Gantz slams government for playing politics at a time of war, urges IDF to draft eligible ultra-Orthodox youth

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz slams the government for taking a “business as usual” attitude, arguing that “this is not the time for a sectoral budget” nor “political deals at the expense of the country’s future.”

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Gantz proposes three new laws he would like to see passed in the new legislative session: a Basic Law addressing the value of equality, “if only to express solidarity with our Druze brothers”; a bill establishing a state commission of inquiry into October 7; and a military service outline that will “impose personal sanctions on anyone who is not included in the exemption quotas and does not serve.”

The government has called up reservists again and again and this “must not be taken for granted, as a routine that will last forever,” he says, calling on the ultra-Orthodox not to make political deals “on the backs of those who serve.”

Gantz also calls on IDF chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to send out enlistment orders to every member of this year’s ultra-Orthodox draft cohort “immediately,” calling it his “legal and moral duty as long as the government does not enact another law” regulating exemptions.

And while fighting in Gaza will continue for years, it is important to come to an agreement on a hostage deal instead of making excuses, he insists.

Gantz also slams New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar, who recently joined the coalition as a minister without portfolio, saying that “political considerations are his leading considerations” and questioning how he will vote on the enlistment issue.

In response, Sa’ar tweets that the current conscription law, which both oppose, was initially Gantz’s initiative during the previous Knesset.