Shas joins Haredi threat to bolt coalition next week if enlistment law impasse not solved

As tensions grow over the Haredi enlistment law and coalition negotiations continue over the ongoing failure to pass one, senior officials in the ultra-Orthodox Shas party say their spiritual leadership will meet immediately after Monday’s Shavuot holiday to decide whether to remain in the government, joining a similar ultimatum by fellow Haredi party United Torah Judaism.

According to a front-page report in HaDerech, the official Shas newspaper, the party’s Council of Torah Sages is expected to convene following the holiday to discuss the lack of progress on legislation meant to protect yeshiva students’ full-time Torah study and keep them from being conscripted.

Shas officials call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accelerate negotiations and prevent a political crisis. “We hope the prime minister will take responsibility and expedite the negotiations without delay,” the newspaper reads.