This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition is facing one of its gravest threats in years after a leading rabbi instructed lawmakers from his faction to begin efforts to dissolve the Knesset.
Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah faction within United Torah Judaism, issued the order after Netanyahu refused to advance legislation exempting most draft-age Charedi men from mandatory military service before elections expected by October.
Netanyahu’s coalition has struggled to reconcile demands for mass exemptions for Charedi Jews with mounting public anger over military service since the war in Gaza.
Amid growing resistance within Netanyahu’s own Likud party to a sweeping exemption law, the PM recently warned Charedi leaders that passing such legislation ahead of an election would be politically damaging.
Rabbi Lando responded saying: “We no longer trust Netanyahu,” adding that “the concept of a ‘bloc’ no longer exists for us.”
Following Lando’s announcement, opposition factions, including Yisrael Beitenu, Yesh Atid, and the Democrats, submitted bills to dissolve the Knesset. Any such measure would require four separate votes before triggering elections within 90 days.
The dispute follows mounting legal pressure over the long-running exemption of Charedi men from compulsory military service, while the country is short of around 15,000 soldiers, according to the chief of staff.
Last month, Israel’s High Court ordered the state to prepare sanctions against draft dodgers after the government failed to advance a new conscription law.
This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
To get more Israel news, click here to sign up for our free Israel Briefing newsletter.