The Knesset on July 2 approved the first reading of a bill for drafting ultra-Orthodox men to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The vote was 63-39. At the request of the opposition, the vote was presented as a no-confidence measure, with the possible, but unlikely, outcome of toppling the governing coalition if it failed to pass.

It is still too early to know whether, in the long run, Yesh Atid Chair Yair Lapid’s decision to support the coalition’s Conscription Law was a successful political gamble. What can be said is that in the short term at least, Lapid has come away unscathed by the opposition party’s accusations that he saved the Netanyahu government and surrendered to the ultra-Orthodox by abandoning the most important banner issue on his agenda — conscription of the ultra-Orthodox.

The Conscription Law submitted by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman received the support of the IDF, including Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. It passed its first reading thanks to the votes of Yesh Atid, which is usually a much more belligerent opposition party. In this case, however, Lapid decided to side with Liberman, claiming that it was a good law based on a law formerly submitted by his own party. The law’s opponents argued that it lacks criminal sanctions or meaningful recruitment targets for the ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox themselves outwardly opposed the law as well, but behind the scenes, they worked hard to ensure that it passed, having realized that they would never get anything better. If the current proposal failed, they would be forced to serve in the IDF.

Lapid and the other members of his party came under incessant attacks, mainly from the Zionist Camp, which portrayed Lapid as a political wheeler-dealer who betrayed his values and prevented them from bringing down the government. In the days leading up to the vote on the Conscription Law, Zionist Camp Chair Avi Gabbay flooded social media with a campaign targeting Lapid. In it, he accused Lapid of succumbing to “political wheeling and dealing with Liberman and the ultra-Orthodox,” of being stubbornly ignorant and of abandoning his supporters so he could rescue Netanyahu’s failed government.