Pressure to Resume the Draft Law to Satisfy the Haredim and Delay Elections

SadaNews - Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana is exerting pressure on the Knesset's legal advisor in an attempt to convince her that there is no legal barrier preventing the resumption of legislation regarding the exemption of Haredim from conscription, amid a possible shift towards early elections. According to Israeli Channel 12 reported on Tuesday evening, Ohana's move aims to bring the "Shas" and "Degel Hatorah" parties back to the negotiating table concerning the law, following rising tensions between the Haredi parties and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The channel also cited political sources estimating that the chances of success for this step are "slim", considering that the objective is also to delay in an attempt to buy time and postpone setting a date for the early elections that Haredi parties are pushing for. Escalating Crisis Within the Coalition In this context, the channel mentioned that the Haredim will present on Wednesday a bill to support kindergartens introduced by Knesset member Yisrael Eichler, aimed at circumventing the Supreme Court's decision regarding funding kindergartens for families evading military service. However, estimates suggest that the proposal will not secure the required majority, which may deepen the crisis within the government coalition between Likud and its partners from the Haredi parties. This comes after Knesset members from the "Degel Hatorah" party received instructions from Rabbi Dov Lando at the beginning of the week not to cooperate with the draft law, while a prominent party official told the channel: "There is no trust in Netanyahu." According to the report, this position increases the likelihood of freezing the law's legislation and moving towards dissolving the Knesset. Contacts to Replace Netanyahu In parallel, the channel reported that opposition figures have made contacts with the "Yahadut HaTorah" party to discuss the possibility of supporting a "constructive vote of no confidence", whereby Netanyahu would be replaced by another Prime Minister without immediately going to elections. It added that the Haredi party has not outright rejected the idea but informed the mediators that it would not support the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, "and certainly not" Knesset member from Likud, Yuli Edelstein. The channel noted that representatives from "Yahadut HaTorah" suggested Benny Gantz's name as a potential candidate, with the understanding that opposition parties might agree to this step only if Gantz commits not to run in the next elections. According to the data provided by the channel, the opposition currently has 52 votes to support this step, and with the addition of the seven votes from "Yahadut HaTorah", it would need just two more votes to reach a parliamentary majority allowing for the government to be ousted.