MK Hanoch Milwidsky accuses Yuli Edelstein of breaking agreements on the draft law and warns of deepening distrust among Haredi factions.
A political storm erupted within Likud ranks as MK Hanoch Milwidsky launched a scathing rebuke against Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, over significant alterations to the proposed military draft law.
Milwidsky, siding unequivocally with ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) factions, accused Edelstein of undermining a previously agreed framework, pushing the sensitive issue into a deeper crisis.
“What was presented to the Haredim is not what they were promised,” Milwidsky stated during an interview with Kol Hai Radio. “Yuli changed crucial elements, and that caused a total breakdown in trust.”
He specifically condemned the controversial idea of implementing biometric tracking in yeshivas, calling it “outrageous and offensive.”
“We’re treating Torah scholars as suspects, as if they must prove they’re not lying. That’s intolerable,” he said, echoing widespread Haredi frustration over surveillance-like enforcement proposals.
Milwidsky did not spare Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from criticism either, accusing him of passivity in the escalating dispute.
“The Prime Minister assumed this would resolve itself — it won’t. Only his direct intervention can prevent this from spiraling further.”
This public rift highlights growing tensions within the coalition over the highly sensitive draft law, especially with regard to religious exemptions and the treatment of yeshiva students.
