Netanyahu faces fresh election challenge from key Haredi ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to secure support for a future governing coalition suffered another setback this week after the spiritual leader of a key ultra-Orthodox party declared he no longer believes Netanyahu will meet the party's demands on military conscription.

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party, suggested instead that Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar Party, might still be persuaded to do so.

“Due to our many sins, we are in a secular, non-ultra-Orthodox state,” Yosef said during his weekly sermon. “We pray that everyone repents. There are those who will repent, there are those who won’t.”

“Will Bibi Netanyahu repent? Not a chance. Eisenkot, perhaps he will.”

Analysts noted that Yosef was not using the word "repent" in its traditional religious sense, but as a political message that the ultra-Orthodox parties should no longer automatically back Likud-led governments and instead broaden their coalition options.

His remarks also reinforced recent signals from Shas that it may not support Netanyahu in the next election cycle unless its legislative demands are met.

During recent meetings with the leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism, Netanyahu was presented with two key demands. Unless the government passes a Basic Law recognizing Torah study as a foundational value of the state and temporary legislation suspending the arrests of Haredi draft evaders for 90 days, the parties will not commit to supporting a future coalition.

Those warnings were reinforced in subsequent days through editorials published in Haredi-affiliated media outlets.

Eisenkot, however, has also made clear that any partnership with Shas or United Torah Judaism would come with strict conditions.

He has said he would only include the parties in a governing coalition if they accept the three core principles of his Yashar Party: recognizing Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, endorsing the values of Israel's Declaration of Independence, and committing to national service for all Israelis.

“I see Shas as a partner on the condition that it accepts the three foundational principles,” he said during an interview with the Kikar HaShabbat media portal.

“Shas is the party that is meant to send a positive message. I know Shas voters, I meet them, I grew up with some of them. Many Shas voters serve in the IDF," he continued.

Yosef has consistently opposed mandatory military service for Haredi yeshiva students.

In a sermon delivered in March 2024, during the Swords of Iron War, he warned that “If they force us to go to the army, the yeshiva students, if they come to yeshivas and arrest students, [then] we have no right to exist here [and] we will all go abroad, we will not stay here.”