United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf responded Sunday to the publication of leaked recordings of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closed-door discussions, claiming the recordings prove there was no genuine intention to advance a conscription law or regulate the status of yeshiva students. Goldknopf said the temporary 'arrests law' was 'another spin' not designed to resolve the crisis, and declared that after the elections his party will only join a government that regulates the status of Torah learners.
United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf responded Sunday afternoon to the leak of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closed-door remarks, claiming the recordings prove there was never a genuine intention to advance a conscription law or regulate the status of yeshiva students. Goldknopf called the temporary 'arrests law' — a coalition measure that froze arrests of Haredi draft evaders — 'another spin' that was never meant to solve the crisis. He reiterated that after the next elections, UTJ will only join a government that guarantees a full status arrangement for Torah learners without sanctions or enlistment targets.
Goldknopf's remarks came in direct response to a series of reports published at 13:25 Jerusalem time, first by Israel Hayom and later by Kan News, i24NEWS, and Amit Segal (N12). Those reports detailed Netanyahu's private admissions: that the temporary arrest freeze law had failed, that draft dodgers who do not study Torah full-time will 'enlist or go to prison,' and that he intends to form a broad national unity government after the elections to pass a full conscription law. The reports were corroborated across multiple Israeli newsrooms, confirming the prime minister's shift in rhetoric.
As The Zioneer has reported in recent weeks, the draft law crisis has dominated coalition politics. The IDF's manpower planning chief opposed the arrest freeze, arguing it would not bring new recruits and undermines enforcement. Opposition figures, including Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman, have condemned the government's handling of the issue. Earlier this week, The Zioneer reported that Goldknopf had already set the condition that UTJ would only join a coalition that secures the status of yeshiva students without sanctions or targets — a demand now sharpened by the leaked recordings.
It remains unclear how Netanyahu's post-election pledge for a full conscription law can be reconciled with UTJ's demand for a status arrangement that exempts yeshiva students from military service. The legislative path forward is uncertain ahead of the next election, and the gap between the prime minister's public shift and the demands of his former coalition partners appears wide.
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