Netanyahu Faces Threatened Majority After United Torah Judaism Exits Over Yeshiva Military Exemptions

Israel’s governing coalition faces a threatened majority after the announced departure of the United Torah Judaism party, leaving Benjamin Netanyahu with only a slender majority of 61 seats out of 120 in Parliament.

“As Israel wages a war in the Gaza Strip, changes to a decades-old draft exemption for the fastest-growing demographic group threaten to fracture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and to exacerbate the country's internal divisions”

Areion24.news

The party said it was leaving because the government failed to obtain an exemption from military service for yeshiva students, as the army needs troops for the war in Gaza.

Areion24.news

Opposition deputy Avigdor Lieberman said the United Torah Judaism party continued to "strongly promote" an exemption law, at the expense "of the fighters on the ground, who need reinforcements to share the burden with them".

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett criticized the departure on X, calling it "unacceptable" and saying "These politicians are trying to prevent young Orthodox Jews from joining their heroic peers who defend the people of Israel."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a Tuesday evening visit to a military base where ultra-Orthodox soldiers serve, said it is necessary to 'mobilize all the forces of Jewish society to truly preserve our state and protect our people.'

A report translated by Arabi 21 describes how evangelical Christian right views intersect with military and domestic decisions under President Donald Trump, including religious overtones tied to the war in Gaza and Iran.

The Intercept report says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prayed during a religious service at the Pentagon that God would grant American troops "wisdom in every decision, endurance for the coming trial, the unconquerable unity, and the merciless force against those who deserve no mercy."

France 24

In the same account, Sarah Posner explains on The Intercept Briefing that Hegseth belongs to a denomination called the "Partnership of Evangelical Reformed Churches" and believes he is waging a spiritual and physical war to subdue enemies of a Christian nation.

The analysis also says Posner argues Hegseth regards Torah law as the only binding law for him, while she adds that the laws of war, international law, human rights, and civil rights in war do not apply to him.

The report further frames the political stakes by noting that the issue became central in the midterm elections, with some candidates insisting on a stance linking money from AIPAC and defense spending to an inability to adopt a genuinely anti‑war position.

As Israel wages a war in the Gaza Strip, changes to a decades-old draft exemption for the Haredim are described as threatening to fracture Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and exacerbate internal divisions.

“The study hall of the Torat Hamedina organization is located in the Beit Orot neighborhood on the northern ridge of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem”

Haaretz

Areion24.news says the Haredim have long advocated policies that exempt Haredim from the mandatory military service required of other Israeli Jews, and it describes how the exemption has faced legal challenges from Israel's Supreme Court since 1998.

The Times of Israël reports that approximately 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are eligible for military service but have not enlisted, and it says the IDF has an urgent need for 12,000 recruits due to pressure on the regular and reserve forces from the war against Hamas in Gaza.

It adds that the government has until March 31 to pass the budget, and if the budget is not approved by then, the Knesset will be automatically dissolved, triggering early elections to be held in June instead of October.

In the same reporting, opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the appointment tied to the conscription bill, writing that Netanyahu “betrays once again the soldiers and reservists of the Israeli army.”