Israel Hayom Column Warns Soft Draft Law Could Slide Into Soft Zionism

An opinion column published by Israel Hayom, titled “From ‘Soft Draft Law’ to ‘Soft Zionism’: The Price of Dropping Netanyahu,” argues that a proposed draft law on military recruitment has become a “soft draft law.” The columnist writes that there is already broad agreement that there will be no widespread recruitment of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men, and certainly no forced recruitment. The column’s central concern is that the political vote behind the soft draft law could slide into what it calls “soft Zionism.”

The column cites several political figures. It reports that Ehud Barak said the main challenge concerning the ultra-Orthodox is their integration into the labor market and core studies, and it characterizes his position as opposing anything that works against removing Benjamin Netanyahu from office. Avigdor Lieberman is quoted as saying that complex laws cannot be passed by a transitional government and that a draft law needs serious public and security debate. The column also notes that an activist who had previously written that ultra-Orthodox parties were disqualified from marriage and that there was no room for compromise on the issue later said, “the ultra-Orthodox are our brothers, we love them.” A photo caption in the piece refers to ultra-Orthodox protesters against recruitment outside a location in Tel Hashomer, with police spokespersons also mentioned.

Beyond the draft issue, the column makes arguments about settlement and housing policy. It states that, while demolition of illegal homes is a concern, the state has existed for many years with tens of thousands of illegal additions and houses. It also argues that the government’s new policy of its national security minister should be reconsidered, though the column does not spell out the policy’s details in the text provided.

The column challenges Lieberman’s account of foreign policy and security under the previous government. It reports that Lieberman said he preferred to serve as finance minister because that government could not deal with those issues. In response to claims that there is no security-policy problem even with a partner from Ra’am, the columnist cites Operation Dawn and states that the operation began in August 2022, after the government had fallen, new elections had been set, and Yair Lapid had become prime minister of the transition government.

The columnist describes what he calls a blurred border between a civil agenda and anti-Zionist nationalism, using land issues as an example and saying that some are already discussing territorial autonomy in the Galilee. He argues that a powerful wing of soft Zionism is pressing the leaders of the political bloc to join a government that would rely on Arab parties, and that democracy is being invoked to justify this. He further claims that some representatives find it difficult to call Hamas a terrorist organization, describing it as a charity, and that an electoral victory was dedicated to Gaza. These are the columnist’s assertions, presented in the column without independent verification in the source text.

The column identifies Prof. Cohen as a political science expert and one of the leaders of a movement called “to the flag.”

Source: Read the original report (translated from Hebrew)