Rav Yitzchok Yosef to Attias: “Defend Bnei Torah by All Means, with Anyone Willing to Help — This Is Not About Right or Left”

In a sharply worded message on Wednesday evening, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, former chief rabbi of Israel, made it clear that the latest developments surrounding the chareidi draft bill and the position taken by MK Yoel “Yuli” Edelstein could spell the end of the current government’s term.

During a meeting at his home, Rav Yosef received former minister and Shas negotiator Ariel Attias for a detailed update on the discussions within the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee regarding the draft legislation and the mounting political crisis threatening to dissolve the Knesset.

Attias informed Rav Yosef that although recent days had seen significant progress and broad agreement on a unified version of the draft law, committee chairman Edelstein suddenly reversed his position. He withdrew support for several key clauses, effectively gutting the agreement reached with chareidi parties and introducing a framework that would subject yeshiva and kollel students to a series of harsh sanctions.

In response, Rav Yosef instructed that a clear message be delivered to Prime Minister Netanyahu at their meeting today: Edelstein’s demands are tantamount to the collapse of the government.

Simultaneously, Rav Yosef emphasized the need to maintain open channels with all factions in the Knesset in preparation for possible future cooperation after elections, with the goal of ensuring legal protections for bnei hayeshivos.

“The primary mission in the Knesset is to strengthen and protect those who learn Torah — without them we have no right to exist,” Rav Yosef said during the meeting. “Therefore, it is imperative to act in every possible way, with anyone willing to help in this matter — this has nothing to do with being right-wing or aligning with any specific camp.”

It was also agreed that following today’s meeting with the prime minister, the matter would be reassessed and final decisions would be made accordingly — including the possibility of convening the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas at the beginning of next week to formally determine the community’s next steps.

In a related development, a list of sanctions proposed against yeshiva and kollel students under the age of 29 who do not enlist and fail to meet government-imposed draft quotas has been revealed:

• Loss of municipal property tax discounts (arnona)

• Revocation of income tax credits for their wives

• Ineligibility for discounted housing programs

• Taxation on first-home purchases

• Loss of academic tuition subsidies

• Inability to obtain a driver’s license

• Restrictions on travel abroad

• Disqualification from daycare subsidies

• Constant threat of arrest

• Removal of public transportation discounts

{Matzav.com Israel}