Lacking majority, coalition pulls bills from Knesset agenda, freezing legislation

All private member bills sponsored by coalition lawmakers were removed from the Knesset agenda Wednesday amid the ongoing rift with ultra-Orthodox parties over the stalled military draft exemption law for yeshiva students, leaving the government without a majority and legislative activity effectively frozen.

The disruption comes just a few days into the Knesset’s winter session following the long summer recess, highlighting ongoing challenges for the coalition to advance legislation.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party slammed the situation as proof of government dysfunction, saying, “They’ve lost the ability to govern, and it’s time for them to go home.”

While coalition bills are on hold, opposition laws are still on the agenda, including a proposal by Avi Maoz — leader and sole MK of the extremist Noam party, who quit the coalition in July — to apply Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.

According to Hebrew media reports, Constitution Committee chair and Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman said all coalition bills, including his own — which seeks to split the role of the attorney general into two jobs — have been delayed until next week.

The coalition is reportedly seeking to fast-track that bill amid fears that the High Court of Justice will strike down its method of firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

Rothman said the legislation was pulled from the agenda due to US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel, citing the coalition’s request to postpone votes due to ministers’ involvement in the trip and difficulty securing their attendance at votes.

However, Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak rejected that assertion, telling The Times of Israel that the legislation was pulled because the coalition lacks a majority, as has been the case for months.

“MK Rothman’s lies and those of the rest of the coalition’s representatives won’t help — they have no majority in the Knesset and no majority among the public. This is a failed and reckless minority government. It’s time to go to elections,” he said.

A coalition source confirmed that members pulled their bills due to lacking a majority. “It’s been like this since [the ultra-Orthodox parties] stopped voting with the government, going back to the previous session. Every week, the Wednesday agenda just gets delayed,” they said.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties quit the government in July — though Shas remains in the coalition — to protest the stalled draft exemption bill for Haredi men. Maoz subsequently announced that he no longer considers himself a part of the coalition.

Since their departure, the coalition holds only 60 of 120 Knesset seats, lacking a majority.

Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir warned on Monday that if a controversial bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists who kill Israelis does not pass its first reading in the Knesset plenum within the next three weeks, his far-right Otzma Yehudit party will no longer consider itself obligated to vote with the coalition, which would further reduce the coalition’s chances of passing legislation.

A spokesperson for coalition whip Likud MK Ofir Katz did not immediately reply to a request for comment.