From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Ultra-Orthodox parties to continue to boycott Knesset votes amid ongoing IDF draft dispute
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"
A spokesman for the United Torah Judaism party confirms that the partial legislative boycott it and fellow Haredi party Shas were engaging in will continue for a third week, and members of the two parties will oppose any coalition bills brought to the Knesset plenum tomorrow.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies have pledged to block the advancement of private member bills sponsored by their coalition partners to protest the government’s failure to advance a controversial bill regulating ultra-Orthodox IDF enlistment.
Both Shas and UTJ have been pushing for the passage of legislation enshrining military exemptions for yeshiva students and other members of the Haredi community, after the High Court ruled in June last year that the dispensation that have been in place for decades were illegal, since they were not based in law.
Their boycott caused the removal of private members bills sponsored by coalition lawmakers from the Knesset agenda for the past two Wednesdays. Tomorrow’s legislative agenda has not yet been released and it remains unclear if the coalition will again remove its bills.
Among the legislation withdrawn from consideration last Wednesday were bills that would dilute the powers of the attorney general and strip the Supreme Court president of authority to appoint judges to specific cases.
The Times of Israel Community.