Netanyahu faces Israel coalition crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews
Israeli prime minister has until Monday to abide by a court ruling curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men.
Netanyahu has until Monday to present a plan to dismantle what the court called a system that privileges the ultra-Orthodox | Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a coalition crisis and a Monday deadline over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, as the war in Gaza rages on and deepens the country’s political conflicts.
After an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on Thursday curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men, Netanyahu has until Monday to present a plan to dismantle what the court called a system that privileges the ultra-Orthodox at the expense of the secular Jewish public.
If that plan alienates the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers on whose support Netanyahu depends, his coalition could weaken and the country could be forced to hold new elections.
In the middle of the coalition crisis, the prime minister’s office said that Netanyahu would undergo surgery for a hernia Sunday night, following a diagnosis during a routine examination late Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin will serve as acting prime minister while Netanyahu is sedated, according to a statement.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the suspension of state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox Jews studying in yeshivas instead of doing military service. The ruling could have far-reaching consequences for Netanyahu’s government and for the tens of thousands of religious men who currently are exempt from mandatory military service.
The court ruling came just days ahead of an April 1 deadline for the Israeli government to agree on a new law to allow the ultra-Orthodox community to avoid being drafted, according to media reports. The government is debating a bill which reportedly seeks to strike a compromise by allowing exemptions with limitations.
It is the most serious threat to Netanyahu’s government since he cobbled together a shaky national unity administration in the days after the Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas militant group.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel despite U.S. concerns about an anticipated military offensive in southern Gaza. the Washington Post reported. The new arms shipments include more than 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 500 500-pound bombs, according to the report, which cited Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter.
The latest package comes as Washington and others have been raising concerns about increasing civilian deaths in Gaza and humanitarian access to the enclave, which the U.N. says is on the verge of famine.
The Palestinian foreign ministry criticized the U.S. for inconsistencies over the Israel-Hamas war. “Demanding Netanyahu stop killing civilians and supplying him with weapons is an unprecedented principled and moral contradiction,” it said in a post on social media.
Source: Politico
