In a series of bombshell recordings aired for the first time Wednesday evening on Channel 13, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is heard speaking in English with Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, pleading for more time to pass the chareidi draft law. Netanyahu tells Rav Hirsch that the reason he removed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was because they stood in the way of the legislation.
“We need to save not just the State of Israel, but also the Torah world,” Netanyahu is heard saying in the recording. “That is what I strongly believe in. With G-d’s help, that’s what we’ll do. In order to do it, we need time to pass the law properly, so it can’t be challenged.”
The recordings were obtained and broadcast by journalist Lior Keinan, revealing Netanyahu’s direct appeal to Rav Hirsch in a private meeting held in March. Speaking candidly, Netanyahu acknowledged that internal opposition had prevented the government from advancing the law—until now.
“We had massive roadblocks which we removed,” Netanyahu said. “You know, when the Defense Minister is against you and the Chief of Staff is against you, you can’t move forward. Now we can move forward.”
Gallant responded publicly to the recordings Wednesday night, saying simply, “I am proud of my position.”
Netanyahu, in the leaked conversation, also described his personal involvement in pushing the legislation forward. “I personally spoke about 20 times with Yuli Edelstein, who heads the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee,” he said. “I told him I’m taking command of this. I want you to hold more discussions—and he began doing so.”
He added, “Look, there are people who are trying to sabotage our efforts. I just came from the army—right now the army is doing exactly what we asked them to do. They’re creating frameworks, they’re building pathways for chareidim to serve in the army while maintaining a chareidi lifestyle. It’s incredible what’s being done.”
“Our goal is that those who enter as chareidim should leave as chareidim. We don’t want them coming in religious and leaving secular. And the only reason this is possible now is because we replaced the Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister who were blocking it for a long time. Now we can move ahead more professionally and more confidently.”
During the conversation, Netanyahu also pushed back against the idea of setting a rushed timeline for the law, warning that it could backfire.
“I’m saying that setting too quick a deadline will slow the process down,” he told Rav Hirsch. “I think Rosh Hashanah is a good time—enough time.”
“If you know the legislative process in the Knesset like I do,” he added, “you know they have ways to slow us down. I’m taking my time. We can’t do it at breakneck speed, because then we hand our opponents a gift on a silver platter.”
{Matzav.com Israel}