United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf said Sunday, following an N12 expose, that the temporary 'arrest law' was a spin that was never meant to solve anything, and expressed regret that it was enacted. The remarks escalate the rift between Goldknopf and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Haredi conscription crisis.
The confrontation between United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated later Sunday, as Goldknopf, following an N12 expose, called the temporary arrest law a "spin" that was never meant to solve anything and expressed regret that it was enacted. The statement marks a further hardening of Goldknopf's position after earlier Sunday he had already said the law was "another spin" and that Netanyahu's admission of failure confirmed the premier never intended to resolve the Haredi conscription crisis.
The day's developments began at 13:25 Jerusalem, when reports emerged from a closed-door discussion in which Netanyahu said that those who do not study Torah will enlist or go to prison (Israel Hayom). Successive reports from Kan News, i24NEWS, and N12 added details: Netanyahu explicitly confirmed imprisonment for Haredim who refuse enlistment, declared the temporary arrest freeze law a failure, and vowed to form a broad national unity government after the next elections to pass a full conscription law. At the same time, Goldknopf issued his first response, accusing Netanyahu of never intending to regulate the status of yeshiva students and calling the law "another spin."
The conscription crisis has been a central issue in Israeli politics for months. As The Zioneer reported earlier Sunday, Goldknopf's United Torah Judaism party left the coalition last month over the issue. In June, Goldknopf said from a protest convoy that the government was arresting draft evaders "who have done no wrong." The arrest law was passed as a temporary measure to allow the detention of draft evaders while the government sought a permanent conscription arrangement.
It remains unclear whether the full conscription law promised by Netanyahu will be passed after the elections, and what arrangement, if any, will be reached for yeshiva students. Goldknopf has said UTJ will join the next government only with a coalition partner that provides a status arrangement for Torah learners.
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