The savior has been found! The man who will redeem us from one of the most pressing social issues – the vital sharing of the security burden.
With him on the scene, the enlistment of tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students is only a matter of time. Who is it? The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuli Edelstein, of course.
According to the editorial in The Jerusalem Post, we must “Back Yuli.” In an article published last Wednesday, the newspaper’s editorial board argues that he is tangibly risking his political future through his steadfast declarations about bringing forward a proper and comprehensive law.
They likely have in mind statements Edelstein made at a conference held by another newspaper, Makor Rishon, earlier this week, where he declared that he is seeking a “real draft law” and stated that “Either a real draft law acceptable to all will pass, or there simply won’t be a law.”
The background for all of this is the growing tension between Prime Minister Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, particularly the Ashkenazi-ultra-Orthodox “United Torah Judaism” party, which announced this week that it would not vote with the coalition on Knesset members’ bills during preliminary readings.
Haredim demand law to regulate status of yeshiva students
As a result, lacking a guaranteed majority, bills presented by coalition MKs were withdrawn or postponed indefinitely.
This would appear to be a significant event. The ultra-Orthodox demand a law to regulate the status of yeshiva students who evade military service. In contrast, Edelstein, as chair of the committee where such a potential law is being discussed, is the last barrier in their way.
The reality, however, is quite different.
Nearly a year ago, in June 2024, the government applied the continuity rule to the draft law from the previous Knesset, which was then handed over to Edelstein’s committee. Since then, he has held almost 40 discussions on the bill, claiming that all aspects of the bill must be addressed before moving to actual legislation and that consensus must be reached.
In reality, Edelstein has yet to present a new draft bill or even a single agreement about such a bill.
One reported meeting between the Prime Minister, Edelstein, and Aryeh Deri resulted in a statement suggesting the intent to promote two laws in parallel:
A draft law that would set a target of 50% enlistment among yeshiva students within seven years and would include “significant” institutional and personal sanctions.
A “servicemen’s law,” initiated by MK Moshe Saada, that would grant benefits exclusively to those who serve.But perhaps the most telling clause in the meeting’s summary was the one that lacked any commitment: Deri was tasked with coordinating everything with representatives from United Torah Judaism, who didn’t even bother to attend the meeting.
The meaning of these events is clear: the ultra-Orthodox leadership’s calls to reject any draft framework, along with the fact that we’ve entered another phase of the war during which tens of thousands of worn-out reservists were called up once again, indicate that we are, yet again, being deceived.
Instead of placing imaginary crowns on Edelstein’s head and flattering someone who has failed to advance even a shred of agreement on this issue thus far, we would be better off shining a spotlight on the reality of the situation: Edelstein has failed in his role.
He may not have succumbed—at least, not on the surface—to pressure to advance a draft law favorable to the Ultra-Orthodox. Yet he knows well—as does Prime Minister Netanyahu—that they lack public legitimacy to push such a law forward, and that there is significant opposition to one even within the Likud party itself.
Edelstein had eleven full months to produce a draft law that embodies the value of “mutual responsibility” highlighted by The Jerusalem Post editorial board. In practice, he has done nothing beyond holding hollow discussions and making empty statements to the media.
The call to “Back Yuli” blinds the public and shifts blame away from one of the people responsible for the serious crisis we face today.
Until he presents the public with a genuine draft law, as he promised, he does not deserve public backing.
Tani Frank is the Director of the Judaism and State Policy Center at the Shalom Hartman Institute.