Yisrael Beytenu President Avigdor Liberman has dropped his veto on forming a government with ultra-Orthodox parties, opening the door for the opposition bloc to begin talks with United Torah Judaism (UTJ), N12’s Amit Segal reported Thursday.
The bloc is reportedly discussing the possibility of drafting a more lenient military conscription law, and the current assumption is that Shas would also be forced to support this move, under pressure from Rabbi Lando.
UTJ, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-time coalition partner, declined to recommend a prime ministerial candidate to President Isaac Herzog during the party’s consultation on Thursday.
UTJ’s decision to abstain came amid reported tensions between the ultra-Orthodox party and Netanyahu, and it benefits the opposition bloc seeking to replace him. Opposition party leaders have recently shown greater openness to including ultra-Orthodox parties in their coalition.
A potential coalition led by Yashar Chairman Gadi Eisenkot and including United Torah Judaism (UTJ) would hold 55 seats in the Knesset, far short of the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. However, this would reduce Netanyahu’s bloc to just 46 seats, potentially allowing Eisenkot to form a minority government with Raam and the Joint List abstaining.
Yisrael Beytenu denied this information in a statement to The Jerusalem Post.
“We are not aware of anything like this. Nothing has changed since the briefing,” the party said.
During Monday’s press briefing, Liberman ruled out joining a unity government with Netanayhu, as well as the option of a minority government that would depend on the support of Arab parties. However, its position regarding joining a coalition with Shas and UTJ appears more lenient.
Liberman said that anyone who accepted his set of principles and a conscription law to recruit haredim, he “would have no problem with.”
Liberman has repeatedly ruled out joining a government with ultra-Orthodox parties in recent years, citing fundamental disagreements over military conscription and issues related to religion and state. He previously said that Yisrael Beytenu would not sit in either Arab or haredi parties, describing them as “non-Zionist elements” and arguing that anyone who refuses military service should be considered an escapee.
His opposition to compromise on ultra-Orthodox conscription has also shaped coalition negotiations, most notably in 2019, when his refusal to support a compromise on a military bill helped derail Netanyahu’s efforts to form a government, triggering a political impasse that led to five elections being held between 2019 and 2022.
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