Coalition pulls all private member bills from agenda amid rift with Haredi parties over draft exemption

By Ariela Karmel

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22 October 2025, 11:32 am

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

A plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 29, 2025 (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

All private member bills sponsored by coalition lawmakers have been removed from the Knesset agenda 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.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party slams 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 far-right Noam party, who quit the coalition in July, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.

According to Hebrew media reports, Constitution Committee chair Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman says 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.

He says 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 rejects this 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 says.

A coalition source confirms 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 last session. Every week, the Wednesday agenda just gets delayed,” they say.

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 and continue their legislative boycott.