In an extraordinary and coordinated statement released Tuesday evening, the Shas and United Torah Judaism factions launched a sharp and unprecedented public condemnation of Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The statement accuses Edelstein of blatant dishonesty, misleading rabbanim and the public, and deliberately undermining every compromise proposal related to the contentious draft law.
“Edelstein stood before the cameras today and lied to the public brazenly,” the statement charged. “For a year and a half, he has misled negotiating teams, rabbanim, reservists, the IDF and defense establishment — and everyone else who sincerely tried to craft a balanced and respectful agreement.”
The chareidi parties further alleged that Edelstein has been spreading false claims about a so-called compromise he authored, when in reality, they say, he consistently acted to block any proposal that gained traction. “Just this week,” they wrote, “in an unprecedented and destructive move, Edelstein reversed core understandings that had been reached, inserting new restrictions and humiliations, and violating trust with his coalition partners and the Torah world.”
They also claimed Edelstein refused to publicly release the draft he claims had support — fearing, in their words, “that the truth would come to light and the public would see the extent of his deceptions and betrayals.”
The statement concluded with a direct appeal to the leadership of Likud and the broader right-wing bloc: “The people of Israel deserve the truth: Yuli Edelstein is playing political games on the backs of those who serve, cynically exploiting the pain of bereaved families, sowing deep division within the nationalist camp, and single-handedly dismantling the right-wing government. Likud representatives must denounce him.”
Edelstein, for his part, responded earlier today in a press conference, addressing the growing crisis surrounding the draft legislation and the United Torah Judaism party’s exit from the coalition. He also revealed details of past discussions held with chareidi leaders on the eve of Iran’s attack on Israel.
“From beginning to end, the discussion about the draft law has been substantive,” Edelstein said. He claimed that on the night of the Iranian surprise assault, he worked closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu to prevent the dissolution of the Knesset. “That night, some clauses were agreed upon, but it was clear nothing was finalized,” he said.
Edelstein maintained that some components of the bill were non-negotiable. “There are principles in the law that simply cannot be compromised,” he said, while asserting that “the chareidi parties refuse to agree to any compromise.”
He laid out his vision for the draft law: “It’s based on principles we’ve discussed all along — effective personal sanctions, institutional penalties for failing to meet recruitment targets, high quotas for enlistment, and strong enforcement mechanisms.” Without those elements, he warned, “it will be a toothless, meaningless law.”
While chareidi parties argue they’ve already made substantial concessions, Edelstein insists his framework is itself a compromise. “This outline is a middle ground,” he said. “I hope the coalition can rally around it. If not, there’s still the universal Security Service Law, which may not currently be ideal, but I haven’t given up hope for passing a proper law.”
When asked why he hasn’t released a full draft of the legislation, Edelstein replied: “I don’t parade bills for public show.” He added that he remains open to further dialogue. “With some flexibility from the chareidim, a law can still be reached — but it must be built around the principles I’ve set out, including real oversight of the yeshivos.”
Earlier in the day, details emerged about specific clauses in Edelstein’s latest draft that sparked outrage among chareidi representatives. These included requiring full IDF placement assignments before granting yeshiva deferments, mandatory daily fingerprint check-ins upon entering and exiting a yeshiva, eliminating previous agreements on the makeup of the exemptions committee — which would now fall entirely under military control — and intensifying financial sanctions, including full funding cuts for institutions that fail to meet a 75% recruitment threshold.
A source present at the meeting that collapsed described the dramatic moment things unraveled: “We thought we were negotiating three disputed clauses. But when participants saw Edelstein’s bill projected on the screen, they asked what changes had been made. Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs asked Edelstein to highlight the edits in red — and the whole document turned red. That’s when the meeting blew up.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also weighed in following the chareidi parties’ statement. “It takes an astonishing amount of nerve for Shas and UTJ to issue a statement accusing others of ‘playing political games on the backs of soldiers’ and ‘cynically exploiting family grief,'” he wrote.
Lapid added, “The IDF has suffered hundreds of casualties in this war. Every morning, we wake up to new names cleared for publication — while their voters sleep soundly. They’re the only ones playing politics here, continuing to encourage draft dodging, discriminating between blood and blood, extorting budgets, and refusing to defend the country during a time of devastating war.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
