Haredi Parties Rally Over Draft Arrests as Netanyahu Repeats Promises

A Friday-night political panel on Ishay Cohen’s “Friday Night Studio” reviewed a turbulent week in ultra-Orthodox politics, centered on a broad Haredi mobilization against the arrest of Torah students. The discussion, featuring Avidor Weiderman, Rabbi Avraham Weber, Avraham Kruizer and Avi Greinzig, said the protest brought together leading rabbis from across Haredi communities and saw thousands of cars driving in slow convoys from multiple locations nationwide.

The panel also examined a dramatic meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Haredi faction leaders, Aryeh Deri and Moshe Gafni. According to the report, Netanyahu again pledged to advance the Basic Law on Torah Study and the draft-arrest legislation, after forceful demands from the Haredi parties. The commentators asked why Haredim still trust Netanyahu’s assurances, reviewed past broken promises, and debated whether the bills can actually pass the Knesset and survive scrutiny by the Supreme Court.

A separate focus was the sharp remarks by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who said, “Woe to us that דווקא in a right-wing government there are such decrees on Torah students, yeshiva students and the holy Torah.” He added, “We do not rely on those in politics, their right hand is a false right hand, we do not rely on the authorities.” The panel discussed whether his criticism was aimed at Netanyahu personally or at the political system more broadly, and what message that sends to the Haredi public.

The final segment turned to the wider political map, including Naftali Bennett’s steep decline in the polls and Gadis? A surge by Gadi Eisenkot, who is now leading the bloc. The panel considered whether Haredi parties could realistically sit in a government headed by Eisenkot if that scenario emerges.