Liberman says Haredi draft compromise talk leaves his principles intact

Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party and a member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, has pushed back against critics of his apparent willingness to compromise with ultra-Orthodox parties over military conscription. Ynet reported that he said he was not trying to make anyone fail, that he had not given up on the principle of the draft, and that his law from 2018 serves as a basis for discussion.

The same remarks were carried by N12, citing its correspondent Dafna Liel, who described them as a reply to criticism of his readiness to compromise on the conscription issue. In a longer post, Liberman wrote on X that being prepared to compromise does not mean surrendering values and principles.

What Liberman said on X

In his post, Liberman attacked what he described as a parade of folly by commentators, journalists he characterised as partisan, online bots and people he said hold prejudices, sometimes with what he called a pronounced racist tone. He wrote that whatever he says or does, these critics attribute malicious motives to him and invent conspiracy theories.

He went on to argue that those criticising his efforts to reach understandings with the ultra-Orthodox parties are the same people who would prefer to form a government that relies on Ra'am and the Joint List. He wrote that some lawmakers from those parties publicly identify with Hamas and describe it as a charitable organisation. The text of the post as it appears in the material available to us is cut off after that point, so the rest of his argument is not reflected here.

These are Liberman's own characterisations of his critics and of the Arab parties he named. They are his claims, made in a political post, and are reported here as such.

How News.co.il framed his position

News.co.il summarised his stance as a signal to the ultra-Orthodox parties: yes to compromise, no to abandoning principles. According to that outlet, Liberman backs dialogue with those parties in order to prevent another round of elections, while insisting he has not dropped the principle of conscription for everyone and will not support a government that depends on anti-Zionist Arab parties. News.co.il also reported that, in his words, the goal is to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power while keeping his party's core principles. The excerpts of Liberman's own post available to us do not include the reference to Netanyahu, so that element rests on the News.co.il account.

The Haredi draft question

Haredi is the Hebrew term for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis, but young Haredi men studying in yeshivas, religious seminaries, have long been largely exempt. Whether and how to bring them into the army has been one of the most contested issues in Israeli politics for decades, and it has repeatedly shaped coalition negotiations, because the Haredi parties have often been partners in government and treat the exemption as a core demand.

Liberman has built much of his political identity around this issue. Yisrael Beytenu is a secular, right-wing party, and its leader has for years presented equal conscription as a red line. That history is why reports of him seeking understandings with the Haredi parties drew criticism, and why he moved to say publicly that his principles have not changed.

The law he refers to as his own from 2018 is a conscription framework associated with him. By naming it as the basis for discussion, he signalled that any arrangement he would accept must start from that framework rather than from the positions of the Haredi parties. The reports do not describe the provisions of that law or what parts of it he would be willing to adjust.

Ra'am and the Joint List

Ra'am, also known as the United Arab List, is an Islamist party representing Arab citizens of Israel. The Joint List is an alliance of Arab-majority parties. Whether a government can or should rely on the support of Arab parties has been a recurring dispute in Israeli coalition politics. Liberman's post places him firmly against such an arrangement, and he uses that position to cast his critics as people who favour it.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports carries a response from the Haredi parties to Liberman's remarks, or says whether any formal talks between them and Yisrael Beytenu are under way. The reports also do not specify what compromise on the draft Liberman is prepared to consider, or which of his critics he was addressing. No response from Ra'am or the Joint List to his statements about their lawmakers has been reported.