Veteran Lawmakers Moshe Gafni, Uri Maklev Set to Exit Knesset

Moshe Gafni, the long-serving chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee and a prominent figure in the Degel HaTorah party, is reportedly preparing to resign from the Knesset. His faction colleague, Uri Maklev, is also expected to step down. The official decision is anticipated from Degel HaTorah's rabbis ahead of the upcoming candidate list submissions for the central elections committee on Monday and Tuesday.

Yaakov Asher is slated to lead Degel HaTorah in the elections, potentially succeeding Gafni as Finance Committee chairman or serving as Housing Minister if his party joins the next coalition. Asher has previously adopted a confrontational stance towards Prime Minister Netanyahu, citing unfulfilled promises to the Haredi community regarding the "Draft Evasion Law."

Sources within Degel HaTorah indicate the decision has been made, with Gafni and Maklev awaiting their formal resignation letters. Rabbi Efraim Dov Landau, a leading figure in the Lithuanian Haredi community and head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, has reportedly endorsed the change. However, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, another prominent leader, has not yet finalized his decision and reportedly expressed reservations about the ouster.

The impetus for replacing Gafni and Maklev stems from criticism within rabbinical circles and the broader Haredi public, who feel the lawmakers failed to deliver on key legislative goals, specifically the "Draft Evasion Law." This perceived failure occurred concurrently with economic sanctions imposed on yeshiva students, including the withdrawal of subsidies for their daycare centers and arrests of students.

Gafni, 74, has had a lengthy parliamentary career, first elected in 1988 and returning in 1999 for continuous service. He has held significant roles, including Finance Committee chairman for four periods under Netanyahu's governments, Deputy Minister of Religious Services, and chairman of the Science Committee. As Finance Committee chairman, he wielded considerable influence over Treasury officials and other ministers, facilitating government legislation and budgets while also directing funds to Haredi institutions. He recently protested the non-transfer of approximately 600 million shekels to Haredi teachers in "Beit Yaakov" seminaries, intended to equalize their conditions with general education teachers under the "New Horizon" agreement.