Kadima quits coalition over draft
The largest political party in the Israeli parliament stormed out of the coalition government this week, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of selling out to the country’s Charedim. Kadima had joined the coalition, which is led by Netanyahu’s Likud Party, just 70 days earlier.
The marriage of convenience saw Kadima provide Netanyahu with a government commanding the loyalty of a historic 94 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, and saw Netanyahu give Kadima, under new leadership, a chance to restore its relevance in the Knesset. Both parties had heralded the union as a historic opportunity to remedy the fact that Charedi men receive a near-automatic exemption from national service, which is compulsory for other Jewish men. But it was precisely this mission that brought Tuesday’s fraught divorce. Kadima wanted an almost-full male draft within a few years and financial penalties for those who don’t comply.
Netanyahu reportedly planned a period of many years over which a culture of Charedi service would be established, during which Charedim would be drafted at a significantly older age than the rest of the population and a large number of Charedim would be exempt. He reportedly rejected the idea of financial penalties on draft dodgers. And so, on Tuesday evening, Kadima politicians voted overwhelmingly to leave the coalition.
“He wanted to please the Charedim rather than making the change that people were expecting from him,” Kadima MK Rachel Adatto said in an interview with The AJN moments after the vote. She continued: “He was afraid about the reaction of the Charedim and didn’t have the courage to take advantage of having such a large coalition.”
Israeli governments are usually dependent on Charedi parties for a parliamentary majority, but with such an unusually large coalition, Netanyahu had a rare opportunity to pass legislation ushering in a universal draft, even if they left the government, she said. “He could have done it.”
Though Kadima said that Netanyahu had wasted an opportunity, Netanyahu turned this claim back on Kadima. “I regret your decision to give up on an opportunity to make a historic change,” Netanyahu wrote to Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz in a letter. “After 64 years, we were very close to a substantial change in the division of the burden. I gave you a proposal that would have led to the conscription of ultra-Orthodox and Arabs from the age of 18.”
Kadima’s insistence on an almost-full Charedi draft in a short period of time is bad for society, Netanyahu claimed, writing to Mofaz: “I explained to you that the only way to implement this on the ground is gradually and without tearing Israeli society apart, especially at a time when the State of Israel is facing many significant challenges. I will continue to work towards the responsible solution that Israeli society expects.”
It is unclear now what the government will do regarding the draft, but Netanyahu has little choice but to act quickly – the current legislation exempting Charedim expires on August 1, and a new law clarifying where Charedim legally stand regarding army service is needed.
As Netanyahu gets his head round the need to advance draft legislation without Kadima, Yisrael Beitenu, the party led by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, is planning to try to embarrass him by passing a rival bill. “We want everybody to go to the military at 18, and not at an older age, regardless of what sector they belong to,” an aide to Yisrael Beitenu MK David Rotem told The AJN.
Whatever happens regarding the draft, several opposition parties are calling for elections, pointing out that in May, Netanyahu had already agreed to go to the polls, only changing his mind when he teamed up with Kadima.
We should do now what should have been done two months ago and go to elections to give the public the right to determine cleanly the issues touching on the future of the State of Israel,” Labour leader Shelley Yechimovich said.
NATHAN JEFFAY