Opposition MK removed from Knesset panel discussion on Haredi draft exemption bill

By Sam Sokol 20 May 2026, 9:17 am

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Sam 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"

Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz is removed from a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, May 20, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Only minutes after the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee resumes deliberations on the coalition’s contentious Haredi draft exemption bill, Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz is removed from the parliamentary panel’s chamber after repeatedly interrupting chairman Boaz Bismuth.

Bismuth opens the discussion by linking the Haredi draft issue to the recent jailing of an IDF soldier for wearing a Messiah patch on his uniform, which the Likud lawmaker argues highlights the importance of making sure Haredi soldiers can retain their religious identity in the IDF.

Tur-Paz repeatedly interrupts Bismuth, shouting “shame on you Boaz” and yelling that he needs to study more Torah to understand the issue at hand.

The soldier was jailed after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir paid a visit to an army post in the West Bank, where he was displeased to find that his recent warning about eroding discipline appeared to have gone unheeded.