On Wednesday, Gideon Sa’ar reached an agreement with Likud to form a coalition, a move that effectively ends his opposition to the government’s proposal to exempt chareidi Jews from mandatory military service, despite his previous promises to fight against such efforts.
As part of the deal, Sa’ar will assume the role of Israel’s foreign minister, replacing Israel Katz, who will take over as defense minister after the ouster of Yoav Gallant. New Hope MK Sharren Haskel is set to become deputy foreign minister, focusing on public diplomacy, while Ze’ev Elkin will be appointed a minister in the Finance Ministry. Sa’ar’s foreign minister appointment follows Gallant’s dismissal, which occurred after Gallant opposed the government’s attempts to grant military exemptions to chareidi individuals.
Gallant’s removal followed an announcement by the IDF that it would issue an additional 7,000 draft orders for chareidi men, as well as a decision by the coalition to cancel a vote on a contentious bill regarding state-funded daycare subsidies for children of chareidi men who had not served in the army.
Despite Sa’ar’s repeated claims that his party would resist any legislation allowing draft evasion or that didn’t meet military needs, his new coalition arrangement with Likud gives him little leeway on these issues, except for bills related to the judicial system and medical cannabis.
An anonymous source familiar with the situation told The Times of Israel that although New Hope still officially opposes such legislation, voting against it could be problematic due to the coalition agreement with Likud.
The source added that while the party might abstain from votes, “right now it’s not coming to a vote.” The coalition is considering two key pieces of legislation: one major bill aimed at regulating chareidi conscription, which critics argue is essentially a way to grant broad exemptions; and another temporary measure, known as the Daycare Bill, which would allow chareidi men who have not served in the military to continue receiving daycare subsidies despite a High Court ruling blocking such benefits.
Sa’ar has previously voiced skepticism about the coalition’s attempts to legislate a solution to the chareidi draft issue. In June, he told The Times of Israel, “if we cannot legislate a good law, it’s better not to legislate a law at all.”
In an effort to address opposition within the coalition regarding the chareidi-related bills, Coalition chairman Ofir Katz informed Likud MK Dan Illouz on Wednesday that he would be removed from the Knesset’s Economic Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Defense Committees and would be prohibited from submitting private bills for the next six weeks. Illouz had publicly opposed the Daycare Bill, a stance also shared by another Likud lawmaker, Yuli Edelstein, who stated this week that he would not back “any law that attempts to circumvent our ceaseless efforts to expand the conscription base in the State of Israel.”
Kan public broadcaster reported that Katz also informed Edelstein that he would be barred from submitting bills for a month and prohibited from representing the faction in Knesset.
Rumors about Netanyahu replacing Gallant with Sa’ar had been circulating for months before Gallant’s dismissal, with Sa’ar initially denying in July that he had been offered a role in the coalition. Sa’ar, a former prominent member of Likud, had a falling out with Netanyahu that led him to leave politics in 2014, only to return later with a commitment not to work with Netanyahu again.
However, after the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel, Sa’ar joined the National Unity coalition with Benny Gantz. His party, New Hope, later withdrew from the alliance in March and left the government after his request for a position in the high-level war cabinet was denied.
In opposition, Sa’ar was a vocal critic of the government’s handling of the Gaza war, even suggesting he would make “concessions” to other opposition parties to form a right-wing bloc against Netanyahu. Despite speculations about Netanyahu firing Gallant and replacing him with Sa’ar, Sa’ar initially declined the role of defense minister in September due to the escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Just over a week later, however, Sa’ar rejoined the government as a minister without portfolio and became a member of the security cabinet, a smaller group responsible for key wartime decisions. His return to the coalition bolstered the government’s majority in the Knesset to 68 seats, providing Netanyahu with greater political flexibility.
At the time, Sa’ar defended his decision to return to the government, stating, “There’s no point continuing to sit in the opposition, where most members’ positions on the war issue are different, even far from my own. Right now, it is my duty to try to contribute at the table where decisions are made,” while praising Israel’s recent strikes against Hezbollah.
Alongside the new cabinet positions, Sa’ar was promised to lead a new ministerial committee aimed at strengthening communities in the Golan Heights, as well as renewed efforts to promote Ariel University in the West Bank.
As part of his new role, Sa’ar’s Foreign Ministry will receive an additional NIS 545 million ($146 million) to boost Israel’s public diplomacy abroad. Sa’ar and New Hope’s Ze’ev Elkin will also participate in security consultations, including those focused on Iran’s nuclear program. Elkin will oversee the Tekuma Directorate, which is tasked with rebuilding the Gaza border communities attacked by Hamas on October 7, as well as the Northern Rehabilitation Directorate. He will also be involved in formulating the government’s postwar Gaza strategy.
{Matzav.com Israel}