Ultra-Orthodox willing to ‘leave the country’ over conscription issue, says Goldknopf

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews may be forced to leave the country en masse if authorities start arresting yeshiva students who refuse to report for mandatory military service, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf declared on Thursday, following the detention of several draft dodgers earlier this week.

In an interview with the national religious Makor Rishon newspaper, the Hasidic politician insisted that “if there is no choice and the ultra-Orthodox have to leave the country, then they will leave the country.”

“There will be a state without ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox will not change their way of life because there is an army and a war. There is an army, and there are also those who will go to the army. If you say you are short 50,000 soldiers, take these draft dodgers… There are 100,000 draft dodgers in Tel Aviv and Gush Dan,” he claimed, referring to Israel’s densely populated coastal region.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The Israel Defense Forces has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, due to the strain on standing and reserve forces amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges. Some 2,700 Haredim enlisted over the past year, far short of the IDF’s goal of 4,800.

Asked about others having to pay a price for the refusal of ultra-Orthodox Israelis to serve, including religious people losing their lives or others who are unable to observe Jewish customs due to manpower shortages, Goldknopf responded that the matter was not his nor his community’s concern.

“Don’t bring me your pains and pass them on to me. Let’s decide that everybody has their own burden,” he said.

Goldknopf’s rhetoric echoed that of former chief Sephardic rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Shas party’s spiritual leader, who earlier this year stated that “if they come to yeshivas and arrest students… we will all go abroad.”

In response to Goldknopf’s remarks, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slammed the UTJ leader, stating that he “should be ashamed” and asserting that anybody who “excludes themselves from the collective is a disbeliever.”

“Instead of spouting nonsense and once again displaying detachment from the people of Israel, lower your gaze and ask for forgiveness,” Smotrich tweeted.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused Goldknopf of “repeating the sickening lie about ‘the draft dodgers from Tel Aviv.’”

“The draft percentage in Tel Aviv is the same as the national average; in the northern neighborhoods, it is much higher,” he said. “I invite Goldknopf to come with me on the upcoming Memorial Day to the ceremony to read the names of those who fell in my neighborhood. Maybe there he will learn to be ashamed.”

Goldknopf has previously drawn ire for his pronouncements on the issue of Haredi conscription and caused a political uproar this March after a video of him dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-enlistment song at his nephew’s wedding began circulating online.

‘There is nothing to talk about’

Both Ashkenazi UTJ and the Sephardic Shas have been pushing hard for the passage of legislation enabling most ultra-Orthodox males to continue to avoid military or other national service, in the wake of last year’s High Court decision that such exemptions are illegal on equality grounds.

Last week, UTJ quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s then-chairman, Yuli Edelstein. UTJ argued the proposal violated the terms of a compromise reached in June, when an effort was being made to prevent the Haredim from toppling the government before the war with Iran.

They were quickly followed by Shas, which, while quitting the government, has remained part of the coalition.

To woo back the Haredi parties, lawmakers belonging to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday evening to replace Edelstein — who has said any conscription law must include sanctions on draft dodgers and their institutions of study — with MK Boaz Bismuth.

According to a Channel 13 poll aired on Wednesday evening, 44 percent of Israelis opposed Edelstein’s ouster while 26% were in favor. Over half of those polled indicated that they believe Netanyahu’s chief considerations in pushing out Edelstein were patching up relations with the Haredim and passing the controversial law.

Despite Likud’s efforts, UTJ has rejected any return to the coalition without the passage of a conscription law it finds acceptable.

“We have an agreement with the prime minister on regulating the status of yeshiva students. We are asking him to regulate this,” Motti Babchik, a senior adviser to Goldknopf, told The Times of Israel on Thursday. “United Torah Judaism will return to the government as soon as it passes a second and third reading.”

The replacement of Edelstein “doesn’t interest us,” said former UTJ lawmaker Yitzhak Pindrus, one of three MKs who were pushed out of the Knesset last week under the so-called Norwegian Law due to the resignations of the party’s ministers.

“We don’t care who the chairman of the committee is,” he said. “Until there is a law, there is nothing to talk about.”

Moshe Roth, another UTJ Knesset member until last week, called Bismuth “intelligent, loyal and experienced” and wished him success “in bringing a solution,” but stopped short of saying that his appointment would change anything regarding UTJ’s relationship with the coalition.

Channel 12 news has reported that Netanyahu plans on passing the law by September and holding elections a year later in September 2026, two months earlier than scheduled.

Shas weighing options

According to national broadcaster Kan, Shas has shown itself to be more accommodating than UTJ, with chairman Aryeh Deri indicating that his party will weigh returning to the government if Edelstein is replaced, which two Knesset committees must still approve.

In a statement to Kan, a Shas spokesman denied that Deri was considering such a course or would refer the issue to the party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, a Shas source not directly involved in the discussion said that everything “depends on what the Council of Torah Scholars decides.”