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As the Knesset moves forward with legislation to dissolve itself and trigger new elections, United Torah Judaism is demanding that the process be accelerated, citing the government’s failure to resolve the status of yeshiva students and what it describes as an ongoing campaign against the Torah world.

Speaking during a heated Knesset plenary session on Tuesday, UTJ faction chairman MK Uri Maklev delivered a sharp rebuke of the coalition, arguing that the government had failed to fulfill one of its most fundamental commitments to the chareidi parties.

Maklev said the Knesset was heading toward dissolution because the coalition “did not meet its goals and did not fulfill its commitment to regulate the status of Torah learners in Eretz Yisroel.”

The UTJ lawmaker painted a bleak picture of the current situation facing yeshiva students, accusing authorities of targeting bnei Torah through arrests, public attacks, and economic pressure.

“During this government’s watch, Torah learners have been subjected to incitement, vilification, arrests, persecution, and inhumane economic strangulation,” Maklev said. He added that a significant portion of what he described as the campaign against the Torah community was being carried out by members of the coalition itself.

Maklev argued that the government’s actions represented a betrayal of what UTJ viewed as a foundational understanding of the coalition agreement and its obligations to the Torah world.

According to Maklev, coalition partners have turned their backs on what was understood to be a basic principle underpinning the government. He emphasized the role of Torah learners as a spiritual shield for the Jewish people, particularly at a time when Israel faces threats from multiple enemies.

The UTJ chairman also condemned the arrests of yeshiva students and called on government ministers to halt what he described as the persecution of those engaged in Torah study.

“On your watch, cruel and detached arrests are being carried out against Torah learners,” he declared.

Maklev further criticized coalition lawmakers who declined to support the daycare subsidy bill earlier this week, arguing that the measure was intended to assist families whose livelihoods have been affected by the ongoing dispute over the draft law.

He expressed particular concern for mothers seeking childcare assistance, saying they were being denied support solely because their husbands devote themselves to Torah study.

“There is an entire faction in the coalition that has turned its back on a mother and her young children who simply wants to support her family and obtain proper arrangements for her children. Even that is being denied because the father of those children studies Torah in Eretz Yisroel,” Maklev said.

Concluding his remarks, Maklev insisted that the coalition move quickly to complete the legislative process dissolving the Knesset and setting new elections.

“The Land of Israel is acquired through suffering, and so too is the Torah of Israel,” he said. He added that the government’s obligation now is to bring the dissolution bill to its second and third readings immediately, warning, “We will not let this drag on for very long.”

Maklev ended with a message of confidence that the Torah world would ultimately prevail in the ideological struggle now unfolding.

“In a battle of values, ideology, obligations, and a heritage passed from generation to generation, against evil, wickedness, and cruelty, it is the side of values and ideology that will prevail,” he said.

The Knesset approved the dissolution bill in a preliminary vote Monday night by a margin of 106-0. Under the proposal, elections for the 26th Knesset would be held sometime between September 8, 2026, and October 20, 2026. Knesset officials currently expect the election to take place during the month of Cheshvan rather than in Elul or during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, as Shas and UTJ had initially preferred.

A political dispute is brewing in Alaska after Sen. Dan Sullivan’s reelection campaign accused Democrats and one of his rivals of backing a second candidate with the exact same first and last name in an effort to confuse voters ahead of next year’s election.

The allegations were made Tuesday by Sullivan campaign spokesman Nate Adams, who claimed that Democratic operatives and former congresswoman Mary Peltola were behind the entry of another Dan Sullivan into the Senate race.

“Mary Peltola and D.C. Democrats know they can’t win this race on the issues, so they’ve resorted to dirty, dishonest tactics — recruiting a sham candidate with the sole purpose of deceiving voters and manipulating Alaska’s election system,” Nate Adams, the senator’s campaign spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday.

Peltola, who represented Alaska in the U.S. House from 2023 until 2025, is widely viewed as the leading Democrat seeking the Senate seat currently held by Sullivan, who is running for a third term.

Adams argued that the presence of another candidate with the same name could undermine the integrity of the election and create confusion among voters.

“This blatant attempt to confuse and disenfranchise Alaskans undermines confidence in our elections, and if allowed to stand, will deny voters the honest choice they deserve,” Adams added.

The campaign also signaled that it may pursue legal or other remedies in response to the situation.

He also warned, “We are reviewing all of our options and aren’t ruling anything out.”

The newly announced challenger entered the race last week. The second Dan Sullivan has described himself as a cancer survivor and elementary school teacher and has criticized the incumbent’s record in office.

According to the challenger, the senator sharing his name “has failed to put Alaska first.”

State election records indicate that the challenger is also registered as a Republican. Observers have noted similarities between the branding of the two campaigns, with both using logos featuring stars and a color scheme built around navy blue, white, and yellow.

The unusual situation has created confusion because there is also a third well-known Alaska political figure named Dan Sullivan — the mayor of Anchorage. The most obvious distinction between the two Senate candidates is their middle initials: the incumbent is Dan S. Sullivan, while the challenger is Dan J. Sullivan.

Alaska’s election system allows all candidates to compete in a single primary, with the top four finishers advancing to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Voters are scheduled to cast ballots in the primary on August 18.

Peltola’s campaign swiftly rejected any suggestion that it played a role in recruiting or encouraging the second Sullivan to run.

A spokesperson for Peltola’s campaign, Harry Child, denied that the campaign is involved “with either Sullivan campaign.”

Neither the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee nor the campaign of Dan J. Sullivan immediately provided responses to requests for comment regarding the allegations.