UTJ Withholds Recommendation, Demands Binding Guarantees for Yeshiva Students
The party is insisting on legally enforceable protections for draft-age yeshiva students before offering support, a stance likely to redraw coalition math and prolong government talks.
Overview
- United Torah Judaism declined to recommend any prime ministerial candidate during presidential consultations on Monday and says it will back only a candidate who delivers a practical resolution for yeshiva students.
- Hamodia and UTJ leaders say written or signed commitments are insufficient and the party will seek legally enforceable guarantees to stop arrests, lift sanctions and secure exemptions for yeshiva bochurim.
- UTJ says it will act under the direction of senior Torah sages and will insist that any deal preserve the existing religion-and-state arrangements on issues such as Shabbat, kashrut and conversion.
- Reports of contacts with Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman and possible coordination with Shas have circulated but are disputed, with Lieberman’s office denying the claims and no agreement reached.
- Party officials warn talks will be complex and drawn out; the demand reflects concrete social effects cited in coverage—arrests, limits on travel, daycare and financial strain on kollelim—and could change how coalition lines are formed.