Bennett, Haredi factions clash over IDF draft before coalition talks even begin

Even before formal coalition negotiations begin, Naftali Bennett and the Haredi parties are already clashing through competing bills submitted to the Knesset, one day after the new parliament was sworn in. Bennett’s B’Yachad party introduced a “Law for Those Who Serve,” designed to prioritize soldiers and reservists with significant benefits. United Torah Judaism lawmaker Meir Porush, meanwhile, submitted bills aimed at regulating the status of yeshiva students and freezing arrests of draft dodgers. United Torah Judaism is also making clear that it has firm conditions for entering a government. Yated Ne’eman, the newspaper identified with party chairman Yaakov Asher’s Degel HaTorah faction, said the party would demand protection for the Torah-study world, independence for Haredi education and preservation of the status quo on religion and state.