Opposition lawmaker moderates ultra‑Orthodox draft stance to challenge Netanyahu

• The move seeks to form a coalition to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• Neither Netanyahu nor opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot achieved a majority in the recent election

Updated 4 min 0 sec ago

November 6, 2026 15:12

Jerusalem: A prominent opposition figure said Friday he would soften long‑standing demands that ultra‑Orthodox Jews serve in the military, in a bid to forge a coalition capable of ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Neither Netanyahu nor opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot secured a majority in the October 27 election, leaving Israeli politics deeply divided after three years of war.

Eisenkot could build a governing majority if he joins forces with Israeli‑Arabs, whose parliamentary representation surged amid anger over Netanyahu’s far‑right cabinet. However, such an alliance faces strong opposition from Avigdor Liberman, a former Netanyahu aide who now sharply criticises the prime minister but shares his hardline views on the Palestinians.

Liberman said Friday that he would not abandon his refusal to cooperate with Israeli‑Arabs, but urged the opposition to negotiate with ultra‑Orthodox parties. This marks a shift for a politician who has long denounced the community for avoiding military service and has championed ending religious exemptions.

Emphasising that removing Netanyahu and preventing new elections were the paramount goals, Liberman declared it was time to compromise. “Trying to have everything risks getting nothing,” he posted on social media.

“This also includes the issue of the conscription law,” he added. “It pains me, and I know it pains many others as well. But given the full range of challenges we face today, the national interest of the State of Israel and the Jewish people must take precedence over all other considerations.”

Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party captured seven seats in parliament. He has long called for an end to the exemption that allows religious students to sidestep the military service required of most Israelis.

During the campaign, Liberman displayed posters vowing to crack down on “draft‑dodgers” and, in earlier appearances, described ultra‑Orthodox Jews as “anti‑Jewish” for demanding the exemption.

Netanyahu, who is personally secular, has historically relied on the two main ultra‑Orthodox parties. They withdrew from his government—without seeking to remove him—after he failed to codify the draft exemption into law.

One of those parties, United Torah Judaism, declined Thursday to support Netanyahu in forming the next cabinet during consultations with President Isaac Herzog, and also did not back Eisenkot.

Together, the two ultra‑Orthodox parties hold 담당 seats, which would give Eisenkot a narrow parliamentary majority.

President Herzog is set to announce on Sunday which party will receive the first mandate to attempt government formation. Eisenkot is the presumed favourite, having received the most party recommendations.

The exemption of ultra‑Orthodox Jews from military service has generated widespread resentment among other Israelis, many of whom serve multiple tours as reservists in the wars that have followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

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