The Bullshit Alliance: How the Left's Recruitment Principles Disappeared

Dr. Eitan Lesri accuses left-wing leaders of hypocrisy regarding the enlistment of Haredim: in the past they demanded full conscription, and now, when Haredi votes might help them form a government, they change their stance and talk about dialogue. The article compares statements by Lieberman, Lapid, Bennett, Golan, and Eisenkot before and after the elections, and presents rising enlistment figures.

Dr. Eitan Lesri, a commentator on Channel 14, accuses left-wing leaders of hypocrisy regarding the enlistment of Haredim. According to him, for years the left led an uncompromising struggle against Haredi enlistment, demanded sanctions, and presented any compromise as surrender. But now, when Haredi votes might help them form a government, they change their stance and talk about dialogue and agreements. The article quotes Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, and Gadi Eisenkot, comparing their statements before the elections on October 27 to their flexibility afterward. Lesri claims that the "Alliance of the Enlistees" has become the "Bullshit Alliance" and that the left is willing to legitimize Haredi draft-dodging in order to create a blocking bloc. The article presents rising enlistment figures: 2,200 in 2023, 2,811 in 2024, and 4,300 in 2025, and a gradual enlistment outline by MK Boaz Bismut. Lesri, a former senior advisor to prime ministers, writes that dialogue and agreement are preferable to coercion and frontal confrontation.