A motion by opposition parties to dissolve the Israeli Parliament failed in the early hours of Thursday morning.
But the vote itself presented the most serious challenge yet to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, exposing splits in the ruling coalition and weakening his leadership credentials.
Fifty-three of the 120 Parliament members voted for the dissolution bill, including two members of the governing coalition, while a majority of 61 opposed it.
Despite the defeat, representatives of the opposition parties said that they had nevertheless managed to drive a wedge into the coalition’s ranks.
By bringing the bill to a vote, the opposition parties planned to exploit a fight within the governing coalition over the contentious, decades-old policy that has largely exempted ultra-Orthodox men who are studying religion in seminaries from compulsory military service.
Mr. Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, the United Torah Judaism and Shas parties, have been locked in a dispute with other members of the government over proposals to enlist many ultra-Orthodox men of draft age into the armed forces. The issue has taken on more urgency, and spurred growing public anger and scrutiny, since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, ignited Israel’s war in Gaza.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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