What initially appeared to be progress on Israel’s long-stalled chok hagiyus (draft law) has unraveled completely. A second meeting held Sunday between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, MK Yuli Edelstein, former minister Ariel Attias, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs ended in failure, with both sides acknowledging that instead of moving forward, negotiations have deteriorated significantly.
Just days ago, following the initial round of talks, reports indicated promising headway. Edelstein had laid out a list of demands for the draft law—including severe sanctions and specific enlistment targets—and sources suggested that Deri had expressed tentative agreement, pending approval from the United Torah Judaism party. However, UTJ has not signed off, and that tentative progress has now collapsed.
At the heart of the standoff is Edelstein’s uncompromising stance. As chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, he insists on a series of hardline provisions in the new law. These include ambitious enlistment targets—over 50% of the eligible chareidi population within seven years—and limiting acceptable forms of national service exclusively to combat soldiers and combat support roles. National civilian service or less significant IDF placements would not count toward meeting the quotas.
Further, Edelstein is pushing for strict enforcement. He wants both personal and institutional sanctions, with legal backing for any penalty approved by the Justice Ministry. One clause would remove the Defense Minister’s discretion entirely, ensuring that penalties would be triggered automatically without room for delay or modification.
During Sunday’s meeting, Edelstein rejected even the smallest compromise. When former minister Ariel Attias proposed including civilian service in the enlistment targets—as a possible bridge to bring UTJ on board—Edelstein flatly refused. Attias argued that civilian service is essential to make the law viable and noted that even Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had agreed in principle. Edelstein, however, held firm, and the meeting ultimately fell apart in mutual accusations over who was responsible for the breakdown.
Despite prior optimism, sources now say that the law is unlikely to be passed during the upcoming summer Knesset session. The distance between parties is simply too wide, and the atmosphere too volatile, for meaningful progress to be made in the near term.
The stakes are growing more serious. The gedolei Yisroel of United Torah Judaism—representing both Agudas Yisroel and Degel HaTorah—have already instructed their representatives to exit the coalition if no substantial progress is made by Shavuos. With the deadline fast approaching and no clear path forward, pressure is mounting on Netanyahu to act quickly if he hopes to keep UTJ, and possibly even Shas, from leaving the government.
Meanwhile, the question looms: Will Netanyahu find a political lifeline in time, or will the chareidi parties follow through on their threat, potentially toppling the coalition?
Edelstein’s Key Draft Law Demands:

• Enlistment quotas exceeding 50% of eligible draftees from the current chareidi age group, phased in over less than seven years (a timeline even shorter than one proposed by Defense Minister Gallant).
• Only combat and combat-support service will count toward meeting these quotas—excluding civilian service or non-critical IDF positions.
• Harsh personal sanctions for individuals, plus sweeping institutional penalties against chareidi schools and yeshivos.
• No authority granted to the Defense Minister to delay or modify the sanctions once triggered.

With Shavuos set as the final deadline by chareidi leadership, the coming weeks could prove decisive in determining the future of the Netanyahu coalition and the delicate relationship between Israel’s government and the Torah world.
{Matzav.com Israel}