Ultra-Orthodox party quits Israeli government over army exemptions

France 24

2 days ago

Israeli government members from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish party Shas announced on Wednesday their resignation, protesting the ruling coalition's failure to pass a law to exempt their community from military service.
However, the party stopped short of withdrawing its support for the coalition in parliament, and said it would not back a no-confidence vote to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
The move came just two days after the Israeli legislature's other ultra-Orthodoxparty, United Torah Judaism, quit both the government and the coalition over the failure to secure the long-promised exemptions.
The conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews is a highly contentious issue for Israeli society, large parts of which are required to serve in the army.
Debates over reforming the conscription law have intensified in recent months, straining the governing coalition formed in December 2022 as an alliance between Netanyahu's right-wing Likud, far-right parties and the ultra-Orthodox.
The departure of United Torah Judaism earlier this week has effectively stripped the coalition of a parliamentary majority, potentially paralysing legislation.
Were Shas to follow suit and exit the coalition, Netanyahu would remain with a fragile minority government backed by only 49 out of 120 lawmakers.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to call snap elections, even with Israel embroiled in a war against Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"A minority government cannot send soldiers to the battlefield... It is not a legitimate government," Lapid said in a video statement on Wednesday.
"The time has come for elections -- now."
Under an arrangement dating back to Israel's founding in 1948, the ultra-Orthodox have been effectively exempted from military service as long as they dedicate themselves to religious studies.
The ultra-Orthodox parties have long fought to maintain this arrangement, arguing that full-time religious study is a service to nation.
But public support for the exemptions has waned, particularly as the army faces manpower shortages after more than 21 months of war in Gaza.
One of Shas's outgoing ministers, Michael Malchieli, said on Wednesday that efforts to draft ultra-Orthodox men amounted to "persecution".