Israel heads to early elections as crisis over conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews deepens

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Threats by ultra-Orthodox parties to undermine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government over conscription of Haredi Jews are putting Israel on track for early elections.

According to Israeli media, Haredi rabbis instructed religious parties to withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition government due to the stalemate in passing legislation exempting Haredi Jews from mandatory military service.

Haaretz newspaper said that one of the rabbis ordered a Haredi party to “support” a bill by the Israeli opposition to dissolve the Knesset (parliament).

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN called the conflict over the conscription law a “real test” for the survival of the Netanyahu government.

The rabbis’ decisions "may shape the features of the next political stage,” KAN said.

On Tuesday, lawmakers from the ultra-Orthodox parties met with the Knesset’s Foreign Minister and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein, from Netanyahu’s Likud Party, to discuss the exemption of Haredi Jews from mandatory service.

KAN said that despite the “good spirit” of the meeting that Edelstein pointed out, the gaps between the parties on the draft “remain wide, and the threat of dissolution of the government is closer than ever.”

“Last night was decisive,” the broadcaster said, citing anonymous sources from the Degel HaTorah Party.

The sources said that senior rabbis “made the decision,” and “we are going to elections,” which means an end to the Netanyahu government.

The United Torah Judaism (UTJ) bloc, comprising Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, has made the conscription exemption bill a condition for remaining in the government. While Netanyahu supports the legislation, he seeks to secure a sufficient parliamentary majority for its passage.

The Haredi parties in the coalition – Shas and United Torah Judaism – have long opposed mandatory military service for religious school students. They have threatened several times to exit the government if the new draft law is passed.

The ultra-Orthodox community has been protesting the draft law since the Israeli Supreme Court ruled last June that they must enlist. The ruling also bars financial support for religious institutions whose students refuse to serve.

Haredim account for about 13% of Israel’s 10 million citizens. They oppose military service on religious grounds, arguing that studying the Torah is their primary duty and that integration into secular society threatens their religious identity and community cohesion.

For decades, Haredi men have received repeated draft deferments on the basis of religious studies until they reach the exemption age, currently set at 26.

The Israeli opposition has accused Netanyahu of attempting to pass legislation exempting Haredim from service to satisfy coalition partners and avoid a government collapse.