Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (New Hope-United Right) announced on Tuesday that she was resigning from the government after the Knesset passed legislation freezing the arrests of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft evaders, saying she could no longer stand behind the government’s decisions.
“I feel that I can no longer support a government that harms the security of the country during wartime,” she told the press in the Knesset immediately after the passage of the law.
Haskel was among the small group of lawmakers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to vote against the bill.
She has been a fierce critic of the series of legislation being advanced by the haredi parties – with government backing – which critics argue encourages draft evasion, even amid the IDF’s severe manpower crisis.
Announcing her resignation, Haskel added that she had warned in advance that if laws were passed to encourage draft evasion, she would consider resigning.
“I can no longer stand on the side… Today, by passing this law, the government harmed the most important people who have been standing with us [on the frontlines] for three years for the security of Israel,” she added.
Her resignation also comes after the Knesset passed on Monday a bill to enshrine Torah study as a fundamental value in the country’s Basic Law, which critics argue encourages draft evasion.
Backstabbing Israelis serving in the IDF
Last month, Haskel told The Jerusalem Post that the legislation being advanced by the coalition amounted to “backstabbing” Israelis serving in the military during wartime.
“It is absolutely morally wrong. It will reduce Israelis’ motivation to continue serving,” she said. Haskel’s resignation also comes amid reports that she has been considering joining a new right-wing party ahead of the upcoming elections.
Other names raised in connection with talks about forming the alternative party are former Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan and Likud MK Yuli Edelstein.
Edelstein announced last month that he would be leaving the Likud, stating that he was planning a new political path. He also voted against the bill to freeze the arrests of haredi draft evaders.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) chairperson MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), who heads the panel where the arrest freeze legislation was advanced, sharply criticized Haskel after she resigned.
“Ms. Sharren Haskel, if you think that after this performance you’ll be cast in a political party, you should know the line is a long one,” he posted on X/Twitter.
Edelstein had once held Bismuth’s role as FADC chairperson, but he was ousted from the position last July after leading efforts to legislate a haredi conscription bill.