Eisenkot says he hasn’t budged on universal draft after Shas leader hints at partnership

Gadi Eisenkot says he will not join in a coalition with any party that opposes mandating conscription or national service for all Israeli citizens, after the spiritual leader of the Sephardi Haredi Shas party suggested it would be open to working with the centrist politician.

Eisenkot, a former IDF chief, leads the newly-founded Yashar party and is running to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I’ve been following the media over the past few days and in recent hours, about those talking about ‘the new connections formed between Eisenkot and Shas.’ So I am telling you all that as far as I’m concerned, I haven’t shifted my stance a millimeter,” he says in a statement.

Reiterating remarks he has made in the past, Eisenkot says he won’t sit with any party that doesn’t meet his three preconditions for partnership: recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; abiding by the values of the Declaration of Independence; and accepting conscription or national service for all Israelis, including ultra-Orthodox and Arab citizens.

Last week, Eisenkot, who like Shas’s voter base is of Mizrahi heritage, praised Shas and made similar remarks.

“I see Shas as a partner on the condition that it accepts the three foundational principles,” he said at the time. “Shas is the party that is meant to send a positive message.”

Shas, along with fellow Haredi party United Torah Judaism, is part of Netanyahu’s current coalition and has pushed for a law that would enshrine blanket exemptions from IDF conscription for yeshiva students.

Yesterday during his weekly sermon, former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who serves as Shas’s spiritual leader, hinted that the party may consider sitting with Eisenkot.

“Due to our many sins, we are in a secular, non-ultra-Orthodox state… We pray that everyone repents. There are those who will repent, there are those who won’t,” Yosef lamented, then went on to say: “Will Bibi Netanyahu repent? Not a chance. Eisenkot, perhaps he will.”

The remarks came less than a week after Shas’s political leaders reportedly refused to pledge loyalty to Netanyahu and any future coalition he may try to form after the upcoming legislative election, amid frustration with the premier’s perceived refusal to deliver on key promises regarding draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.