Coalition Talks Put Haredi Draft Law on the Table

Avigdor Liberman has reportedly dropped his refusal to join a government with haredi parties, opening the door to coalition talks with United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and putting military conscription policy at the center of negotiations. N12’s Amit Segal reported the shift, which Channel 12 news also described. The Jerusalem Post said it had sought comment from Yisrael Beytenu and UTJ.

The potential deal would bring political leaders together over a question of state power in people’s lives: whether, and how, haredim would serve in the military. On Tuesday, Liberman said he’d have “no problem with” whoever accepted his set of principles and a conscription law to draft haredim. The reported coalition scenario leaves the exact terms under negotiation.

The coalition arithmetic

UTJ, a longtime coalition partner and ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to recommend a candidate for prime minister to President Isaac Herzog during consultations on Thursday, November 5. Its abstention came amid reported tensions with Netanyahu and benefited the opposition bloc seeking to replace him. The party didn’t name an alternative. Instead, it changed the arithmetic around efforts to form a government.

Opposition party leaders have recently signaled greater openness to including haredi parties in a coalition. Liberman’s reported shift gives that possibility a path into discussion, despite his earlier red line against any partnership with haredi parties before the elections. This change concerns access to coalition talks, not a reported agreement: parties may start discussions, but the terms remain prospective.

A draft law as the price of entry

Liberman has long said he wouldn’t join a government with Netanyahu. On Tuesday, he also ruled out joining a unity government with Netanyahu or a minority government reliant on support from Arab parties. His position leaves the reported opening to haredi parties alongside the conditions he has stated for entering a coalition.

Liberman has reportedly said he’d prefer sitting with haredi factions to joining with Arab-led parties. His stated condition, though, centers on a law to draft haredim. The reported scenario includes talks over a haredi draft agreement, while the bloc is also discussing the possibility of a more lenient military conscription law. The available account doesn’t specify what the law would require, how officials would enforce it, or what the parties would accept.

The offices, the bargain, the people subject to it

A reported rotation agreement between Liberman and Yashar’s Gadi Eisenkot also figures in the coalition scenario. Like the conscription talks, that arrangement concerns who would hold political office and what terms could secure a governing alliance. UTJ’s abstention has already affected the opposition bloc’s prospects, while Liberman’s change could widen its negotiating options.

There’s no reported agreement with UTJ and no final coalition. The account describes parties weighing a draft law, a possible rotation, and competing routes to government. For now, the people whose military service is being negotiated appear in the story as the subject of policy, while party leaders decide which conditions could make a coalition possible. The bargaining is underway; the terms aren’t settled.