From the Liveblog of
Sunday, November 9, 2025
After meeting, opposition leaders vow ‘to fight evasion law in the Knesset, streets and legal arena’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Following a meeting this evening, the leaders of the so-called anti-Netanyahu “change bloc” release a joint statement promising to fight against the government’s efforts to pass an “evasion law” regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment “in the Knesset, on the streets and in the legal arena.”
The bloc is an alliance of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties that seek to oust Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition, and have been working to create a mechanism for coordinating their efforts.
It is comprised of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, Yashar! With Eisenkot chief Gadi Eisenkot, Blue and White head Benny Gantz, and The Democrats leader Yair Golan.
In the statement, the opposition politicians welcome recent progress in returning the bodies of the remaining hostages and say that they “discussed advancing the bloc’s strategy for victory in the elections.”
“We intend to fight against the evasion law in the Knesset, on the streets and in the legal arena. Due to the heavy burden on regular troops and reservists – we demand that the army act according to the law and increase efforts to recruit the ultra-Orthodox. The vast majority of the people of Israel want equal recruitment for all and we will fight to make it happen,” they state.
“The continued attempts to undermine the legal system and media laws are a complete repetition of the judicial coup and an attempt to interfere in the election campaign in an election year — we will not allow this and will fight it,” they continue, referring to the coalition’s judicial overhaul program, while pledging to “continue to work with all our might to bring about elections as quickly as possible.”
A bill which would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites and other media passed its first reading in the Knesset on Tuesday. At the same time, lawmakers are advancing a series of government-backed bills intended to significantly weaken the power of the attorney general, effectively depriving the position of all authority and independence.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation also recently approved a bill aimed at hampering Bennett’s electoral run.
The Times of Israel Community.