Former Housing Minister and chairman of Yahadut HaTorah, Yitzchak Goldknopf, slammed the Netanyahu government over its failure to uphold promises made to the chareidi tzibbur regarding the yeshiva draft.

In an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Goldknopf revealed that both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin explicitly pledged to enshrine full protection for yeshiva bochurim through the judicial reform package. According to Goldknopf, that promise included the passage of a Basic Law securing Torah learning as a national value and granting yeshiva students full exemption from army service, as well as a legal override clause to prevent the courts from intervening.

“We were promised that the reform would solve the draft issue,” he said. “We were told there would be a Basic Law to protect yeshiva students. What did we get? Nothing. We were wrong. We failed.”

Goldknopf’s remarks come amid growing concern following the mass issuance of 54,000 draft notices to yeshiva bochurim in recent weeks — a move he warned could lead to severe consequences.

“This is a law they won’t be able to enforce,” he declared. “The country will not be quiet. There will be no peace. If they want to shake the country, let them. But you cannot harm Torah learners. You cannot arrest bochurim. You cannot destroy the yeshivos.”

The comments follow Yahadut HaTorah’s dramatic decision to exit the coalition, protesting the government’s failure to deliver on its commitments to protect yeshivos. The High Court has since ruled that, in the absence of specific legislation, the IDF must begin drafting eligible chareidi men.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)