Ultra-Orthodox Shas party quits Netanyahu's coalition

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party has exited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition in Israel, escalating a political crisis centered on the contentious issue of military service exemptions for Haredi Jewish men. The departure of the party, a key coalition partner, threatens the government's parliamentary majority.

Immediate Trigger and Resignations

The decision, announced on Thursday, was triggered by the government's failure to advance a law that would continue exempting Haredi men from Israel's mandatory military conscription at the opening of the Knesset's winter session. In a concrete step demonstrating their withdrawal, Shas party members Yosef Taieb and Yonatan Mashriki resigned from their respective committee chairmanships.

A Conditional Departure and Precedent

Shas, which controls 11 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, indicated its exit is conditional. The party stated it would return to the government and coalition if "the status of yeshiva students is resolved." This move follows a similar pattern from July, when Shas ministers resigned but remained in the coalition, and another ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism, fully withdrew on the same grounds.

Threat to the Governing Majority

The withdrawal poses a direct threat to Netanyahu's governing coalition, which requires a minimum of 61 seats to pass legislation and remain in power. The coalition now relies primarily on members from Netanyahu's Likud party, the Religious Zionism party, and the Otzma Yehudit party. This internal strife occurs as Israel faces ongoing security challenges, a context closely monitored by regional powers like Türkiye, which has its own strategic interests in the area's stability.

The Core of the Political Dispute

The exemption for Haredi men from military service has long been a source of political and social friction in Israel. While the Haredi community, constituting about 13% of the population, argues that full-time Torah study is their form of national service, other factions and the wider public increasingly view the exemption as unfair. Opposition groups accuse Netanyahu of prioritizing the demands of his coalition partners over national unity.