This comes as the opposition seeks to submit a proposal to dissolve the Knesset in the coming days. The Yedioth Ahronoth and Haaretz newspapers reported that Haredi rabbis have ordered their withdrawal from the government due to the stalemate in passing legislation exempting religious men from military service. One rabbi also instructed a Haredi party to support a vote to dissolve the Knesset for the same reason.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel is heading toward elections following the rabbis' decision to withdraw from the government over the conscription law crisis. Haaretz reported that a prominent rabbi ordered a Haredi party to support the dissolution of the Knesset due to the deadlock over the bill.
For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority indicated that the conflict over the conscription law poses a real test of the Netanyahu government's survival, emphasizing that the rabbis' decisions could determine the course of the next political phase.
These developments come after a meeting Tuesday evening between Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee from the Likud party, and representatives of the religious United Torah Judaism coalition, where they discussed a bill exempting religious citizens from military service.
The Haredim continue their protests against military service following a Supreme Court ruling on June 25, 2024, which required them to be drafted and prohibited financial assistance to religious institutions whose students refuse to serve.
The Broadcasting Authority noted that although Edelstein described the atmosphere as "good-natured," the gaps between the two sides regarding the draft exemption law remain wide, and the threat of the government's dissolution appears closer than ever.
The agency quoted sources in the Degel HaTorah party, part of the United Torah Judaism coalition, as saying that last night was decisive, and that the chief rabbis had decided to go to elections, signaling the end of Netanyahu's government.
The United Torah Judaism coalition consists of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael, two small ultra-Orthodox parties.
In a related development, sources close to Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the religious leader of the Degel HaTorah party, announced that Hirsch may soon issue an order to withdraw from the government coalition after learning of the details of the meeting with Edelstein. Rabbi Dov Landau, Hirsch's co-leader, also confirmed his support for the proposal to dissolve the Knesset.
