Winter says he’ll only join government if conscription law is passed first

Ofer Winter, the right-wing ex-general who recently entered the political arena, vows that his new party will not join a coalition government unless a universal conscription law is passed first.

“We will not enter a government that does not pass, before its establishment, a law that puts an end to draft evasion, and requires everyone to present themselves and contribute,” he says in remarks in Tel Aviv. “If that doesn’t happen, we won’t be in the government, and that’s that. Every young person of age for service will present themselves to the state. No group is above the law.”

The statement refers to ultra-Orthodox demands to enshrine blanket conscription exemptions long afforded to the community.

Winter has said his People of Israel party supports Benjamin Netanyahu continuing as prime minister, a position he repeats in his speech. But Netanyahu’s Likud party is allied closely with ultra-Orthodox factions that staunchly oppose universal conscription, making it difficult for them to coexist in the same coalition as Winter.

Winter reiterates in his speech that a conscription law must be passed before the government is sworn in, rather than “a promise [or] a clause in the coalition agreements.”

He adds, “No one will bullshit us.”