“Israeli” opposition bill to dissolve Knesset fails to pass
A bill to disperse the ‘Israeli’ Parliament –Knesset– failed to pass Thursday after it was voted down 61-53.
Most Haredi lawmakers agreed to not support the proposal.
The bill was submitted by the opposition to dissolve the parliament, which could have paved the way to a snap election.
The opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that are propping up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government also threatened to back the motion.
The opposition will now have to wait six months if it wishes to submit another bill of the same nature.
Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, is one of the most right-wing in the country's history. It includes two ultra-Orthodox parties -- Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ).
Existential danger
Military service is mandatory in ‘Israel’ but under a ruling that dates to the country's creation -- when the ultra-Orthodox were a very small community -- men who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts are given a de facto pass.
Whether that should change has been a long-running issue.
Efforts to scrap the exemption and the resulting blowback have intensified during the nearly 20-month war on Gaza as the military looks for extra manpower.
Netanyahu is under pressure from his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on dodgers -- a red line for parties such as Shas, who demand a law guaranteeing their members permanent exemption from military service.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday that bringing down the government during wartime would pose "an existential danger" to the future of ‘Israel’,
"History will not forgive anyone who drags the state of Israel into elections during a war," Smotrich told parliament, adding that there was a "national and security need" for ultra-Orthodox to fight in the military.
Netanyahu's government is held together by an alliance between his Likud party, far-right groups and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, whose departure would mean the end of the government.
