Lieberman Seeks Meeting on Haredi Draft, Attorney General Refuses

Incoming Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Avigdor Lieberman is preparing to tackle the contentious issue of Haredi conscription, a central point in ongoing coalition formation talks. Lieberman requested a meeting with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and the committee's legal advisor to discuss the matter. While the committee's legal advisor agreed to attend, Baharav-Miara declined, stating she saw no justification for her participation. The report was published by Avishai Greenzweig for i24NEWS.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Moti Castel on Channel 14, Lieberman also asked the committee's legal counsel for the latest draft of the conscription law, formulated by MK Boaz Bismuth, which has not yet been circulated. Lieberman's stated goal is to gain legal approval for the draft and use it as a basis for discussions with Haredi parties during coalition negotiations. This is the same draft that Lieberman previously dismissed as a "conscription sham."

The developments occur amid negotiations between the "change bloc" and Haredi parties, with the arrangement for yeshiva students being the most critical element for any potential coalition agreement. Earlier, it was reported by B'hadrei Haredim that National Unity Party Chairman Gadi Eisenkot and United Torah Judaism Chairman Yaakov Asher held a secret meeting last week as part of these coalition talks, their first since Eisenkot received the mandate to form a government. These discussions are reportedly being conducted away from the public eye.

Sources within Degel HaTorah told B'hadrei Haredim that negotiations with Eisenkot and Lieberman are progressing faster than publicly perceived, with one source stating it is "no longer at the probing stage." These sources indicated that the talks are being managed by associates of Rabbi Landau, led by Yaakov Asher, while rabbis and Knesset members from the Haredi factions are not yet privy to the details. However, Asher later issued a statement denying significant progress in the negotiations, calling reports of "dramatic" advancements and "draft exchanges" baseless and attributing them to biased reporting.