A heated discussion on the “Iron Helmets” program on Srugim, hosted by Netan’el Izak, brought together Srugim editor Arye Yoeili, Kikar HaShabbat analyst Yishai Cohen, reserve Major Yoav Adamoni of the Reservists Party, and Dr. Nimrod Madar, who is running in the Likud primaries. They debated political deals being stitched together during the war, the deepening draft exemption crisis, and the country’s approach to possible elections.
The panel opened with reports that the ultra-Orthodox parties are pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide on the draft law and a Basic Law on Torah study. Cohen said Aryeh Deri and Moshe Gafni asked Netanyahu whether he had the votes for a draft bill, adding, “If there is a majority, let’s move forward. If there is no majority, let’s dissolve the Knesset.” He said the haredim want a “you give, you get” arrangement, advancing bills important to them in exchange for support on issues such as splitting the attorney general’s role. Yoeili doubted the threat of early elections, saying the current election date is October 20 and any advance would likely be only a week.
The harshest exchange centered on military service. Adamoni said the political bargains are being made “on the backs of the fighters” and reservists, as the government sends more people into repeated reserve duty while arranging deals that let others avoid service. Cohen countered that the current government has already imposed heavy sanctions on the ultra-Orthodox, including no daycare subsidies, no yeshiva budgets, and arrests of Torah students, arguing that an 18-year-old arrested for studying Torah is not treated like a criminal.
The discussion also covered Likud primaries, with Madar saying primaries energize the base but can produce a less attractive list for swing voters, while Adamoni argued Likud primaries have long produced only a mediocre slate. The panel praised a court decision striking down a petition against keeping Big Fashion in Glilot open on Shabbat, discussed Netanyahu rival Naftali Bennett’s political positioning, and ended with “commendation and rebuke” awards for the week. Adamoni summed up the coalition dynamic bluntly: “Next week’s headline, Netanyahu buys time, the haredim buy exemption and the reservists pay.”
