Shas says its Council of Torah Sages will meet tomorrow to discuss whether to quit government

By Sam Sokol 15 July 2025, 2:35 pm

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Sam 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"

Illustrative: Rabbi Yehuda Cohen at his coronation ceremony as a new member of the Shas Council of Torah Sages, at a synagogue in Jerusalem, July 13, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Ultra-Orthodox Shas party announces that “following the serious and unacceptable harm to the status of Torah scholars” brought about by the current government, its ruling Council of Torah Sages will meet tomorrow for “a crucial discussion regarding [the party’s] continued path in the government.”

According to media reports, the party is expected to follow United Torah Judaism’s lead and exit the coalition on Thursday.

UTJ quit the coalition last night after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, which the party argued violated the terms of a previous compromise agreement regarding conscription of yeshiva students.

Edelstein is slated to hold a press conference in the Knesset to discuss the issue at 5:15 p.m. today.

With only seven seats, UTJ is not large enough to topple the government — which holds 68 out of 120 Knesset mandates — on its own. Were Shas to quit as well, the coalition would lose its majority, falling to 50 seats.

Even if Shas also leaves the government, however, the two Haredi parties are reportedly uninterested in toppling the coalition at this juncture and prompting new elections. The upcoming three-month Knesset recess, which starts on July 27, would give Netanyahu time to try to come to an agreement while ruling with a minority government.