From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 23, 2025
Edelstein says Israeli attack on Iran might not have gone ahead had compromise not been reached on Haredi draft crisis
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Failing to secure a compromise with the ultra-Orthodox parties on military service for yeshiva students could have prevented Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear program, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein indicates.
During a radio interview with the Kan public broadcaster, the veteran Likud lawmaker states, “If the bill to dissolve the Knesset had passed, it is not certain that we would have attacked Iran.”
Early in the morning of June 12, lawmakers voted against a bill to dissolve the Knesset in its preliminary reading, after Edelstein and Haredi lawmakers reached an agreement calling for a softened version of a bill regulating mandatory enlistment figures within the ultra-Orthodox community and punishing draft dodgers.
Only a day later, Israel launched its opening salvo against Iran, sparking the current conflict.
While the leadership of the Haredi United Torah Judaism party was unaware of the pending attack, both Edelstein and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri had been informed in advance, which contributed to their willingness to reach an accommodation on the enlistment issue.
The Times of Israel Community.