UTJ official says party could sit with Bennett or Liberman in next government

By Sam Sokol 14 May 2026, 12:47 pm

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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"

Then-housing minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, right, and his senior adviser Motti Babchik arrive at the United Torah Judaism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Motti Babchik, a top aide to United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf and a major power behind the scenes in Haredi politics, told i24 News last night that he does not rule out sitting with either former prime minister Naftali Bennett or Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman in the next government.

“We will wait for the election results and see where everyone stands,” he says. If Bennett calls him after the elections, “we’ll talk.”

This rhetoric is likely aimed at pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as it is highly unlikely that either side would agree to sit together in a government. Both Bennett and Liberman have called to establish a government without Haredim, which would enforce universal conscription, while the ultra-Orthodox reject the enlistment of yeshiva students and sanctions on those who do not serve.

While “of course there is a need for soldiers” and the troops do “holy work,” there must not be any “sanctions on those who sit and study,” Babchik tells the network.

Asked about Babchik’s comments, a spokesperson for Yisrael Beytenu tells The Times of Israel: “We have a clear position, nothing will change.”