In a candid and wide-ranging interview with Yishai Cohen of Kikar HaShabbat, Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman pulled no punches, making clear his stance on the ongoing war, the hostage crisis, Israel’s relationship with the U.S., and his uncompromising vision for a universal military draft—with no exemptions for yeshiva students.
Lieberman sharply criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to renew military operations in Gaza with the launch of Operation Gideon’s Chariots. He supported a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of all hostages, stating: “Absolutely yes. We must eliminate Hamas—that’s the goal—but we cannot do it on the backs of the hostages. You’re working with tweezers when you need an axe. To win the war, you need unity and national support.”
Referring to the recent release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander through U.S. intervention, Lieberman expressed dismay: “First, we welcome Edan’s release. But this incident shows the Trump administration is negotiating directly with Hamas. For Hamas, this is a huge achievement—legitimacy. The world’s biggest superpower sits with them after the October 7 massacre and agrees to humanitarian aid. And once again, they bypass Israel entirely. This is no longer an isolated event—it’s a pattern. It’s Netanyahu’s failure.”
Lieberman also condemned the public backlash against Alexander’s family for not thanking Netanyahu: “It’s insane. This is completely unacceptable. People have crossed every red line. There used to be one rule: you never argue with bereaved families or families of hostages. No matter what they say, even if it’s hard to hear, you don’t argue. And now, Edan is being attacked just because his family didn’t thank the Prime Minister? It’s outrageous.”
On the controversial draft law, Lieberman made his position crystal clear: “This must not be a ‘draft law for chareidim.’ It must be a draft law for everyone—Jews, Christians, Muslims. There must be two tracks: military service and civilian service. The IDF will decide who goes where, and civilian service will be under the Ministry of Defense’s social division—not private organizations.”
He added, “But anyone who evades both tracks should lose their right to vote—Jews and Arabs alike. I’ve already submitted such legislation.”
Lieberman emphasized that this principle is non-negotiable for him: “This will be a core condition for participating in any future government. We cannot continue with a huge sector that contributes nothing to the military or to civil service. We’re not looking for fights. But if we want to survive—we need a strong army.”
He left no ambiguity about his ultimate goal: a draft law with zero exemptions for Torah learners. “Everyone must be drafted. I’ve been dealing with this since 1999—many attempts were made. The chareidim just want to buy time. Even under the Katz proposal, you won’t see even a thousand chareidim in the army. They have no intention whatsoever—it’s all stalling.”
Responding to criticism that the Bennett-Lapid government, which he was part of, failed to pass a draft law despite chareidim being in the opposition, Lieberman pointed to the new reality post-October 7. “Back then, we didn’t have the massacre of October 7. That changes everything—and should change the way everyone thinks. For me, there’s no doubt. I know some colleagues are trying to craft loopholes for the chareidim—even from the opposition—but not with me.”

{Matzav.com Israel}