support controversial bill after some representatives expressed doubts. Faction held discussions with senior rabbis before deciding.
The Religious Zionist Party is poised to support the government’s proposed draft law granting broad exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox sector, following an internal debate and consultations with prominent rabbis from the movement. The position marks a significant step toward securing the coalition’s majority for the legislation, though party officials stressed that they will continue seeking amendments.
The closed-door meeting, held Tuesday night, brought together the party’s MKs and a wide forum of senior rabbis who were invited to assess the implications of the proposal. The discussion came amid intense public criticism from parts of the national-religious community, who argue that the bill fails to ensure meaningful enlistment of Haredim into the IDF.
Among the rabbis attending were Rabbi Chaim Ganz, Rabbi Hananel Etrog, Rabbi Shimon Cohen, Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, Rabbi Chaim Wolfson, Rabbi Binyamin (Benny) Blumenthal, Rabbi Yaakov Medan, Rabbi Yoel Manovich, Rabbi Eyal Greiner, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, Rabbi Yehuda Sadan, Rabbi Shmuel Haber, and Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald.
According to the party’s statement, the meeting focused on “examining ways to advance legislation that will lead to significant Haredi enlistment,” considering the controversy surrounding the current draft. Opinions varied sharply. Some rabbis warned that the bill would not achieve real enlistment targets, while others cautioned that rejecting the legislation outright could damage the party’s credibility, particularly after previous tensions over unfulfilled promises to hesder yeshivot.
By the end of the meeting, a general consensus emerged in favor of supporting the law in principle while working to revise it. Party leader Bezalel Smotrich adopted the rabbis’ position and instructed the faction to continue negotiating improvements.
The party said it intends to push for changes ensuring the law includes “practical and effective steps” to increase Haredi enlistment without undermining core values or harming the national-religious community, which already bears a significant share of military service.
The government is expected to bring the draft law to upcoming votes, viewing the Religious Zionist Party’s support as essential for its passage.