R’ Shabtai Katash, a Lubavitcher chossid and chairman of the religious council in Lod, is set to enter the Knesset as a Likud representative, replacing MK Dan Iluz.

Iluz announced earlier this week that he will resign from the Knesset in the coming days following his move to the Yisrael Beiteinu party, opening the seat for Katash, who is next on the Likud list.

Katash said he does not see his background as a limitation when it comes to representing the wider chareidi community.

“Likud is a party of the people, and the chareidi sector also has something to say within Likud,” Katash said in an interview with Kikar HaShabbat. “I can represent the religious community no less than the other representatives. We need to see how to connect people, not how to divide them.”

Regarding the draft law, which has become a major point of debate among Israeli society, Katash laid out his position. “Everyone who is not learning must be drafted. There is one leg that is Torah, and there is a second leg that is protecting Klal Yisrael through the army. Someone who learns Torah needs to stay in yeshiva,” he said.

He added that the state must ensure that chareidim who do enlist are able to maintain their way of life. “We need to make sure that whoever joins the army stays chareidi. Halevai that all the secular Jews would also learn Torah and also serve in the army.”

Katash described his political outlook as rooted in the Rebbe’s teachings. “The Rebbe guided us toward achdus. The shlichus of Chabad chassidim is to reach every Yid, without checking which sector he comes from. In the Knesset too, I see shlichus, to connect between parts of the nation and not to deepen the disagreements,” he said.

Katash’s entry into the Knesset has also drawn discussion among Lubavitchers, with some raising concerns and noting that the Rebbe repeatedly emphasized the need for Chabad to remain apolitical.