As Netanyahu’s coalition teeters, the campaign to unseat Yuli Edelstein over his refusal to advance the Haredi draft law sparks outrage from across the spectrum, turning a legislative standoff into a battle over Israel’s civic soul.
The battle over the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men has reached a boiling point in Israel’s political system, and at its center now stands Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The veteran Likud lawmaker is facing what some call a purge from within his own party. He is accused of sabotaging coalition unity by refusing to push forward a controversial draft bill demanded by the Haredi factions. But to many, Edelstein’s resistance represents something else entirely: the last stand of institutional integrity in a government buckling under pressure.
This is not just a legislative maneuver; it’s a profound blow to public trust in our institutions. You can’t call this democracy
“This is not just a legislative maneuver; it’s a profound blow to public trust in our institutions. You can’t call this democracy,” said Benny Gantz, head of the opposition and leader of the National Unity party, during a panel at the Israel Democracy Institute, where a wide range of political and civil society voices gathered to address the mounting crisis.
Edelstein has emerged as the most visible symbol of resistance to a law that critics say enshrines inequality.
The proposed legislation, backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners, would guarantee sweeping exemptions from military service for thousands of yeshiva students. This proposal runs counter to both a recent Supreme Court ruling and growing public resentment after October 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza.
He acts in line with the IDF’s interests, not political calculations and that’s why he is being punished
Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beitenu party, delivered one of the most blistering indictments of the effort to remove Edelstein. “They are ousting the chair of the most important committee in the Knesset, not because he failed, but because he refused to betray security principles. That’s unprecedented.” He added, “He acts in line with the IDF’s interests, not political calculations and that’s why he is being punished.”
The prime minister, for his part, has insisted that the government will survive and that “solutions will be found.” But the facts on the ground suggest otherwise. United Torah Judaism has already resigned from the government and the coalition, while Shas has withdrawn from its ministerial posts, although it remains formally part of the coalition. With just 61 functioning MKs, Netanyahu is navigating one of the most precarious parliamentary configurations of his career.
Merav Cohen, a lawmaker from the centrist Yesh Atid party, framed the situation as political theater designed to obscure the real stakes. “They’ve turned this into a performance,” she said. “The Haredi parties may be ‘leaving’ the coalition but make no mistake, they are still voting to protect their privileges.”
Beyond the coalition arithmetic, the ideological fault lines are now fully exposed. What began as a legal and procedural debate has turned into a foundational confrontation over citizenship, equality, and national service.
Gantz, who has long championed a more inclusive model of national service, lamented the missed opportunities of previous governments. “The previous liberal government didn’t let me advance the service model I envisioned. That was a missed opportunity.” He added, “I will not compromise on incentivizing service. Everyone must contribute, especially after October 7.”
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Anyone who doesn’t serve should not vote or be elected. If they choose to be second-class citizens, let them be second-class
Others at the Israel Democracy Institute conference were far less conciliatory. Yoaz Hendel, former Minister of Communications and current chairman of the Reservists Movement, a civic organization of IDF reservists that may run as a political party in the next elections, declared: “Anyone who doesn’t serve should not vote or be elected. If they choose to be second-class citizens, let them be second-class.”
He continued: “We need coercion. The idea that Haredim are untouchable is a failed concept that must end. This is not about compromise. It’s about resetting the terms of belonging to the Israeli civic project.”
Liberman echoed the call for a universal standard. “After October 7, there’s no room for quotas, tracks, or exemptions. Draft everyone—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze. Either you serve, or you don’t vote.” In his view, “This isn’t a matter of values anymore. It’s national survival.”
Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats Party and a former IDF major general, framed the issue in terms of cultural expectation. “The principle must be clear: everyone serves. Jews and Arabs, men and women. The state must initiate a national service path that grows annually. Eventually, the IDF won’t be able to absorb everyone, but the cultural norm must be that a young Israeli gives a year to the state.”
If you attack my brother who studies Torah, you’re attacking me—the Haredi who serves
Yet not all criticism came from secular voices. Lt. Col. (res.) Yossi Levy, a Haredi officer from the Netzah Yehuda battalion, which integrates ultra-Orthodox soldiers, urged a different approach: “If you attack my brother who studies Torah, you’re attacking me—the Haredi who serves.” He added, “This is not about forcing recruitment; it’s about building legitimacy from within the Haredi world. That’s the long game.”
For Levy, the answer lies in normalization, not coercion. “We’ve built a structure where Haredim can serve with dignity. The key is educational normalization, not coercion.”
Still, for lawmakers like Merav Cohen, the urgency is not just cultural but structural. “There is now legitimacy, for the first time, to dismantle the economic system that funds mass draft evasion,” she argued. “We must stop funding an educational system that teaches children not to serve, not to participate, and to isolate themselves from society.”
At the heart of the controversy lies a duality of framing: the very same bill is referred to by its proponents as a “draft law” (chok giyus), while its critics call it a “law of exemption” (chok ptur). The contrast is not semantic; it reflects competing visions for Israeli citizenship.
For ultra-Orthodox leaders, the purpose of the legislation is to prevent recruitment and eliminate legal threats to Torah study, which they elevate as a form of national service. For the rest of the public, however, the proposed law would codify civil inequality, dividing obligations and rights along lines of religious identity.
The timing only sharpens the stakes. The IDF remains in a state of active war, short on manpower, and reliant on tens of thousands of reservists who have served for months on end, many of them from the secular and national-religious sectors.
Under current law, ultra-Orthodox men are theoretically subject to conscription. Implementing it could relieve immense pressure on reservists and their families. But the proposed bill would permanently exclude tens of thousands of Haredim, shielding one segment of society while others carry the burden of war at enormous cost in lives, income, and well-being.
In an open statement to the Knesset Channel, MK Yuli Edelstein addressed the growing pressure against him:
I have remained loyal to my values and the principles for which I have fought. I am not afraid.
“There were those who tried to oust me, promising me mountains and hills in exchange for my truth. They claimed I was toppling the government, betraying the values of Likud, and harming the leader of the movement. The truth is clear – I have remained loyal to my values and the principles for which I have fought. I am not afraid. The sense of mission accompanies me even in these days, with that same goal in mind – to ensure the future of our children in our homeland.”
According to several Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is backing Likud MK Boaz Bismuth as Edelstein’s replacement as chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.Meanwhile, MK Hanoch Milwidsky is reportedly being considered to take over the Knesset Finance Committee, replacing Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism. The reshuffling signals an attempt to tighten internal discipline and reassert control over key legislative levers amid the instability of the coalition.
Speaking with The Media Line, Likud MK Avichai Boaron defended the party’s decision to replace Edelstein, framing it not as political revenge but as a matter of party discipline and ideological consistency.
“Every party has the right, the authority, and the mandate to appoint whomever it wants to the committees it controls under coalition agreements,” Boaron said. “If someone can’t deliver—if they fail to finalize the draft bill, secure agreements, or get the job done—they should step aside and let someone else try. That’s how it works everywhere, including in the American system.”
Boaron went further, accusing Edelstein of personally sabotaging a sensitive compromise with the ultra-Orthodox factions.
Yuli Edelstein destroyed the draft framework we had reached with the Haredi parties … Edelstein crushed it just before the prime minister’s trip to the US and again in his press conference after the Iran attack. That’s the truth.
“Unfortunately, Yuli Edelstein destroyed the draft framework we had reached with the Haredi parties,” he said. “We had an agreement that could have brought 10,500 young Haredim into the IDF over the next three years. Edelstein crushed it just before the prime minister’s trip to the US, and again in his press conference after the Iran attack. That’s the truth.”
Addressing the ultra-Orthodox parties directly, Boaron offered a mix of urgency and reassurance.
“After October 7, something fundamental changed in Israel. The IDF needs manpower. Those who truly study Torah, we will protect their status. But those who don’t must join us under the stretcher. Thousands of young Haredim are waiting for a halachic and communal framework that allows them to enlist without shame, without their families turning their backs on them. That’s what this law was designed to do.”
As pressure mounts on Edelstein and Netanyahu, one thing is clear: the war may be against Hamas, but the political battle for the soul of the state is being waged in Jerusalem. And its outcome may define Israeli civic identity for a generation.