- AFP, JERUSALEM
Israel’s opposition saw a new path yesterday to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as one of its leaders backtracked on demands that ultra-Orthodox Jews serve in the military, opening the door to a once improbable alliance with the community.
Neither Netanyahu nor opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot reached a majority in the Oct. 27 election, with Israeli society highly polarized over Netanyahu and worn down by three years of war.
Eisenkot could form a government with Israeli-Arabs, whose seat count soared on anger over Netanyahu’s far-right government.
A combination photo shows Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot in Tel Aviv, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem speaking to supporters at their respective election night rallies on Oct. 28.Photo: AFP
However, an alliance with Israeli-Arabs faces strong disagreement from opposition partner Avigdor Liberman, a one-time aide to Netanyahu who now sharply criticizes the prime minister, but shares his hawkish views on the Palestinians.
Liberman said he would not back down on refusing to work with Israeli-Arabs, but called for talks with ultra-Orthodox Jews, although he has berated the community for years and ran on promises to end its exemption from Israel’s mandatory military service.
It was time to compromise and “understand that trying to have everything risks getting nothing,” Liberman said.
“This also includes the issue of the conscription law,” he said. “This pains me, and I know it pains many others as well. But given the full range of challenges we face today, the national interest of the State of Israel and the Jewish people must take precedence over all other considerations.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog plans to announce tomorrow who will have the first chance to form a government — most logically Eisenkot, as he has received the most endorsements thanks to support from Israeli-Arabs.
Yair Golan, Israel’s main left-wing leader and part of the opposition bloc, said “serious work” was underway to form a coalition.
“I’m more optimistic than I was on the Wednesday morning after the election results. There is progress. There is a will,” he said.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews’ exemption from military service has fueled widespread resentment among other Israelis, with reservists serving multiple tours in the wars Israel has been fighting since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
Netanyahu has long relied on the ultra-Orthodox, accepting that the community — which accounts for about 14 percent of the population — can send children to religious schools rather than the army.