Minister Levin's surprising statement about the conscription law: "A catastrophic event, the price will be terrible and terrible"

The conscription law crisis : Justice Minister Yariv Levin defines the crisis as a "catastrophic event", admits that the Likud party must keep the promises made to the ultra-Orthodox in the last coalition agreement, but knows that this will have a "terrible public price" and that Likud voters do not accept the failure to conscription of the ultra-orthodox, and also insists that It is possible to completely rule out a legal arrangement that has existed in Israel for decades.

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The minister is one of the most significant factors in the talks conducted in recent months on the issue of the exemption from conscription of ultra-Orthodox members of the IDF whose "theory is their art". Levin, in almost every political minefield, and especially in this explosive issue, has become the long hand of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in fact he is the most senior political figure present at the meetings and in conversations with the heads of Shas and Torah Judaism, senior Likud officials and the legal counsel to the government.

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Levin has never voiced his opinion on the issue publicly, so the quotes cited here from two closed conversations he recently had in closed rooms are an unprecedented reference to an issue that now threatens the integrity of the coalition. It should be noted that the words were said before the events of the past week and the coalition's decision to refrain from promoting the issue in the government.

"A catastrophic event," is how Justice Minister Levin defined the crisis. He admits that the Likud party must fulfill the promises made to the ultra-Orthodox in the last coalition agreement, but knows that this will have a "terrible public price". Levin said that Likud voters do not accept the non-conscription of the ultra-Orthodox, and that it is impossible to completely rule out the legal order that has existed in Israel for decades. "We're not on a political adventure," the minister said in those conversations. "This is a real catastrophic event. Even we (Likud voters – 11) do not accept that the ultra-Orthodox do not go to the army, it is not a story of right or left and we are in a very difficult situation."

Referring to the government's future moves in the absence of a decision regarding the status of yeshivas, Levin admitted: "It cannot be left like this without a law. We are not running away from our desire and commitment to resolve this issue, but I know that the public price will be terrible and terrible."

Despite the decisive words, Levin also added in those conversations that he "understands the hearts of the ultra-orthodox", as he put it. According to him, "the order that has existed here for 75 years, you cannot get up in the morning and say: we are canceling everything and recruiting all the ultra-Orthodox. It is not right to do that because it will cause a severe backlash and the truth is that the IDF does not want that either." Levin continued: "It is important to do things in agreement, step by step. The worst thing to do is push the ultra-Orthodox into a corner, it will not achieve the goal. We will eventually reach a solution, there is no choice."