In his blusterous fight for Haredi draft exemptions, Goldknopf is increasingly isolated
UTJ leader is confident his ultimatums will shield his constituents from army service, even as he antagonizes more pragmatic colleagues and casualty-weary national-religious leaders
Shalom Yerushalmi is the political analyst for Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew current affairs website
Speaking at the Knesset on Monday, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to tell Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf: “Sir, I will no longer discriminate between blood and blood.”
Goldknopf glared at Lapid and seemed to be itching to respond, but only thumped his fist irritably on the table. For Goldknopf, it was the low point of a day in which he came under attack from every direction.
The head of the United Torah Judaism party has remained insistent that the government pass a law to exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military service, even as troops, many of them religious, are being killed daily in Gaza and Lebanon.
As part of his campaign, Goldknopf has threatened to vote against the 2025 budget when it’s brought before ministers on Thursday. Though he may in fact do so, he is unlikely to resign from the government over the matter.
As Lapid spoke at the Knesset, all eyes in the room were on the Haredi minister, a member of the Gur Hasidic movement who is serving his first term in the Knesset. Goldknopf, who hasn’t budged from his position on the draft, is of course entirely disconnected from the majority of Israeli civil society on the matter. But even within the ultra-Orthodox community, he is largely on his own.
The issue of the Haredi draft has come to a head now that the High Court has struck down previous exemptions as unlawful, and the attorney general has said the country can no longer subsidize those who are illegally dodging the draft. And the Haredi refusal to entertain the idea of performing compulsory military service has become increasingly untenable amid the mounting costs of the war, with a growing number of coalition politicians saying blanket exemptions must end.
Goldknopf’s grandstanding has antagonized his colleagues in the ultra-Orthodox camp. Though none of the community’s leaders want to see Haredim in the army, others seek a subtler, quieter approach. They hope to find more politically savvy ways to ultimately prevent their young men from being drafted while maintaining government subsidies for their yeshivas and daycares.
But people who’ve spoken to Goldknopf in recent days have described him as self-satisfied, even smug, on the matter. He is certain that a draft exemption bill will be passed, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will succumb to the pressure and fulfill his obligations per the parties’ prewar coalition agreement.
The minister contends that a law exempting most Haredim from the draft while allowing a minute number to be called up is actually the only viable solution to ensure that at least a small number of Haredim do serve. According to this logic, a problematic law is preferable to the current reality where there is no law and draft orders are being sent to thousands of ultra-Orthodox individuals but almost no one shows up at recruitment centers. Goldknopf has sought to convince Netanyahu that the legislation is the right way to ensure some enlistment.
But even among the ultra-Orthodox, some admit that “if passed, the law will simply give us legal approval not to join the army.”
More than 60,000 Haredim aged 18-27 are eligible to be drafted today. Instructed to do so by the courts, the army has ordered thousands to show up for the draft in recent months, but virtually none have complied.
If only half of that total had enlisted and 15,000 had undergone combat training, the IDF would now have 15,000 additional fighters. These are significant numbers for an army struggling with a manpower shortage, with reservists currently effectively serving as regular combat soldiers.
But that’s not about to happen. The Haredim are staying home and in yeshiva, infuriating large segments of the public — especially soldiers from the national-religious community, who have shown it is possible to combine Torah study with military service. In fact, the conflict between the Haredim and the national-religious community — the one bearing the heaviest toll in casualties in the war — seems to be entering new territory.
Goldknopf’s confidants also argue that the IDF neither can nor wants to recruit the Haredim. As evidence, they note that it has not sent out tens of thousands of draft orders to potential recruits; that such a draft would require the army to set up the new conscripts with all the amenities needed for strict observance — synagogues, ritual baths, daily Talmud study sessions, prayer groups, and the ability to fully observe Shabbat and holidays.
The army has said it is starting the process slowly but plans to ramp it up over time, and that it does indeed plan to offer recruits the conditions they need to keep their faith while serving.
And yet on this point, there is some truth to Goldknopf’s point: In the midst of a war, it’s unlikely the army has the time and energy to focus on catering to Haredi religious needs. Nor can the army arrest thousands of Haredi draft dodgers.
In the meantime, the Haredim are maintaining their efforts to circumvent all obstacles, including through plans to pass a law to allow yeshiva students to continue to receive subsidies for daycares without performing military service.
Goldknopf’s allies credit his bluster and ultimatums with the apparent imminent passage of that law, which would bypass the attorney general’s orders. The minister’s critics cast that argument as a cheap attempt to piggyback on the legislative efforts of MK Yisrael Eichler, who represents the Belz Hasidic sect in Goldknopf’s party.
The daycare law is slated for discussion at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, and a first reading in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday. With Haredi draft evasion continuing en masse, the daycare bill is likely to also stir public uproar.
Translated and edited from the original Hebrew on ToI’s sister site Zman Yisrael.
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