Eisenkot Claims Meeting With Haredi Official, Asher Denies Content
Translated & summarized from JDN by baba
Gadi Eisenkot claimed he told a senior Haredi representative that he would prefer new elections over a compromise on the draft law, a statement disputed by MK Yaakov Asher. Eisenkot identified the representative as MK Moshe Gafni, with the meeting occurring about five months ago. Asher countered that such remarks would have ended the meeting prematurely and criticized perceived unequal treatment of Haredi families compared to families of terrorists.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Gadi Eisenkot stated he would prefer new elections over a draft law compromise with Haredi parties.
- MK Yaakov Asher denied Eisenkot's account of a meeting regarding the draft law.
- Eisenkot identified MK Moshe Gafni as the senior Haredi representative he met.
- The meeting reportedly took place five months ago, following a dispute over yeshiva students' draft status.
- Asher criticized perceived discriminatory sanctions against Haredi families compared to terrorist families.
Gadi Eisenkot stated on Wednesday that he would prefer further elections over a compromise on the conscription law that would enable him to form a government. He asserted that he conveyed this stance during a meeting with a senior Haredi representative. However, Yaakov Asher, chairman of the United Torah Judaism party and a Member of Knesset, disputed Eisenkot's account of the conversation, claiming the matters were not presented as described.
Eisenkot recounted that a senior Haredi representative met with him about five months ago, after Rabbi Gadol Landau announced the dissolution of the right-wing bloc and expressed distrust in Prime Minister Netanyahu. Eisenkot said he told the representative that after the national and personal cost, he would be the "toughest person" on the conscription law and would not agree to regulate the status of Torah students as a condition for forming a government. He reportedly stated that if "the politicking you are doing with Netanyahu" stood between him and government formation, they would go to more elections, adding, "It will not happen."
Eisenkot identified the representative he met as MK Moshe Gafni. Asher, in response, stated that if Eisenkot had said what he claimed during the meeting with Gafni, which lasted over 40 minutes, the meeting would have ended after four minutes. Asher further criticized sanctions affecting families of Torah scholars, comparing the treatment to the legal caution exercised when discussing sanctions against families of terrorists.
"We sat again and again with the legal counsel who was careful to ensure there would be no collective punishment against family members. But when it comes to the Haredi public, suddenly everything is permitted," Asher said. He added, "They beat mercilessly the wife and children of an avreich whose only sin is that he sits and studies Torah from morning till night. If you have decided that we are not equal citizens in this country, say it honestly. Say you have given up on us as citizens, and that's it."
