Prof. Yaron Zelekha, the No. 2 candidate on the Reservists-Economic Party's list, has drawn a red line for his participation in the next government, declaring that his party will not provide the 61st vote needed to establish a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
He added that the party would also refuse to join a coalition alongside the Haredi parties.
In a joint statement with Party Chairman Yoaz Hendel, Zelekha stated: "The haredim are our brethren. But parties that lead a line of isolation and draft evasion are not Zionist, and we will not sit with them. Even though a small group of haredim serves, we will not complete a coalition for Netanyahu and the haredi parties.
Hendel stated: "We call for universal conscription as a condition to form a government. This is the most important thing to us. Not the premiership as a condition to advance conscription like all the party leaders in the change bloc, but rather a government that will stop the country from splitting into the blue blood of draft dodgers and the red blood of those who serve."
He attacked the positions of Ofer Winter and Gadi Eisenkot: "If you start giving out exemptions, there won't be conscription for anyone," and added, "Religious Zionist Torah students are not as good to you? Why should they (the haredim) receive draft exemptions for a third of the population, and they (the Zionists) shouldn't?"
According to Hendel, "The integration of the haredi sector in the military and the Arab sector in national service tracks goes beyond the clear security need; it solves another existential threat: the issue of a Zionist majority in the State of Israel. At the moment, there are two autonomies in Israel, a haredi one and an Arab one. There is no law there, and many do not see themselves as part of the country. We can not reach a situation where, in 2048, there is no Zionist majority. If we don't wake up now and form a Zionist government that will do this, we will be in danger of falling apart. This nation deserves better."