Loudspeaker Vehicles Urge Haredi Parties to Reject Opposition Coalition Deals

Vehicles carrying loudspeakers traveled through Haredi population centers on November 8, urging the community’s elected representatives to reject coalition agreements with opposition leaders. The calls were heard in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Modi’in Illit in the hours before the report was published late Sunday evening. They addressed Haredi Knesset members and other political representatives. The messages focused on conscription legislation and the status of yeshivas, warning representatives against making concessions on those issues in negotiations over a new government. Organizers called on them to resist political agreements with the opposition figures involved. The activity followed reports in recent days of contacts between figures in the Haredi parties and the opposition. The coalition talks follow the election to the 26th Knesset. On November 5, President Isaac Herzog completed consultations with the elected factions at the President’s Residence. Factions representing 67 Knesset members recommended Yashar! leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, while factions representing 46 recommended Prime Minister and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In that November 5 statement, Herzog described mutual exclusions between and within the political blocs and said he would hold direct talks with some party leaders. “I intend to task a member of Knesset with forming the government this coming Sunday,” Herzog said at the time.