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Thursday, July 17, 2025
Tension reported between Haredi factions as Shas minister said to have not submitted his public resignation letter
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"
Despite sharing his resignation letter publicly, Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas) has not yet submitted it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to multiple Hebrew media reports.
Ministers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party submitted their resignations today following last night’s decision to quit the government over its failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service.
According to the Ynet news site, Malkieli’s decision to postpone presenting his resignation letter stems from the need for him to attend a vote on Sunday by the ministerial panel tasked with recommending whether Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara should be fired.
In an interview with Haredi radio station Kol Berama earlier today, Malkieli declared that he still believed there was a possibility of passing law exempting Haredim from military service “and returning us to the government.”
Malkieli stressed that Shas is still a member of the bloc of parties committed to backing Netanyahu for the premiership and had not switched its allegiance to the rival, anti-Netanyahu bloc.
“The responsibility lies with Netanyahu. We did not make a coalition agreement with Edelstein,” he continued, referring to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, who the Haredim say brought on the current crisis by walking back promises to soften a proposed ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill.
“We did not appoint Edelstein, we are not firing him. We did not run away from the coalition, we are in difficulties with the government. Edelstein is motivated by hatred for Netanyahu. Anyone who wants to maintain Netanyahu’s government does not behave the way he behaves,” Malkieli stated.
The news of Malkieli’s delayed resignation comes on the heels of reports that Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, who submitted his resignation today along with the other ministers from his Shas party, has withdrawn his resignation letter.
The move is tactical, as Arbel merely intends to appoint Israel Uzan, a Shas insider, as ministry director general, the reports said. Arbel will then quit his post again.
Speaking with ultra-Orthodox journalist Avraham Friend, a source in United Torah Judaism’s Degel Hatorah faction slams Shas, accusing it of engaging in “odious maneuvers.”
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri “coordinated a joint withdrawal [from the government] with [our rabbis] and in the end, he secured a place for himself in the cabinet, in committees, and in coalition partnerships,” the source charges.
In a message to journalists, a source close to Degel Hatorah’s rabbinic leadership denies tensions with Shas, insisting that the two parties continue to remain coordinated and that there is “no ‘anger’ or ‘rage'” directed at Shas.
“The political and spiritual leadership of Shas is acting in full coordination with the leadership of Degel Hatorah, and any technical delays are its personal matter, and probably to complete some professional needs,” the source asserts.
The Times of Israel Community.