Netanyahu confirms dismissal of Galant and Halevi for opposing Haredi conscription exemption

On Wednesday evening, a Hebrew-language channel broadcast a leaked recording of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledging to a senior Haredi rabbi to defend exemption for Haredi Jews from military service.

Netanyahu acknowledged the dismissal of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi for their opposition to the move.

The recording, broadcast by private Channel 13, dates back to an interview between Netanyahu and the leader of the Lithuanian-Haredi movement, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, which took place in March, shortly before the Knesset (parliament) voted on the budget. At the time, the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) had threatened to vote against the budget.

These leaks come as the Haredi conscription crisis escalates once again, following the insistence of religious parties within the ruling coalition to call for the dissolution of the Knesset and the ouster of the current government for failing to pass a law barring religious conscription.

"We need to save not only the State of Israel, but also the world of the Torah," Netanyahu said in the recording.

He added, "This is what we will do. To do this, we need time to pass the law (the draft exemption) properly. It cannot be challenged. We are capable of doing this, and I will do it."

Netanyahu openly admitted that he dismissed Galant and Halevi at the height of the war because of his desire to advance the military service exemption law, saying, "We had huge obstacles, and we removed them. You know, when the defense minister is against you and the chief of staff is against you, you can't move forward. Now we can move forward."

Earlier on Wednesday, the privately owned Yedioth Ahronoth and Haaretz newspapers reported that Haredi rabbis had "ordered a withdrawal" from Netanyahu's government due to the stalemate in passing legislation exempting religious men from military service. One rabbi also ordered a Haredi party to "support" a vote to dissolve the Knesset for the same reason.

For its part, Haaretz reported that an unnamed senior rabbi had ordered a Haredi party to "support a vote to dissolve the Knesset due to the deadlock on exemptions from Israeli military service."

For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority considered the conflict over the conscription law to be a "real test" for the Netanyahu government's survival, noting that the rabbis' decisions "may shape the next political phase."

The Haredim (13 percent of Israel's 10 million population) continue their protests against military service following a Supreme Court (the highest judicial body) ruling on June 25, 2024, requiring them to enlist and prohibiting financial assistance to religious institutions whose students refuse military service.

For decades, members of the community have been able to avoid conscription upon reaching the age of 18 by obtaining repeated deferments under the pretext of studying at religious institutes, until they reach the age of exemption from service, which is currently 26.

In contrast, the opposition accuses Netanyahu of seeking to pass a law exempting Haredim from military service, in response to demands from the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, both members of the governing coalition, with the aim of preserving the stability of his government and preventing its collapse.

However, Shas decided earlier Wednesday to join the United Torah Judaism alliance in an effort to dissolve the Knesset and bring down Netanyahu's government over the crisis surrounding the conscription of Haredim into the army, according to Hebrew media.

Netanyahu's government has been in power since late December 2022, and if elections are not held early, they are scheduled for 2026.

This crisis is escalating as Israel, with full US support, has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza since October 7, 2023. This war has left approximately 180,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and a famine has claimed the lives of many, including children.