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Coalition Tensions

Conservative rabbis pray at the Ezrat Yisrael egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall, December 12, 2024. (Courtesy/ File)
February 22, 2026, 8:01 pm
Netanyahu nixes ministerial vote on bill cementing Orthodox control of Western Wall
Justice minister calls on MKs to vote in favor, coalition whip receives PM’s permission to give MKs freedom to vote freely on the controversial legislation
By Sam Sokol and Ariela Karmel
MK Yitzhak Kroizer visits the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
November 7, 2025, 9:11 am
Otzma Yehudit won’t topple Netanyahu, MK says after party’s threat to bolt over Gaza
Far-right lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer says party demanding Israel take over and resettle Gaza while helping Palestinians leave, but says the threat is only to leave coalition, not force elections
By Sam Sokol
Finance Ministry Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on November 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
November 5, 2025, 10:09 pm
Smotrich to halt voting with coalition until MKs pass bill giving reservists tax breaks
Legislative boycott will have little impact, as coalition does not currently have a majority; coalition whip Katz says bill ‘drastically discriminates against many reservists’
By Sam Sokol
MK Avi Maoz, left, and Likud head Benjamin Netanyahu after signing a coalition deal on November 27, 2022. (Courtesy, Likud)
October 26, 2025, 10:10 pm
As elections near, annexation fiasco shows Netanyahu losing control of his coalition
PM tried hard to prevent the preliminary approval of two West Bank annexation bills, knowing he risked irritating the Trump administration, but simply couldn’t muster the leverage
By Sam Sokol
Former Sephardic chief rabbi and Shas spiritual leader Yitzhak Yosef arrives at an anti-enlistment conference in Bnei Brak, July 31, 2025. (Daniel Nafusi)
October 24, 2025, 1:49 pm
Top Shas rabbis pan party leader Deri as Haredi draft exemption bill remains elusive
In leaked recordings, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef says Shas should leave coalition, forcing elections; voices distrust of ‘atheist’ Netanyahu, whom he says his father, Ovadia Yosef, disliked
By Michael Horovitz
Chairman Aryeh Deri attends a meeting of the Shas party Council of Torah Sages in Jerusalem, July 16, 2025. (Flash90)
October 23, 2025, 1:52 pm
Shas quits its coalition posts to protest failure to legislate Haredi draft exemption
But ultra-Orthodox party remains in the coalition, pledging to return to its government and Knesset roles ‘when the status of yeshiva students is resolved’
By Sam Sokol
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks at a Knesset faction meeting in the Knesset on October 20, 2025 (Sam Sokol/ Times of Israel)
October 20, 2025, 10:18 pm
Ben Gvir threatens to stop voting with coalition unless death penalty bill advances
Coalition has three weeks to hold first vote on controversial legislation before Otzma Yehudit party stages legislative revolt, vows minister
By Sam Sokol
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is seen at the entrance to the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City. October 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)
October 18, 2025, 10:34 pm
Ben Gvir says he gave PM deadline to dismantle Hamas, enact death penalty for terrorists
Far-right minister declines to specify timeline for quitting government, says Netanyahu ‘knows very well what will happen’ if he doesn’t comply with demands
By Sam Sokol
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 9, 2025, 2:48 pm
Smotrich says he will oppose hostage deal, as his party weighs quitting the government
Religious Zionism source says decision hasn’t been made yet; Ben Gvir mum on deal after earlier threat to bolt if Hamas ‘remains in existence’; opposition has promised ‘safety net’
By Sam Sokol
Shas party leader MK Aryeh Deri, right, speaks with United Torah Judaism No. 2 MK Moshe Gafni during a Knesset plenum session in Jerusalem, February 10, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
July 7, 2025, 8:11 pm
Coalition pulls all legislation after Haredi parties mutiny over conscription bill
United Torah Judaism party says it ‘will not vote with the coalition’ until presented with an updated draft of a law exempting yeshiva students from military service
By Sam Sokol
Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, July 1, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
June 29, 2025, 9:54 pm
After only three months, far-right deputy minister quits role to return to Knesset
Almog Cohen’s sudden move could push Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot out of parliament, setting scene for potential fight between party and coalition’s Otzma Yehudit
By Sam Sokol
Ultra-Orthodox soldiers are drafted into the military at an induction center, April 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
May 21, 2025, 8:42 pm
Only 1,212 of the 24,000 Haredi men called up in past year have begun enlisting
Haredim continue legislative boycott for third week in effort to pressure PM to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service. Coalition bills removed from agenda
By Sam Sokol and Emanuel Fabian
Then-Knesset Finance Committee chair Moshe Gafni (3rd from left) and other ultra-Orthodox lawmakers pictured in the Knesset as the 2025 state budget law is passed, March 25, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
May 5, 2025, 11:07 pm
Haredi parties to boycott government votes over failure to pass IDF exemption law
Ultra-Orthodox MK warns that if legislation doesn’t pass during current Knesset session, ‘we will have a very big problem sitting in such a government’
By Sam Sokol
Then-Knesset Finance Committee chair Moshe Gafni (3rd from left) and other ultra-Orthodox lawmakers pictured in the Knesset as the 2025 state budget law is passed, March 25, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
April 24, 2025, 2:49 pm
Stymied on conscription, Haredi party declares itself free from coalition discipline
UTJ official says party ‘will not bring down the government’ but will vote independently unless progress is made on exempting yeshiva students from military service
By Sam Sokol
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a vote in the Knesset plenum, Jerusalem, December 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 23, 2025, 7:03 pm
Smotrich: PM ‘ultimately responsible’ for war, must occupy Gaza or lose right to govern
Far-right finance minister also spars with IDF chief Zamir over aid distribution: ‘If you are not capable, we will bring in someone who is’
By Sam Sokol
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