From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Haredi parties may bolt coalition if no law passed on military service exemptions — Shas minister
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas) says legislation exempting Haredi men from military service is a core interest of the ultra-Orthodox parties, and that they could leave the coalition if it isn’t passed.
Expressing hope that the Haredi parties will be able to arrive at an agreement with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein on the text of a law, Malkieli tells the Haredi radio station Kol Berama that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “understands politics” and “he understands the significance of the enlistment law for the Haredi public,” which “entered the government for this law.”
“The ultra-Orthodox parties will topple the government when the gedolei Yisrael instruct them to do so,” he says, using a term for the Haredi community’s top rabbinic leaders.
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