Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett set a condition for entering the next government: a 'Deri Law' that would bar draft evaders from serving in the cabinet. Speaking at the Reichman conference Tuesday, Bennett said, 'We will legislate the "Deri Law," which determines that a draft evader cannot sit in the cabinet — anyone who evaded IDF service or encourages evasion will not be able to sit in the cabinet.'
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday set a clear condition for his participation in the next coalition: a legislative measure dubbed the 'Deri Law' that would bar anyone who evaded IDF service or encouraged evasion from serving in the security cabinet. Speaking at the Reichman conference, Bennett declared the proposal a 'fundamental condition' for any government he would join.
The announcement comes hours after i24NEWS revealed that Shas leader Aryeh Deri told the security cabinet that Haredi families live in 'uncertainty and anxiety' over the arrest of yeshiva students. In response to that report, Bennett earlier Tuesday announced he would advance such a law, and today's conference appearance provided the first on-the-record formulation of the condition in a public forum.
Bennett has previously ruled out cooperation with Haredi parties that support draft evasion, calling the situation a 'disgrace.' The proposal is named after Deri, whom Bennett has excluded from any future cabinet under his leadership. The condition effectively blocks Shas and possibly United Torah Judaism from a Bennett-led coalition unless they change their stance on conscription.
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