At the heart of the crisis is the deeply contentious issue of military conscription for Haredi men, an explosive fault line that has once again ruptured into open political warfare. For decades, Israel has allowed thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to avoid compulsory military service, a historic arrangement rooted in the early years of the state. But that status quo is now being aggressively challenged in the midst of the country’s longest and most grueling war since its founding.
Supreme Court Intervention Sparks Coalition Tensions
As Israel’s war in Gaza stretches beyond its 600th day, Israeli reservists have been repeatedly called up for grueling, months-long tours, many for the second or third time. Public resentment has grown sharply as images of young secular and religious-Zionist men returning from combat flood Israeli news, while thousands of Haredi yeshiva students remain exempt from service.
Last year, in a landmark decision, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the long-standing exemption must end, ordering the government to begin drafting Haredi men. The ruling ignited a political powder keg.
Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government about to fall?
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) June 4, 2025
This morning, ultra-Orthodox leaders were instructed to leave the government and work to dismantle it, while Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu and The Democrats plan on submitting a bill to dissolve the Knesset next… pic.twitter.com/UvjD0tQxjQ
United Torah Judaism Threatens to Bolt
United Torah Judaism (UTJ), one of two key ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu's coalition, has issued a blunt ultimatum: pass a new law enshrining draft exemptions for Haredim, or we walk.
The implications are seismic. Should UTJ follow through—and should its Sephardic counterpart, Shas, also defect—Netanyahu would immediately lose his parliamentary majority. Without the ultra-Orthodox bloc, his coalition collapses, and Israel will be forced into snap elections, possibly within months.
Despite repeated attempts by Netanyahu and Likud negotiators to placate Haredi lawmakers, progress on a draft exemption bill has stalled. Secular and nationalist coalition partners, already under immense pressure from their constituents, are unwilling to support a new law that would widen the divide between those who serve and those who do not.
The Netanyahu-Haredi crisis deepens:
— Israel Elects (@israel_elects) June 4, 2025
UTJ faction Degel HaTorah (3 MKs) is set to vote for early elections.
However, since the coalition has an 8-seat majority, it could keep going (albeit in lame duck form) as long as Shas stays in...
Netanyahu’s Balancing Act Nears a Fall
This is far from the first time the Haredi draft issue has threatened Netanyahu’s political survival. But unlike past crises, this one arrives at a moment of unparalleled vulnerability. The war in Gaza, ongoing security threats from Hezbollah in the north, and diplomatic tensions with the United States have stretched Netanyahu’s leadership to the limit.
Polls show that a majority of Israelis not only oppose continuing blanket draft exemptions for the Haredi community—they also disapprove of Netanyahu’s handling of the war. If elections were held today, projections suggest Netanyahu would struggle to form a new government, if he could return to power at all.
🚨IDF reservists are sacrificing everything—some with their lives.
— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) June 4, 2025
Now Haredi leaders say their yeshiva students should be exempt, and they’re willing to collapse the coalition to get it.
Is Israel headed for a new election over the draft?
🔗https://t.co/25rkHL3IXX pic.twitter.com/ofANOKvD9p
A Nation at a Crossroads
The potential collapse of the government over the draft issue is more than a political squabble—it’s a referendum on the identity of the Jewish state. Is Israel a modern, democratic nation where every citizen shares the burden of national defense? Or does it remain a state of special exceptions, where politics and religion intertwine to override equality?
As the battle for Gaza continues, and as rockets from Lebanon keep residents in the north on edge, the government in Jerusalem may soon find itself in retreat—not from its enemies, but from its own internal contradictions.
