Liberman Blasts Netanyahu: “Likud Has Become a Branch Office of the Haredim”. A Political Earthquake Over the Draft Law Debate Splits Israel’s Coalition

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman ignited a fresh political firestorm Monday, launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party for what he called a “complete surrender” to ultra-Orthodox parties in the government’s ongoing conscription crisis.

Liberman’s statement came after several Likud lawmakers signaled that they might join or express support for an upcoming anti-conscription protest organized by ultra-Orthodox factions in Jerusalem. The rally, set for Thursday, is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants opposing attempts to mandate yeshiva students’ enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces.

“Likud, under Netanyahu’s leadership, sends our children to the front lines with one hand and, with the other, waves the flag of draft evasion,”
Liberman declared in a fiery statement.
“The party has become a branch office of the Haredim and Ben Gvir. This is a disgrace I intend to end. I will pass a law mandating equal service for everyone, no exceptions, no loopholes, no sacred cows.”

הליכוד בראשות נתניהו, ביד אחת שולח את ילדינו לחזית המלחמה וביד השנייה מפגין בעד השתמטות מהצבא!

הליכוד הפך לסניף של חרדים ובן גביר. בקרוב מאוד אשים סוף לחרפה הזו ואעביר חוק גיוס חובה לכולם.
עם אחד - גיוס אחד! 🇮🇱

, אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) October 27, 2025

Likud Torn Between Ideology and Coalition Survival

At the center of the controversy are two prominent Likud figures:

• Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who told Radio Kol Hai he supports the rally’s message and “his heart is with all those who want to stop the persecution” of Torah students.

• MK Avichai Boaron, who echoed Karhi’s sentiments on Radio Kol Barama, saying he was “considering joining” and reaffirming that “the Torah is the elixir of our lives, and Torah study is a supreme value.”

Their words, seemingly aligning Likud with Haredi demonstrators, triggered a backlash within the party’s own ranks.
MK Dan Illouz struck back, warning that such gestures betray the party’s secular and nationalist voter base.

“Our voters are the backbone of the serving public, those who send their sons and daughters into battle and shoulder the state’s security,” Illouz wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“We must not bow to anyone, not to foreign powers, not to media pressure, and certainly not to coalition partners who reject the Zionist ethos of shared national duty.”

עצרת התפילה של החרדים ביום חמישי היא מבחינתי כנגד מי שעושה הכל כדי לחבל, להזיק ולפלג. לפיד, ליברמן, היועמ״שית המודחת וחבר מרעיה ושופטי בג״צ. זו הנקודה המרכזית. ובנקודה הזו אני מלא מלא עם אחינו החרדים.

במקביל לזה, חוק הגיוס שנחוקק בעזרת ה׳ בקרוב הוא חוק מצוין שאף אחד מהשמאל לא…

, 🇮🇱שלמה קרעי - Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) October 27, 2025

A Wider Identity Crisis for Likud

What began as a minor internal debate has exploded into a larger existential crisis for Likud itself.

The party, historically rooted in Zionist nationalism and a belief in shared civic responsibility, is now torn between its traditional base of working Israelis who serve in uniform and the Haredi political blocs whose demands for draft exemptions form the price of coalition stability.

The optics are damning: as Israel fights on multiple fronts and military reservists bear the weight of a prolonged conflict, members of the ruling party are contemplating joining a rally against the very concept of equal service.

Critics warn that this contradiction, sending soldiers to die while legitimizing mass exemption from duty, could shatter the moral backbone of Israel’s national ethos.

Haredi draft issue again rocks coalition stability: Shas quits coalition posts while senior Rabbi schedules mass protest.

Senior government and Likud officials told Ynet News that “although everyone wants to survive — if there is no progress on the draft law in the coming weeks,… pic.twitter.com/5e9C635j2W

— All Israel News (@all_israel_news) October 23, 2025

Liberman’s Offensive: The “Equality Law” Returns

Liberman has long positioned himself as the champion of secular Israelis and middle-class taxpayers frustrated by what they view as the “Haredi veto” over national policy.
His latest statement hints at a new legislative initiative, one he claims will “end the hypocrisy” by enforcing universal conscription or equivalent national service across all sectors.

Sources close to the Yisrael Beytenu leader say the bill, already being drafted, will aim to abolish blanket exemptionsfor yeshiva students while offering national-service alternatives in hospitals, schools, and emergency services.

The move could plunge the coalition into a constitutional showdown, as ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, have repeatedly vowed to quit any government that imposes mandatory service on Torah students.

Likud weighs joining Haredi anti-draft rally despite leading push for new conscriptio https://t.co/mxqfsP38ub

— drdivine (@drdivine) October 27, 2025

The Bigger Picture: A Nation at a Crossroads

Beyond the political theatrics, this latest spat underscores a profound question gripping Israel:
Can a nation that relies on universal sacrifice maintain its moral foundation if an entire sector refuses to share the burden?

As Liberman frames it, “The war in the north and the threats from Gaza prove that the State of Israel survives only because of those who serve. Those who study must also share in defending the nation that protects their right to study.”

The Jerusalem rally will not just be a protest, it will be a litmus test for the government’s integrity, the coalition’s unity, and Israel’s definition of equality in wartime.

The Judean’s Take: The Cracks Are Showing

What’s unfolding is more than a political squabble. It’s an ideological collision between religious privilege and national responsibility, a collision that may yet determine the survival of this coalition and the moral DNA of the state itself.