Ultra-Orthodox parties in ruling coalition reach a deal on the divisive mandatory military service.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractious right-wing coalition has survived an opposition-backed bid to dissolve parliament after ruling lawmakers reached a deal regarding the divisive mandatory military service.
The bill, which would have been a first step leading to an early election, was rejected early on Thursday by a majority of 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset, while 53 supported it.
“I am pleased to announce that after long discussions we have reached agreements on the principles on which the draft law will be based,” Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein said in a statement.
The opposition had introduced the conscription bill, hoping to force elections with the help of ultra-Orthodox parties angry at Netanyahu over the contentious issue of forcing religious seminary students of draft age to serve in the army.
“It’s more than ever urgent to replace Netanyahu’s government and specifically this toxic and harmful government,” Labour’s opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli said ahead of the vote.
While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and left-wing groups, ultra-Orthodox parties, including Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), which are propping up Netanyahu’s government, had earlier threatened to back the motion.
Military service is mandatory in Israel but under a ruling that dates to the country’s creation – when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community, men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts are given a de facto pass.
Efforts to scrap the exemption and the resulting blowback have intensified during Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza as the military looks for more soldiers to be deployed.
Netanyahu is under pressure from his own Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on dodgers, a red line for the Shas party, who demand a law guaranteeing their members permanent exemption from military service.
Netanyahu’s coalition, formed in December 2022, is one of the most right wing in the country’s history.
Ahead of the vote, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued that bringing down the government during wartime would pose “an existential danger” to Israel’s future.
“History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war,” Smotrich told parliament, adding that there was a “national and security need” for ultra-Orthodox men to fight in the military.
In the early hours of Thursday, Israeli media reported that most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers ultimately agreed not to support the proposal to dissolve parliament.
After the failed vote, the opposition will now have to wait six months to submit another bill.
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