i24NEWS revealed Tuesday that Shas leader Aryeh Deri told the security cabinet that Haredi families live in 'uncertainty and anxiety' over the arrest of yeshiva students, prompting opposition leader Naftali Bennett to announce he would advance a 'Deri Law' barring draft evaders from serving in the cabinet.
i24NEWS on Tuesday revealed remarks by Shas leader Aryeh Deri during a closed-door security cabinet meeting, in which he described Haredi families as living in 'uncertainty and anxiety,' fearing the day their sons would be arrested and imprisoned for draft evasion. The revelation prompted opposition leader Naftali Bennett to respond sharply, saying he would establish a 'Deri Law' that bars any individual who evades military service from entering the cabinet.
The exchange marks the latest escalation in the ongoing political battle over Haredi conscription. As The Zioneer has previously reported, Bennett has repeatedly taken a hard line on draft exemptions — he described the current government's approach as a 'disgrace' (August 6), said non-enlistees would receive no state funding in his government (August 10), and earlier characterized a freeze on arrests of Haredi evaders as 'despicable' (July 28). The i24NEWS report adds a specific cabinet-level voice to the debate but its account remains single-sourced; further confirmation of Deri's exact wording is pending.
4 developments
- StrongBennett says 'door locked' for Haredi draft dodgers, calls situation a 'disgrace'
- DevelopingBennett: In my government, non-enlistees get no state funding
- DevelopingPM's office: coalition has the votes for Deri's bill to stop draft-evader arrests
- DevelopingBennett slams Haredi draft-freeze law as 'despicable' after High Court interim order
Source and signal
- Open-source intake