Charedi Parties Consider Boycotting Knesset Votes Over Draft

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Senior members of the charedi parties are demanding a tougher stance to promote a draft law and regulate the status of yeshiva students. In the coming week, the heads of the charedi factions are expected to convene to make decisions and consult with their spiritual leadership about how they will respond to the ongoing dispute over the law, which has undergone several revisions and is currently unacceptable to charedi leaders.

Kikar HaShabbat reports that one of the faction leaders raised the idea of boycotting all Knesset votes, even at the cost of letting the opposition win votes. Two Knesset members supported the proposal.

It should be noted that boycotting all plenum votes would cause the coalition to lose its majority, potentially enabling the opposition to pass legislation — a very significant step by the charedi parties.

However, other senior officials in the charedi factions opposed the move, arguing it could quickly lead to the collapse of the government, and as of now, the spiritual leadership has not authorized a decision to dismantle the government or go to elections.

The demand to increase pressure on the government comes in response to the principles of the new draft law proposed by Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the decision by IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to prepare to issue tens of thousands of draft notices to eligible Haredi conscripts.

As previously reported, charedi MKs decided to vote against coalition-sponsored bills in protest of the stalled legislation, which prompted coalition chairman MK Ofir Katz to remove all coalition bills from the agenda.

Earlier this week, Kikar HaShabbat revealed that Edelstein’s proposed law would require more than 50% of the current Haredi draft cohort to enlist — gradually, over less than seven years, as Katz previously proposed.

Additionally, the draft targets would apply only to combat soldiers and combat-support roles. Therefore, national or civilian service or non-significant military roles would not count toward the quotas.

As for sanctions, Edelstein demands harsh personal penalties, with any legally approved sanction being included in the law. There would also be institutional sanctions against charedi public institutions. Another clause specifies that the Defense Minister would have no authority to delay or influence the application of the sanctions — they would take effect automatically.