As negotiations over a new draft law drag on with no legislation yet in sight, MK Meir Porush, head of the Shlomei Emunim faction, issued a stark warning in a wide-ranging interview in Hebrew with Kikar HaShabbat. Matzav.com presents portions of the interview here.
Porush described the situation of the chareidi public as the worst it has been “since the establishment of the State,” citing the arrests of yeshiva students and financial sanctions, and cautioned that continued arrests could provoke mass unrest.
“The fact that we have no law regulating the status of yeshiva students — that’s the root of all this,” Porush said. “As long as there is no law, whatever they’re doing to us now is just a fraction of what’s coming.” He pointed to the Supreme Court’s past rulings striking down deferments for Torah study, saying, “It began when the court ruled that thousands of yeshiva students cannot be exempt just because they’re learning Torah — because Torah study is not listed as a legitimate reason for deferment. You see the judicial activism at play.”
Porush lamented that the chareidi parties had failed to insist on passing the draft law before the coalition was formed. “Even at the time, I said — not behind closed doors — that everyone looked out for their own priorities. Smotrich, Ben Gvir, Netanyahu — each made sure his own law passed before the government was established. But the draft law was delayed. No one asked me if I agreed. Decisions were made elsewhere, and that’s how we got here.”
The veteran MK said the arrests of yeshiva students were a misguided approach. “This won’t work,” he stated. “Trying to force us — it won’t help. You can’t draft the chareidi public into the army by coercion when we have our own worldview about the army. Arrests won’t change that.”
Porush warned that the growing number of arrests could ignite a public backlash. “If the arrests intensify, our community will certainly rise up. People will not accept it. There will be a response — I don’t know what kind, but it will be real and forceful.”
He rejected claims that the IDF targets Sephardi yeshiva students disproportionately, saying, “When they come to our neighborhoods, there’s always a large crowd, so the army can’t act. They pick places where they can come at two in the morning when fewer people gather. It’s not about Ashkenazim or Sephardim — I don’t accept that view.”
Asked about the proposed draft bill put forward by MK Boaz Bismuth, Porush said he has not yet reviewed the final version. “I don’t know what the law says officially. I know what was leaked, but that’s not the final text. When I go to speak with the rabbonim, I prefer not to confuse them until there’s a final draft to review and discuss.”
Porush emphasized that he was never part of any agreement that included recruitment targets or sanctions. “I warned at a Cabinet meeting that these targets and sanctions were never approved by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel,” he said. “They told me, ‘You don’t know everything,’ but my position is clear — I’ll do whatever the Gedolei HaTorah instruct.”
Asked whether he supports drafting those who are not learning, Porush replied, “Don’t ask me about those who don’t learn. First, restore what always existed — the arrangement where those who sit and learn receive deferments. Reestablish that, and then we can discuss anything else. They stole the very foundation of our agreement — bring it back first.”
He added firmly, “I won’t hint at compromise. I’m not ready to give up anything. First, return what was ours — then we’ll talk.”
Regarding whether the chareidi parties would bring down the government if the draft law isn’t passed, Porush said, “You have to ask yourself: If we break everything and go to elections, what did we accomplish? Did we pass a law? No. So what’s the point?”
Still, he noted, “The coalition can’t pass any law without the chareidim. We’re not advancing their legislation as a form of protest — they feel it. If they tell us, ‘You won’t get your law,’ then we’ll say goodbye.”
On Prime Minister Netanyahu’s handling of the issue, Porush was candid: “We have our complaints. He’s capable, and when he wants something, he knows how to make it happen. Of course he could have done more to move this forward — he knows this is our central issue. He didn’t help us enough, and that’s a valid criticism. But sometimes, even when he wanted to act, he faced legal advisers who constantly push back. That’s the reality.”
{Matzav.com}
