Ofer Winter Reverses Stance on Haredi Draft Law

Ofer Winter, chairman of the 'Am Yisrael' party and a retired brigadier general, has made the conscription of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men a central plank of his political campaign, declaring his party will not join a government that does not pass a draft law before its formation. This stance marks a significant shift from Winter's previous public statements over the past year.

"We will not join a government that does not pass a law before its formation that ends draft evasion and requires everyone to enlist and contribute," Winter stated Wednesday. "Without it, we will not sit in the government. Period."

However, in May 2025, Winter had argued that a law was unnecessary for Haredi enlistment. He suggested that creating suitable, kosher military units for the Haredi community would lead to voluntary enlistment. At the time, he also warned against politicizing the issue, calling it a "decree from heaven" in Judaism that would prevent Haredi enlistment if it became a political battle. His proposed solution then was to build trust and create tailored frameworks, rather than legislative compulsion.

Previously, in March 2025, Winter opposed forced conscription, stating, "We do not carry out a judicial reform by force, nor do we draft Haredim by force." He emphasized that public officials should find solutions and compromises, not incite internal conflict.

Even as he moved towards politics, Winter maintained a similar line. In June, he attributed the failure to integrate Haredim into the IDF to the military itself, claiming it broke established rules and eroded trust. He predicted large numbers of Haredim would eventually join the army willingly. By July, he intensified his criticism of legislation on the matter, calling the Torah study basic law and the draft law "offside" and counterproductive, comparing it to forced assimilation and questioning the approach to draft dodgers.

Just three weeks prior to his recent declaration, on August 13, Winter sharply criticized politicians for making Haredi conscription a major issue. He questioned their effectiveness over the past two decades, asking how many Haredim they had actually recruited while engaging in political maneuvering. Winter asserted that Haredi enlistment and integration would not be achieved through populism but through hard work and trust-building with the Haredi community, concluding, "Enough with all this false populism."

Now, less than three weeks later, Winter has set the passage of a draft law as an explicit condition for his party's entry into the next government, a stark reversal from his earlier positions.