STAR-BELLY SNEECHES:

Avigdor Liberman has become the biggest critic of the ultra-Orthodox political establishment since he refused last year to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, citing insurmountable differences with the Haredi parties.

Liberman's subsequent election campaigns have included strong, relentless criticism of the ultra-Orthodox and their elected politicians.

The disagreement has focused primarily on a bill regulating the draft of ultra-Orthodox men to the army -- Liberman demands that more seminary students be compelled to enlist, denouncing much of the Haredi community as "draft dodgers," while the ultra-Orthodox parties demand that a law that partially passed in the Knesset several years ago face significant revisions before being advanced further.

But an exposé published Monday indicates that while he was serving as defense minister between 2016 and 2018, Liberman's office generously granted exemptions from military service to many ultra-Orthodox men, primarily those with well-connected relatives.

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