Degel HaTorah spiritual leader calls to dissolve Knesset: ‘We no longer have any trust in Netanyahu’

By Sam Sokol 12 May 2026, 4:11 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"

Degel HaTorah MKs meet with the spiritual leader of the Knesset faction, Rabbi Dov Lando, in his home in the central Israel city of Bnei Brak, May 12, 2026. (Courtesy Rabbi Dov Lando)

Following a meeting with MKs at his Bnei Brak home, Rabbi Dov Lando, the senior spiritual leader of the United Torah Judaism’s four-MK Degel HaTorah faction, calls for quickly dissolving the Knesset and bringing forward this year’s Knesset election over the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service.

It is not immediately clear whether this means the Knesset will vote to disperse in the next few days, and, if so, when elections might actually be held. As things stand, elections must be held no later than October 27, 2026.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely believed to want to avoid an election date close to the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel. An earlier dissolution of the Knesset could mean elections in late August or September.

Lando’s decision comes in response to Netanyahu telling Haredi MKs last week that the coalition currently doesn’t have the votes to pass the controversial legislation.

“We no longer have any trust in Netanyahu. From this point forward, we will do only what is best for Haredi Judaism and the yeshiva world. We must act to dissolve the Knesset as soon as possible. The concept of a [right-wing] bloc [including the Haredim] no longer exists as far as we are concerned,” the rabbi says in a statement.

Degel HaTorah, which represents members of the non-Hasidic “Lithuanian” Haredi community, is one of two factions comprising the seven-strong United Torah Judaism party, the other being the three-MK Agudat Yisrael.

Asked if his faction is also threatening to dissolve the Knesset, a source from Agudat Yisrael replies, “Always.

Degel HaTorah alone would not be able to ensure the success of a vote to dissolve the Knesset, and would require the backing of fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which has 11 MKs, and which has not made similar threats.

On Monday, the Israel Hayom daily reported that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri opposes passing the military exemption bill before the elections, and had asked Netanyahu to delay it, although Deri denied this report.

A spokesman for Shas did not respond to an inquiry sent by The Times of Israel this morning.

Still, a spokesman for Lando insists that “contrary to various reports, there is complete and absolute consensus and cooperation between Degel HaTorah and Shas regarding the course of action concerning the status of yeshiva students.”

In a separate statement, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni cites Lando’s statement as a binding instruction that will guide the faction’s actions going forward.

Following Lando’s decision, a spokesman for Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party says that it will place a bill to dissolve the Knesset on the agenda next week.

Yair Golan’s Democrats party also states that party MK Efrat Rayten “has submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset,” and Hebrew media reports that Yisrael Beytenu has put forward a bill, as well.