Habayit Hayehudi MK Yoni Chetboun's decision to buck the party line on the new haredi conscription bill -- despite an earlier pledge -- attests to the eroding ethics of our politicians. Not because he plans to defy party discipline but because he failed to make his intentions clear on time. He should have communicated his opposition to the bill before Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett finalized the language of the bill with other coalition parties or at the very least, before the vote on the "governance bill" on Tuesday as part of a bundled reform package the Knesset is set to pass this week. What's worse is that Habayit Hayehudi had already told the coalition leadership that Chetboun was in favor of the bill. So why the sudden change of heart? According to Chetboun, had the sponsors of the bill taken out the provision that allowed the government to impose financial penalties on draft-dodging yeshiva students, he would have still supported the bill. On Tuesday morning, having witnessed the full-throated attack Yesh Atid leaders were waging against the haredim, he realized that he could not honor his pledge to vote "aye." His move could only be interpreted as an attempt to have Yesh Atid bolt out of the coalition and have the haredim take their place. This, despite Shas leaders making it abundantly clear that they would like to topple the current government rather than join it. But there could be another plausible interpretation: Habayit Hayehudi's spiritual leaders are increasingly calling the shots, sidelining the religious-Zionist leaders of the party. Habayit Hayehudi's back-benchers want to curry favor with those rabbis. That is a troubling development. Chetboun, a major in the Israel Defense Forces reserves who was awarded a special citation for his conduct during the Second Lebanon War, appears to be one of those back-benchers. His explanations speak for themselves, as does his sudden epiphany that the current makeup of the coalition is anti-Jewish. Chetboun's actions are not an isolated incident. His defiant behavior could pave the way for other renegade Habayit Hayehudi MKs. The haredi forces have already begun making inroads in the party. Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi), who voted in favor of the bill when it came up in the cabinet, has already noted that the bill will never be implemented. Even MK Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi) played along with the haredi sympathizers in her party, although she has not been outspoken about it. What's the deal with Habayit Hayehudi? Meanwhile Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri has been waxing lyrical about Opposition Leader and Labor Chairman MK Isaac Herzog, calling him Israel's next prime minister. Such assertions have no basis in reality. When it comes to loyalty, Israeli politicians know how to talk the talk. As for walking the walk, well... Herzog would be able to form a coalition that has Shas as its linchpin, right? And former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will re-enter the Knesset and help him muster the necessary majority, right? This is just utter nonsense, pure fantasy. In fact, there are other, more profane terms, to describe this futile endeavor. This political theater might seem like endless chatter, but it is nevertheless part of the political game. MKs will know how and when to ask for an appropriate quid pro quo, perhaps when the Knesset prepares to decide on a new president. Will the haredim consider the candidates' vote on the haredi draft bill as a litmus test in that race? Will they view the candidacies of Likud MKs Reuven Rivlin and Silvan Shalom through those lenses? The opposition said it would boycott the vote on the haredi draft bill. This could help the candidacy of MK Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer (Labor). With the right kind of luck, his no-show could make him the default candidate of the haredim. Coming to think about it, the next occupant of the President's Residence will have been elected according to his views on haredi draft-dodging. This Gordian knot is nothing short of outrageous. We might be in for some more surprises. Perhaps over the haredi conscription bill; perhaps when the law mandating a referendum on any territorial concession in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem will be turned into a basic law. Parliamentary disobedience starts with a single act of defiance. The rest just follows after it, almost naturally.
