Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman declared Monday that he will refuse to join any government that includes the chareidi parties, insisting that Shas and United Torah Judaism must spend at least two full Knesset terms outside the coalition. He also vowed to block the formation of any government that does not impose compulsory military service on all Jewish and Arab citizens, without exemptions for yeshiva bochurim and avreichim.
With just eight days remaining before Israel’s October 27 elections, Lieberman outlined his political demands in an extensive interview with Yishai Cohen of Kikar HaShabbat, presenting a sweeping agenda that includes major changes to the Chief Rabbinate, the introduction of public transportation on Shabbos, changes to kashrus and geirus, and the elimination of the existing system for selecting chief rabbis.
Lieberman also ruled out supporting a minority government dependent on Arab Knesset members, even if refusing such an arrangement would leave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in office during an extended caretaker period.
Addressing the military draft controversy, Lieberman insisted that his demand for universal conscription remains an absolute condition for joining the next government.
“I stand behind that demand today even more strongly! You saw that just yesterday there were reports of truly record levels of draft evasion. You see the rampaging, and it is no longer just the fringes, no longer just the Yerushalmi faction. When a former chief rabbi of Israel says, ‘You receive a draft notice? Tear it up, throw it into the toilet!’ All the screaming of ‘We will die rather than enlist’… We will not compromise on this. There simply will be no government.”
The interviewer pointed out that chareidi party leaders, including Aryeh Deri, Yitzchok Goldknopf, Yaakov Asher, and Meir Porush, had themselves declared in previous Kikar HaShabbat interviews that they would refuse to enter any coalition without legislation protecting the status of yeshiva students.
Lieberman dismissed the possibility of reaching an accommodation with them.
“I am telling you in advance: I will not sit in a coalition with Goldknopf and Deri. Period.”
He went further, arguing that the chareidi parties should be excluded from power for an extended period.
“They simply must, just as Moshe Rabbeinu took the Jewish people into the wilderness for 40 years, they need to spend at least two terms in the wilderness!”
Lieberman’s remarks made clear that his opposition extends beyond the current dispute over the draft law. He presented a comprehensive program to restructure the relationship between religion and the state, beginning with the Chief Rabbinate.
“A dramatic change in the Rabbinate — no more two chief rabbis! There will be one chief rabbi in the State of Israel, one chief rabbi for every city, for every local authority. We do not need two rabbis.”
He also proposed abolishing the electoral body currently responsible for choosing Israel’s chief rabbis, replacing it with an appointment process resembling that used for senior government officials.
“There will no longer be an electoral body that chooses the chief rabbis… Like any government employee. You know, like the head of the Shin Bet is appointed… The prime minister will recommend a candidate, he will go to the Grunis Committee, and from there it goes back to the government.”
Under Lieberman’s proposal, military service would become a mandatory qualification for anyone seeking to serve as chief rabbi, effectively disqualifying rabbonim who had not served in the IDF.
“Only on condition… One of the criteria: military service. There simply will not be [a chief rabbi who did not serve in the IDF].”
Lieberman also reiterated his support for public transportation on Shabbos, arguing that the current situation unfairly disadvantages people who cannot afford private vehicles or taxis.
“Absolutely! This is hypocrisy: There is public transportation on Shabbos — private cars travel, taxis operate, in Haifa you have public transportation on Shabbos. So what happens is that only someone who has no money cannot travel. Someone who cannot buy a car or cannot order a taxi cannot go out.”
Turning to kashrus, Lieberman called for eliminating the Rabbinate’s exclusive control over certification, saying he would introduce a system allowing competing providers to operate.
“There is no monopoly on kashrus!… It will be free, there will be no more monopolies.”
On geirus, Lieberman said he would demand implementation of the recommendations advanced by former Justice Minister Moshe Nissim, whose proposals sought to reorganize Israel’s conversion system.
“We demand the Nissim framework, the full Nissim report on conversion. He submitted a report, and it is difficult to accuse Moshe Nissim of being an enemy of the Jewish people or of not understanding Judaism.”
Lieberman devoted another portion of the interview to explaining why he would oppose any minority government dependent on the support or abstention of Arab Knesset members.
He argued that such a government would be unacceptable both morally and politically, particularly in light of statements made by certain Arab lawmakers following the October 7 attacks.
“To rely on Knesset members who said even after October 7 that Hamas is a charitable organization, or who accuse IDF soldiers of murder and crimes against humanity — not Hamas, but IDF soldiers! From a moral standpoint, I see no possibility of relying on those Knesset members, whether in Ra’am or the Joint List, including Ofer Cassif…”
Lieberman also warned that a minority government would be vulnerable to constant political pressure from individual lawmakers and could ultimately strengthen Netanyahu and the chareidi parties in a subsequent election.
“On the practical level, a minority government is a very unstable government. Every individual Knesset member can extort, can drive everyone crazy, can threaten the coalition… After such a caretaker government, you return to elections, and then Goldknopf, Deri, and Bibi together will already reach 70 seats!… The moment you return to elections, you boost them… the draft-dodgers’ bloc.”
Despite opinion polls indicating uncertainty over whether the opposition could secure a parliamentary majority, Lieberman expressed confidence that the four parties he identifies as the “serving bloc” would win enough seats to form a government.
“I know what is happening on the ground. The four parties, the serving bloc — we will bring a solid majority. All this talk about a minority government projects weakness and defeatism.”
Lieberman also urged opposition voters to avoid supporting smaller parties that polling suggests might fail to cross the electoral threshold, warning that votes cast for such parties could ultimately benefit Netanyahu’s bloc.
“I say not to vote for any atmosphere party: not for Yoaz Hendel, not for Ofer Winter. Vote only for one of the four parties. Period.”
Asked specifically about former senior IDF officer Ofer Winter, who previously served as his military secretary, Lieberman said the two had not spoken recently and that Winter was responsible for his own political decisions.
“The last time I spoke with Ofer Winter was a year and a half ago. He is a grown man, he knows what he is doing. A person’s wishes deserve respect.”
Lieberman was similarly dismissive of Benny Gantz, who had raised allegations about internal understandings and political arrangements among the opposition parties.
“Listen, you do not judge a person in his time of distress. I look at Benny Gantz, and truly, it is pitiful, a matter of compassion for living creatures. Leave him alone, he is no longer relevant… There were no deals, no internal axes within the bloc, within the serving bloc.”
Addressing the absence of a single agreed-upon candidate for prime minister among the opposition parties, Lieberman argued that the lack of a unified candidate was an advantage rather than a weakness.
“In 2021, we ran in the elections as five parties without one candidate for prime minister, and we won! We ran in 2022 with one candidate for prime minister… and we lost… It is much better right now to run as four parties. Each has a different electorate, and each must maximize its own electorate.”
Lieberman also outlined what he said would be the first parliamentary move by a new coalition, predicting that it would be able to remove the current Knesset speaker.
“We will certainly be able to replace the speaker of the Knesset. I am already hearing from within the coalition… at least a third of the coalition will vote against him, and at that moment… that opens up all the possibilities.”
The interview also addressed President Donald Trump’s public expressions of support for Netanyahu, which have become a prominent issue in the final days of the election campaign.
Lieberman said he respects Trump but insisted that the choice of Israel’s next prime minister belongs exclusively to Israeli voters. He also suggested that Netanyahu’s relationship with the American president makes it easier for Washington to influence Israeli policy.
“I greatly appreciate and respect the president of the United States… At the same time, the decision belongs to the citizens of Israel. This is our internal matter. I can understand Donald Trump — it is very convenient for him with Bibi, a puppet, you know, it makes it easy for him to manage things here… I am certain that any future prime minister will know how to conduct a constructive dialogue with the president of the United States.”
Finally, Lieberman addressed the Iranian threat and the possibility of renewed military confrontation during the politically sensitive period surrounding the elections.
He argued that decisions about a major war involving Iran would ultimately be made in Washington rather than Yerushalayim, and warned that Israel could find itself in the middle of coalition negotiations while facing a new round of missile attacks.
“A decision on the question of war is made in the White House, not here. And everything we are hearing from the United States is that Trump has decided that there will be a war only after the midterm elections in the United States… And it could be that we will be in the middle of coalition negotiations while missiles are flying in every direction! So let us not develop delusions of grandeur. We are indeed a strong and great country, but we are still not a global superpower.”
{Matzav.com}
