Knesset fails to pass opposition's bill for early elections

BEIRUT — The Israeli parliament rejected a bill presented by the opposition aimed at its dissolution, after an agreement between Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties of his coalition, was reached on Thursday morning.

A total of 61 out of the 120-member Knesset voted against the text, and 53 in favor, in the preliminary reading. If adopted, this bill could have led to early elections.

All the opposition parties had presented the text as the majority appeared divided on the thorny issue of the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews. They have benefited from an exemption increasingly poorly accepted by Israeli society for decades, as the country is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The opposition hoped to bring down the government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, by trying to rally the ultra-Orthodox parties allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had threatened to let him down.

Netanyahu indeed has to deal with a faction of his party, Likud, pushing for a law aiming to enlist more ultra-Orthodox and to toughen the sanctions against those evading service, a true casus belli for the parties representing the “haredim” ('those who fear God' in Hebrew) who are demanding a law permanently guaranteeing their exemption from military obligations.

'Existential threat'

Before the Knesset vote, the chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuli Edelstein, a Likud member, had announced on X that “an agreement on the basic principles of the conscription bill” had been reached, without specifying its terms.

After this failure, the opposition will have to wait six months to attempt again to dissolve the Knesset. “We are on the path of true reform of Israeli society and strengthening the security of the State of Israel,” assured Edelstein.

The two ultra-Orthodox parties of the majority, Shas (Sephardic) and United Torah Judaism (UTJ, Ashkenazi), had publicly declared they would support dissolution. But, according to some observers, Shas Chief Aryeh Deri was simultaneously negotiating a compromise behind the scenes. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (far right) declared during the Knesset plenary session that bringing down the government in wartime would pose an “existential threat” to Israel. “History will not forgive anyone who drags the State of Israel into elections during wartime,” he said.

He also made an appeal to the “ultra-Orthodox brothers” to serve in the army. It is “an existential, national, and security need” that must be accomplished “while preserving the government,” he added.

'Organize the exemption'

The voting results show that a minority faction of ultra-Orthodox deputies, who were so far allied with the government, supported the opposition's bill. “When coalitions start to collapse, it eventually happens. [The process] has started, and you know it,” said Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, a centrist.

The government has helped the ultra-Orthodox “to organize the exemption of tens of thousands of healthy young people,” he denounced. “The coalition is stronger than ever […] and we are moving forward,” replied Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi.

Formed in December 2022, Netanyahu's government relies on an alliance between his party, Likud, far-right formations, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, whose collective departure would mean the end of the government.

According to a poll published in the right-wing daily Israel Hayom in March, 85% of Israeli Jews support a change in the conscription law for the haredim, with 41% in favor of a law effectively making military service (32 months for men) mandatory for all those of age to do so.