Latest news with #Haredi
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Netanyahu coalition threatened by conscription standoff with religious parties
Israel is facing a deepening political crisis that could soon bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as one of its key ultra-Orthodox partners threatens to leave the government and back an opposition-led motion to dissolve parliament next week. In a dramatic escalation on Thursday, the Council of Torah Scholars today instructed the Agudat Yisrael party to submit its own bill to dissolve the Knesset. Recent Israeli opinion polls indicate that Netanyahu's coalition would likely lose power if elections were held today. The crisis centers on long-standing tensions over military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men. While most Israelis are required to serve – three years for men, two for women – Haredi men have long been granted exemptions, a policy increasingly seen as untenable amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Trump Admin Stands By Israel, Rejects Un Resolution Backed By Uk And France Haaretz political correspondent Amir Tibon said, "The real crisis shaking Netanyahu's coalition isn't just religion versus state – it's the war in Gaza, and who will be forced to fight it. Discrimination against those who serve in the military is one of the few issues that unites a vast majority of Israelis – and they want it to end." According to IDF estimates, there are approximately 60,000 ultra-Orthodox men of conscription age. Read On The Fox News App "The crisis stems from the October 7 massacre," said Amit Segal, political correspondent for Israel's Channel 12. "Before the war, many Israelis already resented Haredi draft exemptions. Now, with the IDF short on soldiers, that anger has reached a boiling point." Segal said Netanyahu's coalition is currently eyeing Oct. 21, 2025, as a possible election date, but warned that if the ultra-Orthodox parties leave, early elections could become inevitable. "It's unlikely the ultra-Orthodox parties will topple the government – they're in their ideal coalition," he stated. "But if they do leave, elections in October are likely." In March, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the draft exemptions were unconstitutional and ordered the government to resolve the issue. But Netanyahu's coalition – which relies heavily on the 18 seats held by the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism – remains split. The Haredi parties are demanding new legislation that would enshrine the exemptions in law. Without it, they threaten to quit. Israeli Ambassador Lashes Out At Un Official, Condemns Uk, France, Canada Statement On Aid If those parties walk, Netanyahu's coalition could collapse, Segal explained, "The prime minister has seven weeks until the Knesset enters a months-long recess and will fight to survive until then. But with a bill to dissolve the Knesset set to be presented next week, there's no guarantee he'll reach July 27 as prime minister." The bill, introduced by opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is set for a vote on June 11. It needs 61 votes to pass – a number that could be reached if even a few coalition members defect. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has announced a political comeback with a new party, tentatively called "Bennett 2026." Israeli media polls suggest Bennett would win 24 to 28 seats if elections were held today, overtaking Netanyahu's Likud, which is projected to receive only 19 to 22 article source: Netanyahu coalition threatened by conscription standoff with religious parties
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Netanyahu coalition threatened by conscription standoff with religious parties
Israel is facing a deepening political crisis that could soon bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, as one of its key ultra-Orthodox partners threatens to leave the government and back an opposition-led motion to dissolve parliament next week. Recent Israeli opinion polls indicate that Netanyahu's coalition would likely lose power if elections were held today. The crisis centers on long-standing tensions over military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men. While most Israelis are required to serve – three years for men, two for women – Haredi men have long been granted exemptions, a policy increasingly seen as untenable amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Haaretz political correspondent Amir Tibon said, "The real crisis shaking Netanyahu's coalition isn't just religion versus state – it's the war in Gaza, and who will be forced to fight it. Discrimination against those who serve in the military is one of the few issues that unites a vast majority of Israelis – and they want it to end." According to IDF estimates, there are approximately 60,000 ultra-Orthodox men of conscription age. "The crisis stems from the October 7 massacre," said Amit Segal, political correspondent for Israel's Channel 12. "Before the war, many Israelis already resented Haredi draft exemptions. Now, with the IDF short on soldiers, that anger has reached a boiling point." Segal said Netanyahu's coalition is currently eyeing Oct. 21, 2025, as a possible election date, but warned that if the ultra-Orthodox parties leave, early elections could become inevitable. "It's unlikely the ultra-Orthodox parties will topple the government – they're in their ideal coalition," he stated. "But if they do leave, elections in October are likely." In March, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the draft exemptions were unconstitutional and ordered the government to resolve the issue. But Netanyahu's coalition – which relies heavily on the 18 seats held by the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism – remains split. The Haredi parties are demanding new legislation that would enshrine the exemptions in law. Without it, they threaten to quit. If those parties walk, Netanyahu's coalition could collapse, Segal explained, "The prime minister has seven weeks until the Knesset enters a months-long recess and will fight to survive until then. But with a bill to dissolve the Knesset set to be presented next week, there's no guarantee he'll reach July 27 as prime minister." The bill, introduced by opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is set for a vote on June 11. It needs 61 votes to pass – a number that could be reached if even a few coalition members defect. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has announced a political comeback with a new party, tentatively called "Bennett 2026." Israeli media polls suggest Bennett would win 24 to 28 seats if elections were held today, overtaking Netanyahu's Likud, which is projected to receive only 19 to 22 seats.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
PM reveals ousting of top officials to advance controversial haredi military service bill
"Everyone must serve: Secular, religious, and haredim," Gallant said in response. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted former defense minister Yoav Gallant and former IDF chief-of-staff Herzi Halevi were "obstacles" to reaching a bill to grant ultra-Orthodox Jews exemption from military service, leaked recordings of the prime minister published by Channel 13 on Wednesday revealed. In a recording of an English-language conversation with an unnamed senior rabbi, the prime minister appeared to admit his firing of Gallant in November of last year, and Halevi's resignation earlier this year, amounted to "enormous obstacles that we advance" a draft bill acceptable to the haredi factions in the coalition. "You know, when the defense minister's against you, and the chief-of-staff is against you, you cannot move - now we can move," Netanyahu is heard saying in the recording. "I have also talked personally about 20 times [with] Yuli Edelstein, who runs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and I said: 'Look, I'm personally taking charge of this.'" In a later statement, the Prime Minister's Office asserted that it stood by its decision to remove Halevi and Gallant. "As is clearly heard in the recordings — without the distorted interpretation of Channel 13's 'analysts' — the Prime Minister notes that it was the previous Chief of Staff and Defense Minister who prevented the establishment of the dedicated units for Haredi service," the Wednesday statement reads. "In contrast, the current Defense Minister and Chief of Staff are advancing the issue rapidly and professionally — and we are proud of that." In the recording, Netanyahu further implied that Gallant and Halevi interfered in the IDF's ability to acceptharedi men into military service. "Look, there are people who are trying to undermine us. I came from the army now. The army is doing exactly what we asked them to do now, they're creating the ability to receive haredim and hold a haredi lifestyle in the army." Gallant commented on Channel 13's report on Wednesday evening, stressing that he is "proud to have stood by the principle by which everyone must take part in the mission of defending our nation. The need to enlist every young man of military age is essential to maintaining Israel's security," he wrote on X/Twitter. "Everyone must serve: Secular, religious, and haredim," Gallant added. Opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed Netanyahu and said that the prime minister was willing to sacrifice the country for his political gain. "A question that should trouble the sleep of every Israeli tonight: What else is Netanyahu willing to do for the sake of evasion and politics while the State of Israel is fighting for its life?"
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Israeli government on the brink amid dispute over military service
An ultra-Orthodox Israeli party on Wednesday announced it is leaving the country's governing coalition over plans for compulsory military service, threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on power. Leading rabbis from the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) alliance said the party would withdraw its support for the government amid a dispute over forcing highly religious Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the Israeli military. The party, which represents the strict Haredi Jewish community, holds seven seats in the 120-seat in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. Netanyahu's right-wing, religious government currently holds 68 seats, meaning UTJ's withdrawal would leave his majority hanging by a thread. Several opposition parties may attempt to dissolve parliament next week, with opinion polls suggesting that Netanyahu could lose the next election, which is currently due for next October. The issue of conscripting highly religious Israeli men into the military has been a long-standing point of tension for for Netanyahu's coalition. It has returned to the agenda due to the war in Gaza, with commanders warning of an urgent shortage of combat-ready soldiers. While members of ultra-Orthodox communities have been exempt from compulsory military service for decades, the exemption expired last year, and the government has failed to pass a new law to cement the special status. The Supreme Court issued a judgement in the summer of 2024 that ultra-Orthodox men must be conscripted into military service. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Leading rabbi to instruct ultra-Orthodox faction to exit Netanyahu's coalition
Haredi leader hints at coalition exit over IDF draft bill delays, potentially collapsing the government. In a significant political development on Wednesday, leading haredi Lithuanian rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch said in a statement that he would 'likely' instruct the Degel Hatorah faction to leave the coalition 'soon' over the government's failure to pass a law that would exempt a majority of eligible haredi men from IDF service. According to the statement, MKs updated Hirsch on Tuesday night that from a meeting with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), who is responsible for advancing the bill, 'It is clear that there is no progress at all on the subject of the [IDF] draft. As such, the Rosh Yeshiva [Hirsch] will likely order to leave the coalition in the near future.' According to a spokesperson for Hirsch, the statement also represented the view of the second leading Lithuanian haredi rabbi, Dov Lando. The Lithuanian rabbis thus appeared to join the position of United Torah Judaism's Hassidic faction led by Housing Minister Yizhak Goldknopf, who represents Hassidut Gur. Goldknopf has been threatening to leave the government over the draft issue since March. However, while Goldknopf advocated on Tuesday to pass a bill to disperse the Knesset, which will automatically lead to an election, the statement by Hirsch did not mention this. A spokesperson for Hirsch clarified to the Post that the directive to leave the coalition would include supporting such a bill and heading to an election. The Sephardic-haredi party Shas did not comment on Hirsch's statement on Wednesday morning. Still, it was highly unlikely that Shas would remain in government if UTJ left, according to a source. Following Hirsch's statement, the opposition parties Yesh Atid, Democrats, and Yisrael Beytenu announced that early next week, they will launch legislation to disperse the Knesset. The legislation would require passing a preliminary vote, after which it would require passing three additional votes in the Knesset plenum. This process could take weeks, but if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to support it and head to an election, it would pass far quicker. Edelstein's office put out a statement close to midnight on Tuesday night that a meeting between him and haredi representatives had ended. 'The meeting was held in good spirits, and additional meetings were set on the matter,' Edelstein said. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's legal team has been working on formulating the text of a bill, which will reach the committee in the coming weeks. However, this may not leave enough time for the bill proposal to pass into law by the end of the Knesset summer session in late July, in which case the current law, which requires that all eligible haredi men serve in the IDF, will continue to apply as is at least until October. In any case, if the Knesset disperses, the bill cannot proceed. The bill proposal will likely include draft quotas from the haredi sector that will increase annually, eventually reaching 50% of each graduating class, as well as sanctions on individuals who ignore draft orders. Despite the fact that the previous legal exemption expired in June 2024, a vast majority of the approximately 24,000 draft orders to haredi men since then have been ignored. The IDF has already stated that it will not meet the goal it committed to in the High Court, of 4,800 haredi draftees in the 2024-2025 draft year, which will end on June 30. Supporters have argued that the bill will lead to an immediate increase in the number of draftees and bring thousands more haredim into the army. Critics, however, have countered that there is no guarantee that even with new sanctions, those who receive orders with the new law in place will actually respect them; and that there is no legal justification to enable 50% of haredim to continue being exempt from service, while secular and religious-Zionist Israelis do not enjoy the same privilege. Channel 12's Amit Segal quoted a 'senior Likud official' as saying that Edelstein's political resistance is dragging Israel into elections during a significant operation in Gaza, when Hamas is still holding the hostages, and Iran's nuclear threat remains. "This is madness and complete irresponsibility, all due to narrow political considerations and personal vendetta," the official said. Edelstein's spokesperson, Maayan Samun, responded on X, "If drafting haredim in a reality where there's a war for our home — when my brothers are worn out from reserve duty, when their families are collapsing, and when couples are getting divorced because they can't handle the burden of reserve duty — is considered 'personal revenge,' then I am in favor of revenge."
