Ultra-Orthodox party withdraws from Israel's ruling coalition over conscription

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas Party withdrew on Thursday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition in the Knesset amid a dispute over the conscription of Haredi Jews.

In a statement carried by Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Shas said the decision has been made due to the government’s failure to advance military service exemption for Haredi Jews at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday.

Chairman of the Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, Yosef Taieb, and chairman of the Health Committee, Yonatan Mashriki, submitted their resignations to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the statement said.

The party, which holds 11 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, said that it would return to its positions in the government and the coalition if “the status of yeshiva students is resolved.”

In July, Shas announced the resignation of its ministers from Netanyahu’s government while remaining in the coalition. Meanwhile, the United Torah Judaism bloc, another ultra-Orthodox party, withdrew from the government and the coalition on the same grounds.

Netanyahu’s governing coalition needs at least 61 in the Knesset to remain in power.

Currently, the coalition includes the parliamentarians from the Likud, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit parties.

Ultra-Orthodox parties have long pushed for legislation to exempt Haredi men from Israel’s compulsory military service, a stance that faces growing opposition from several factions within the government and the broader public.

The Haredi, making up roughly 13% of Israel’s population, argue that Torah study is their national service and that integration into secular institutions threatens their religious identity.

The Israeli opposition accuses Netanyahu of attempting to pass legislation exempting the Haredi from service to satisfy coalition partners and avoid a government collapse.