PM term limits, no draft exemptions: Liberman reveals five principles for next coalition

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman revealed his party's five principles for the next coalition in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.

In his post, Liberman wrote that the "current coalition is dragging Israel into an endless internal conflict on issues such as the draft evasion law, the judicial system, the media, and the budget."

Yisrael Beitenu, he promised, would stand on five key principles.

First principle

Firstly, the party would prohibit all draft exemptions, meaning that drafting into the IDF would be legally mandated "for everyone."

"No exemptions, no quotas, no targets, no "Torah is their contribution."

The civil and religious freedom movement, Israel Hofsheet, and investment firm BDO revealed this week in a report that failing to draft ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF cost the country NIS 8.5 billion in 2024.

BDO calculated that if 27,000 haredim (ultra-Orthodox) – which they say makes up only 40% of those whose service has been pushed off for yeshiva study – had been drafted, the state could have saved NIS 8.5 billion, the firm asserted.

Second principle

Liberman's second principle is that all schools will have to teach the full core curriculum subjects of English, Mathematics, Computing, and the Bible. If schools fail to do so, Liberman said he would ensure they do not receive "a single cent from the state budget."

Liberman previously introduced a program in 2022, alongside then-Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, to encourage core studies in ultra-Orthodox educational institutions, many of which do not teach them.

"This is a first and important step for integration of core subjects into ultra-Orthodox educational institutions," Liberman said at the time. "The program will allow students to maintain their way of life while acquiring the skills required to enter the labor market."

Third principle

The third principle is the "establishment of a constitution and a Constitutional Court." Israel currently has an uncodified Constitution, meaning it does not have a formal written constitution, and has not had one since its establishment in 1948. In lieu of this, it has a system of Basic Laws with a somewhat semi-constitutional status.

Some have argued that the lack of a constitution has led to the internal crises Israel has suffered. The matter was brought particularly into the limelight after the Knesset approved the reasonableness standard bill to narrow the Supreme Court’s powers against the government in 2023.

Fourth principle

Liberman also promised to limit the duration of the prime minister’s tenure to two terms only.

Current Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is serving his fourth term.

In 2022, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who was then justice minister, tried and failed to pass a bill that would have limited prime ministers to eight years in office. At the time, he said, “Not having term limits for prime minister encourages corruption."

“It is disappointing, but it is not because of Yisrael Beytenu," Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman told the Jerusalem Post after the bill failed to pass. “We support it, but there is not full agreement in the coalition."

Fifth principle

Finally, Liberman claimed that Yisrael Beytenu would ensure that a "Knesset member indicted for a criminal offense will not be eligible to run for prime minister." This also appears to be in reference to the current Israeli premier, who is currently indicted on corruption charges. 

Liberman is a vocal critic of Netanyahu. His main competitor for leadership of the anti-Netanyahu right-wing camp is former prime minister Naftali Bennett.