Bennett vows not to cooperate with Haredim: 'The door is closed to those who support draft evasion'

In an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Bennett rules out Haredi parties joining his government as long as they support the draft exemption, and criticizes Eisenkot's outline of a 3% exemption, which he says amounts to 30% of the Haredi cohort.

Chairman of the 'Together' party, Naftali Bennett, clarified in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat that he will not allow the Haredi parties to join a government under his leadership, as long as they support the law exempting them from IDF service. "The door is locked to those who are in favor of draft evasion," said the former prime minister. He explained that the existential problem of the Jewish state is that 15% of the public lives in a separate and disconnected Haredi society, and there is no point in a government that does not solve it. Bennett criticized the enlistment outline of 'Yashar' chairman Gadi Eisenkot, according to which 3% of each draft cycle would receive an exemption for Torah study, and claimed that this amounts to 30% of the Haredi cohort, and that Gafni and Deri "will spin the politician of the hour." In contrast, representatives of United Torah Judaism, including MK Yaakov Asher, said in recent weeks that they are not committed to a bloc led by Netanyahu and will go with whoever gives them their demands on the enlistment issue.