The coalition’s controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft bill was scheduled on Sunday to return to the Knesset’s agenda for advancement this coming Wednesday, ahead of its final readings, amid the crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with the haredi parties.
Rescheduling of the contentious draft legislation comes after the first vote on the bill to dissolve the Knesset was set for Wednesday, a move that initially had the backing of both the coalition and opposition parties and could trigger elections slightly earlier than October 27.
Netanyahu’s coalition has exerted “massive pressure” on coalition lawmakers throughout the weekend and on Sunday to vote in favor of the contentious draft bill, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (New Hope-United Right), a leading critic in the coalition against the legislation, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
The pressure was seen as a way for Netanyahu to appease the haredi parties after he reportedly told them last week that the legislation could not secure enough support in the coalition.
Despite the decision to readvance the draft bill, members of Knesset from Degel HaTorah – a faction within the haredi United Torah Judaism party – stated that they were still in favor of dissolving the Knesset.
The statement said the factions’ lawmakers would” not be drawn into political games,” and had been instructed by their spiritual leader, Rabbi Dov Lando, to support dissolving the Knesset.
Tensions between the haredi parties and Netanyahu’s coalition escalated last Tuesday, when it was reported that Netanyahu informed representatives of United Torah Judaism that the coalition did not have the majority needed to pass the haredi conscription bill.
That led Degel HaTorah’s spiritual leader to write in a letter to the faction’s Knesset members that “We no longer have trust in Netanyahu.”
“Steps must be taken to dissolve the Knesset as soon as possible. All kinds of talk about a ‘bloc’ no longer exist,” the letter added
Haskel to 'Post': PMO holding talks to secure majority
Haskel told the Post about the pressure that coalition lawmakers were under to pass the legislation.
“Over the weekend, phone calls were made to almost all coalition members in order to check their positions and pressure them to vote on the conscription law,” Haskel said.
Haskel also noted that one of the goals of the pressure on coalition lawmakers was to “publicly shame Likud members who voted against the law.”
“Because some of them oppose it behind the scenes but not publicly,” she explained.
Regarding the Knesset dissolution bill, which was scheduled for Wednesday, Haskel said that haredi Shas party leader Arye Deri would give Netanyahu another week to advance the conscription law.
She noted that it was possible that the Knesset dissolution bill would not be brought to a vote this week, in the end, as planned, depending on developments with the legislation.
Haskel said that she was leading a “bloc of resilience” inside the coalition to oppose the law, to vote against it, and firmly believed that it would not pass.
She also said she would not support the bill to dissolve the Knesset, and that it was not right for the haredi parties to break up the coalition bloc over this matter.
A separate Likud coalition source familiar with the matter also told the Post that over the weekend and throughout Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office had been counting who would vote in favor of the conscription bill from the coalition and holding talks in an attempt to secure a majority.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized Netanyahu and the reports that the haredi legislation was again being advanced.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows he is facing defeat in the elections and will do everything he can in order to gain a few more days in the Prime Minister’s Office,” Lapid wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
Lapid added that Netanyahu’s “attempt to ‘sell out Israel’s security’ and try to pass an exemption-from-service law is another act of betrayal toward IDF soldiers and reserve service members.”
The haredi draft bill being advanced in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is highly controversial. Critics argue that the legislation is primarily intended to appease the haredi parties in Netanyahu’s coalition and would not increase enlistment.
Several coalition lawmakers have stated that they oppose the bill’s current outline for that reason and would vote against it. The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage, especially after more than two years of war.
The opposition brought forward a bill to dissolve the Knesset last week in an attempt to trigger early elections with the support of the haredi parties.
Late Wednesday night, the coalition also submitted its own bill to dissolve the Knesset, with the full backing of party leaders in Netanyahu’s coalition.
The coalition’s dissolution bill has been viewed as a way for Netanyahu to control the pace of the process and the timing of the elections.
Numerous reports have said haredi parties have been seeking to move the election date up to September, ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, in an attempt to increase haredi voter turnout.
Netanyahu reportedly opposed the move and instead sought to keep elections in October, which would allow the coalition to advance as more of its legislation in its last Knesset session.
This week, the coalition has fast-tracked controversial legislation, setting marathon meetings to advance it as much as possible ahead of the possible Knesset dissolution.
Even if elections are moved up from the current date of October 27, they cannot take place in August because at least 90 days must pass after the Knesset dissolution bill is approved before elections can be held.