Coalition Gridlock as Chareidi Parties Boycott Knesset Over Draft Bill Delay
Israel’s governing coalition was forced to pull all proposed legislation from the Knesset docket today after Shas and United Torah Judaism declared they would not take part in the session in protest of the continued delay in presenting a law to officially exempt yeshiva students from military service.
United Torah Judaism released a statement announcing their stance: “In light of the fact that the draft conscription law has not been introduced to date, contrary to commitments made… it will not vote with the coalition until the draft law is presented.”
Following the chareidi parties’ announcement, Likud notified its MKs that the legislative schedule was canceled. “You are free for today. Regarding the rest of the week – an announcement will come,” party leadership wrote to lawmakers.
Reacting to the disruption, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticized the government’s paralysis. “The coalition has stopped functioning. They don’t have a majority among the people. They don’t have a majority in the Knesset,” he said, renewing his demand for snap elections.
The refusal by Shas and UTJ to vote with the coalition marks a sharp escalation from their previous tactic, when they limited their protest to abstaining on individual private bills sponsored by coalition members.
According to reports in the chareidi press, Shas leader Aryeh Deri told his faction that the entire crisis stems from Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein backing away from a compromise that had previously been negotiated.
“Yuli Edelstein said he was done with the wording of the law and now it’s stuck with the committee’s legal adviser. They’re laughing at us. Not only will we not vote on bills, we won’t enter the plenum at all. They tried to tempt us with promoting a law on rabbinical courts — and we refused,” chareidi sources told Kan radio.
{Matzav.com Israel}