Lapid tears into Netanyahu in Knesset clash, vows to stop ‘draft-dodging law’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid delivers a fiery address in the Knesset during a so-called 40-signature debate, sharply criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the government’s ultra-Orthodox conscription plan, the handling of the October 7 failures and his recent pardon request.

Speaking minutes after Netanyahu, Lapid is repeatedly interrupted by coalition lawmakers, but presses on, branding the conscription proposal a “draft-dodging law” and accusing the prime minister and his allies of deliberately avoiding committee discussions to distance themselves from the legislation.

Lapid vows the bill will not pass in any form, saying the opposition will fight it by every means.

He mocks the coalition’s push to establish its own commission of inquiry into the October 7 attacks, calling it a farce that amounts to “investigating yourselves,” and demands answers on “who was prime minister on October 7, 2023.”

Lapid also issues a blistering personal attack on Netanyahu over his request for a presidential pardon, urging the prime minister to “admit guilt, accept [that the crime is one of] moral turpitude, and go home,” warning that any alternative would “tear the country apart.” Crimes that are designated as moral turpitude normally require the offender to withdraw from public office.

“Without an admission [of guilt] and without [accepting that the crime constituted] moral turpitude, it’s not a pardon — it’s a prize. It means that for those with power, the laws simply don’t apply,” he says.