From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
UTJ’s Yitzhak Pindrus reenters Knesset under ‘Norwegian 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"
Former United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus reenters the Knesset six months after being pushed out as the result of a coalition crisis that saw his party quit the coalition over its failure to exempt yeshiva students from military conscription.
He replaces fellow UTJ lawmaker Yisrael Eichler, who joined the government as deputy communications minister this week, under the so-called Norwegian law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset, with their seats then filled by other members of their parties.
Eichler, who represents the party’s Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction, rejoined the government despite UTJ officially remaining in the opposition. The move, orchestrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, allows Pindrus, a member of the party’s Degel HaTorah wing, to cast an additional vote in favor of the government’s controversial conscription bill, which Agudat Yisrael vocally opposes.
The Times of Israel Community.