From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Yashar’s Yoram Cohen suggest draft exemptions for 30% of Haredim, angering opposition
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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"
Former Shin Bet chief and Yashar party Knesset candidate Yoram Cohen sparks harsh criticism from the leaders of the anti-Netanyahu “Change Bloc” after he tells the Kan public broadcaster that under the next government, potentially up to 30 percent of Haredim will be exempt from military conscription.
According to Cohen, in Yashar’s conscription plan “up to three percent of the total recruitment, which can sometimes reach up to thirty percent of the entire ultra-Orthodox population,” could be eligible for exemptions.
In response, former prime minister Naftali Bennett posts on X that “there will be no compromises on recruitment” and that “everyone must enlist, and whoever doesn’t serve the state won’t get a single shekel from the state their whole life.”
“This is the only way to save the country, and therefore it’s a nonnegotiable condition for the next government,” Bennett insists.
Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party says: “In the next government, everyone will serve in the IDF or in civilian service. There will be no exemption for 30% nor for 3%.”
The Times of Israel Community.