From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Two senior Shas rabbis hint they may not want to dissolve Knesset over Haredi conscription law
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"
Two of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party’s senior rabbinic leaders express support for their representatives’ efforts to pass a law regulating Haredi enlistment while also potentially hinting that they may not be in favor of a push to force new elections over the issue.
In a letter, rabbis Moshe Maya and Shlomo Machpud, both senior members of the party’s Council of Torah Sages, state that Shas MKs are dealing with the issue and when it “comes to fruition, the matter will be discussed and a decision will be made at a meeting of the Council of Torah Sages.”
Shared with the press by a spokesman, the party says that the letter represents “words of encouragement and support to Shas representatives dealing with the issue of the enlistment law.”
On Monday morning, a spokesman for the party told the Kol Beramah radio station that Shas lawmakers will vote in favor of a bill to dissolve the Knesset, set for a preliminary vote Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s ruling coalition entered a crisis last week when the two ultra-Orthodox parties announced they would leave the coalition and vote to dissolve the Knesset if the government does not pass a bill exempting yeshiva students from military service.
The Times of Israel Community.