A confrontation unfolded between ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and Israeli police in West Jerusalem on Wednesday. The ultra-Orthodox demonstrators were protesting the recent arrests of several men from their group for refusing military conscription orders.
Published On 23 Jul 202523 Jul 2025
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The Ultra-Orthodox Shas party says it will leave the government in response to dispute over mandatory military service.
A key partner in Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition says it is quitting, leaving the Israeli prime minister with a minority in parliament.
The Ultra-Orthodox Shas party said on Wednesday that it was leaving the coalition in protest against lawmakers’ failure to guarantee future exemption from military conscription for religious students.
“Shas representatives … find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it,” the group said in a statement.
Leading a minority government would make governing a challenge for Netanyahu. But Shas said it wouldn’t work to undermine the coalition once outside it and could vote with it on some laws. It also wouldn’t support its collapse.
The departure of Shas comes one day after another ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), resigned from the government over the same issue, which has sparked an explosive debate in the country after more than 21 months of war with Hamas in Gaza.
While ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service, many Israelis are angered by what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders say full-time devotion to holy scriptures study is sacrosanct and fear their young men will steer away from religious life if they are drafted into the military.
Last year the Supreme Court ordered an end to the exemption. Parliament has been trying to work out a new conscription bill, which has so far failed to meet the demands of both Shas and UTJ.
Their joint move leaves Netanyahu with a minority government but is not expected to usher in immediate elections or undermine efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire.
However, the Israeli leader will be more susceptible to the demands of his far-right coalition partners, who oppose ending the war while Hamas remains intact.
This is a developing story. More to come…
Resignation of United Torah Judaism lawmakers leaves Netanyahu with razor thin 61-seat majority in the 120 seat Knesset.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), has announced it is quitting the country’s fractious right-wing coalition due to a long-running dispute over mandatory military service, threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on power.
Six of the remaining seven members of UTJ, which is comprised of the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael factions, wrote letters of resignation, Israeli media reported late on Monday.
UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf had resigned a month ago. A spokesperson for Goldknopf confirmed that, in all, seven UTJ Knesset members are leaving the government.
Degel HaTorah was quoted by news reports as saying the decision was made “in accordance with the directive” of the group’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Dov Lando.
Degel Hatorah said in a statement that after conferring with its head rabbis, “and following repeated violations by the government of its commitments to ensure the status of holy yeshiva students who diligently engage in their studies … [its MKs] have announced their resignation from the coalition and the government”.
The decision would leave Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament.
It was not clear whether Shas, another ultra-Orthodox party, would follow suit.
Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers have long threatened to leave the coalition over the conscription bill. They argue that a bill to exempt “yeshiva” or seminary students from conscription was a key promise in their agreement to join Netanyahu’s coalition in late 2022.
In June, on the eve of Israel’s war with Iran, the coalition barely survived after governing lawmakers reached a deal with ultra-Orthodox parties regarding exemptions to the mandatory military service.
The ultra-Orthodox have long been exempt from military service, which applies to most other young Israelis. But last year, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Defense to end that practice and start conscripting seminary students.
Netanyahu had been pushing hard to resolve the deadlock over the new military conscription bill, which has led to the present crisis.
He 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, which demands a law guaranteeing its members’ permanent exemption from military service.
Netanyahu’s coalition, formed in December 2022, is one of the most far-right governments in the country’s history.