Ultra-Orthodox IDF draft issue again rocks coalition stability: Shas quits coalition posts while senior rabbi schedules mass protest

The conflict within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition over the legislation of a new IDF draft law is once again threatening to topple the government, as the ultra-Orthodox Shas party announced it has quit its last coalition posts, while a leading rabbi called for massive new protests this coming Sunday.

Senior government and Likud officials told Ynet News that “although everyone wants to survive – if there is no progress on the draft law in the coming weeks, the government will not survive.”

The background to the conflict is the ongoing struggle to formulate a new law that would finally regularize the military enlistment process for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men.

This fight, which has plagued various governments since the creation of the state, last escalated in July.

After the latest formulation of a draft bill was presented to ultra-Orthodox members of the coalition, the two parties that make up the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) bloc announced their withdrawal from the coalition government. 

Meanwhile, the Sephardic Shas party, which often acts in tandem with UTJ, did not announce its full withdrawal but leave its ministerial posts, in effect, halting its active cooperation with the coalition without bringing down the government.

On Thursday, however, Shas announced that after a deadline to bring a new law to a vote no later than the opening of the Knesset’s winter session had elapsed, it would leave its remaining coalition posts.

Accordingly, Shas members who chaired the Knesset’s Special Committee for Bridging Social Gaps in the Periphery, as well as the Education and Health Committees, respectively, issued their resignations.

However, party leader Aryeh Deri, who is seen as a trusted partner of Netanyahu, is expected to continue taking part in the “small” security cabinet meetings, Ynet News reported, and the party will still not join the opposition.

Shas would continue to seek “the regulation of the status of yeshiva students and Torah scholars, who are the spiritual and historical foundation of the existence of the Jewish people,” the party said, vowing to “continue to lead the struggle against the political and cruel campaign of persecution being waged against the students of the holy Yeshivot.”

The Shas party’s action brings it a step closer to quitting the government, a course charted by the UTJ faction, the Ashkenazi portion of the ultra-Orthodox parties, with which it has historically cooperated on the IDF draft issue.

Both parties stridently reject the enlistment of full-time yeshiva (religious study) students and have protested against the recent increase in arrests of draft dodgers, which was caused by increased enforcement of the stricter laws mandated by the landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2024.

In the past 24 hours, police arrested four full-time yeshiva students in their homes, causing a new wave of raucous street protests in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, as well as outside of Prison 10, where they are being held, with Haredi representatives saying a “red line” had been crossed.

The protests saw hundreds of Haredi men turn out and included violent clashes with police forces.

Three protesters were arrested for blocking Highway 4 in central Israel, while in Jerusalem about 250 demonstrators clashed with police – blocking the entrance to the Mea Shearim neighborhood, burning garbage bins, and hurling objects at officers, who responded with stun grenades and water cannons.

The head of UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction, Knesset Member Moshe Gafni, warned Netanyahu that the arrest of one of the men – a student of one of the most prestigious yeshivas – could lead to the collapse of the coalition.

Rabbi Dov Lando, one of the most senior Ashkenazi rabbis and one of the leaders of the Degel HaTorah party, called for a mass protest and prayer rally in response.

While Wednesday evening’s spontaneous protests were led by the small, radical “Jerusalem” faction of the Haredi community, a mass rally endorsed by a senior leader such as Lando could draw tens of thousands – or even hundreds of thousands – as early as next Sunday.

What makes this situation particularly complicated for Netanyahu is that he is under pressure from so many directions.

The opposition parties, and some within his own Likud party, are demanding a strong draft law that includes harsh penalties for draft dodgers, particularly at a time when much of the population has sacrificed so much during military service.

The army has also sounded the alarm, calling for an increase in available manpower.

However, significant factions within Netanyahu’s coalition favor a more lenient approach.

Many of the traditional Orthodox Knesset members in Likud, Religious Zionism, or Jewish Power parties support the intense Torah studies of large numbers of Haredi men in principle, while demanding that those who are not studying full-time serve in the IDF.

A protest letter condemning the recent arrests was signed by members of all coalition parties, including Likud. The letter specifically criticized the circumstances of the arrests – one carried out shortly after a wedding, and another during a mourning period.

“As public officials, we express our protest against such arrests, which demonstrate a lack of understanding in the face of sensitive situations,” the letter stated.

“There is no dispute that these are not dangerous criminals, but young men who have gotten into a legal tangle and were arrested in the framework of a campaign that is many times larger than they can handle. Certainly, it would have been appropriate to avoid such arrests altogether.”

Meanwhile, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara continued to press for stronger enforcement of the mandatory military draft. On Wednesday, she sent a letter to Netanyahu, demanding “the formulation of an organized government plan to increase enforcement.”

Baharav-Miara said, “The situation in which the burden on reserve soldiers is heavy and the defense establishment has stated that it is necessary to extend the length of compulsory service, yet the government fails to take measures within its power to enhance enforcement of the draft obligation, constitutes a serious violation of equality that cannot be legally justified.”

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a hearing next week on the government’s enforcement of military draft orders.

Even if Netanyahu manages to keep walking this political tightrope and his government survives on paper, its ability to function effectively has already been severely undermined.

At the start of the week, the coalition was once again forced to withdraw most of its proposed legislation after failing to secure a majority – something that has happened repeatedly throughout the summer session.

In another demonstration of the coalition’s weakness, several parties openly defied the Likud’s instructions not to support two bills calling for annexations in Judea and Samaria.

On Thursday, Channel 12 reported that the latest deadline for presenting a new IDF draft law bill to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee was scheduled for next Thursday.