For Bibi's shaky coalition, draft dissent spells trouble
In a fighting mood amid the army’s preparations for the anticipated attack, Gallant began the conversation with a chilling assessment of the state of the country. Then the chareidim asked him why he’s playing into Benny Gantz’s call for a snap election.
“I don’t want elections, and anyone who cares about this country should be running from elections,” Gallant responded. “We can’t go to elections before we’ve defeated Hamas, which will require entering Rafah. Whatever the cause, elections before the mission is accomplished will be perceived as a defeat for Israel. In my view, winning the war is an existential mission, and elections would jeopardize that goal.”
In that case, the chareidim asked, why did you take the initiative in announcing that on your watch, the Defense Ministry won’t advance a draft bill without Gantz’s approval, when it’s clear that Gantz has no interest in keeping this government going?
In a characteristic response, Gallant explained that what he’d done was actually for the good of the chareidim. “After the judicial reform saga, it’s clear to me that passing a bill to allow yeshivah students to continue learning will require broad political consensus. If we try to ram legislation through, we’ll see huge demonstrations and reservists refusing to report for duty en masse, forcing us to pull back. That’s why I said we need to sit down with Gantz and agree on an outline, because that’s our only chance of actually passing a bill. But if Gantz tries to use it to bring down the government, I won’t cooperate with him.”
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