by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (Worthy News) – In a dramatic showdown that could end Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic tenure as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, the Knesset is set to vote Wednesday on a preliminary bill to dissolve itself and trigger early elections amid escalating tensions over ultra-Orthodox military exemptions.
Hours ahead of the vote, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs and coalition whip Ofir Katz engaged in urgent negotiations with Haredi representatives, attempting to prevent the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties from supporting the opposition-backed motion. The dispute centers on controversial legislation to draft yeshiva students into military service–an explosive issue that has fractured Netanyahu’s fragile 68-member ruling coalition.
Despite intensive backchannel talks and proposed compromises–including delaying personal sanctions on draft dodgers–no agreement had been reached as of midday, according to Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik.
In a unified move, opposition parties announced Wednesday morning they would remove all other bills from the agenda to focus entirely on dissolving the government. “The decision was made unanimously and is binding on all factions,” they declared in a joint statement, including support from Arab parties Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al.
Haredi Support Still Uncertain
While both Shas and UTJ had previously stated their intent to support the dissolution bill due to the coalition’s failure to pass draft exemptions, uncertainty lingered. According to the ultra-Orthodox outlet Kikar Hashabbat, Shas members were awaiting final instructions. Reports suggested Shas was pressuring UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction to delay their support for a week to give Netanyahu more time to forge a deal.
“We will vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset if there is no breakthrough,” said one senior official from the Haredi bloc. “But the goal is not elections–it’s the regulation of the status of yeshiva students.”
Meanwhile, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush was reportedly lobbying to reverse Agudat Yisrael’s decision to support dissolution, acting on behalf of senior rabbis–including Belz Hasidic leader Yissachar Dov Rokeach–who argue that now is not the time to collapse the government amid an ongoing war in Gaza.
Netanyahu Under Mounting Pressure
The political crisis comes as Netanyahu faces declining approval ratings and mounting pressure over his handling of the war in Gaza and longstanding corruption allegations. A March poll from the Israel Democracy Institute showed 70% of Israelis believed Netanyahu should resign following his decision to abandon a March ceasefire with Hamas.
Religious Zionism party head and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned in a Knesset speech that dissolving the government during wartime would pose an “existential danger” to Israel. “History will not forgive anyone who drags the State of Israel into elections during a war,” he said.
Netanyahu, for his part, has fought to delay the vote. His government flooded Wednesday’s Knesset agenda with coalition-sponsored bills, hoping to push the dissolution vote into the evening. Finance Minister Smotrich even took the dais for over an hour to stall proceedings.
The Enlistment Bill at the Center
The core of the dispute lies in long-delayed legislation addressing military exemptions for Haredim–an issue thrust into the spotlight by the war’s demands on Israel’s military. Proposed sanctions on draft evaders include travel restrictions, loss of state housing discounts, revoked driver’s licenses, and exclusion from subsidized academic programs.
Reservist groups have added pressure, calling for genuine enlistment reform to ease the burden on existing soldiers. Still, significant gaps remain over when and how sanctions would be applied.
Spokesperson Maayan Samun, representing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Yuli Edelstein (Likud), said any proposal negotiated outside Edelstein’s office “must be discussed with us” and affirmed the law would be “fair and effective.”
A Nation on Edge
If the bill to dissolve the Knesset passes its preliminary vote Wednesday, it would still require three additional votes to take effect. If it fails, the opposition cannot reintroduce similar legislation for six months–effectively buying Netanyahu time to reassert control.
Should it succeed, however, elections would be scheduled within 90 days, and the government would enter caretaker mode. That outcome could spell the end of Netanyahu’s reign and usher in a new political era.
“The ultra-Orthodox don’t really care about the war or the economy,” said Shuki Friedman of the Jewish People Policy Institute. “Their focus is one thing–getting exemptions for their yeshiva students.”
With both coalition and opposition forces digging in, the fate of Netanyahu’s government now hangs in the balance.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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