Netanyahu defends draft dodgers: 'These arrests are not acceptable'

As the election race enters its home stretch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going on the defensive against fierce attacks on him by haredi rabbis and said that he is aware of the frustration among haredi Israelis. "I understand that there was a lot of frustration and pain," the Prime Minister said in an interview with Radio Kol Berama on Tuesday. "We were on the brink of passing a real conscription law, and we were short by just one vote." "We can pass it in the next term, and it will settle the relationship between the haredim and the secular for generations. The law gives us the Torah world, which I very much respect, and ensures a redistribution of the burden." Asked whether he believes "Torah study protects the people of Israel and the State of Israel," Netanyahu answered: "What do you mean? It preserved the people of Israel. What preserved us in exile and through all of these generations? It was Torah study. You can not throw away our heritage." Further in the interview, Netanyahu called out the recent wave of arrests of draft-evading yeshiva students, and declared: "This is not acceptable. We must preserve the Torah world because it preserved us. These arrests are an intentional attempt to harm the process of enlisting haredim without coercion. I very much respect the Torah world, but whoever doesn't learn should enlist." Another major issue Netanyahu discussed was concerns about future cooperation between haredim and Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid, or center-left elements. "It is hard to believe that they would lend a hand to this. I hope there won't be such a phenomenon, and if there will be, I'm sure it will be marginal. People will eventually come to their senses because there is a great kinship between the haredi and faithful publics; we are all connected to Israel's heritage, and we have a common destiny. Beyond that, the alternative is terrifying." Regarding his political future, and whether this would be the last election cycle in which he leads his bloc, Netanyahu rejected the assessments and made clear that he would not set the end of his career in advance. "What do you mean? I intend to run. It's not up to me, but rather to the public, which will decide whether it wants me. But we have very important things left to accomplish." Furthermore, when asked about the possibility, occasionally raised, of a plea bargain in the criminal cases against him, the Prime Minister stated unequivocally: "That is not an option, and it never was an option." Yashar Party Chairman Gadi Eisenkot responded: "A week before the elections, he is promising the Haredi parties that he will advance a draft exemption law as a condition for forming a government." Eisenkot made clear that he would oppose such a move, declaring: "I will not let that happen."