Shas is expected to support a motion to dissolve the Knesset, the media reported on Wednesday.
This came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded a meeting with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein on Wednesday evening, during which the two discussed advancing the draft exemption bill, which has largely stalled, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Netanyahu will lead a meeting on Thursday afternoon that Edelstein will also attend, in addition to Shas MK Ariel Attias and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fox, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.
This follows several haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis reportedly instructing parties in the coalition to leave the government, The Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.
Edelstein addressed the developments in a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday, writing that he did not support dissolving the Knesset and that he was seeking a solution.
“I am not in favor of disbanding the coalition or dissolving the government, and I do not share in the hatred of our haredi brothers,” he wrote.
אין חדש תחת השמש.מתווה חוק הגיוס אותו הצגתי אמש בפגישה, הוא אותו המתווה עליו אנחנו דנים כבר למעלה משנה. חוק ללא סנקציות אישיות אפקטיביות, יעדי גיוס גבוהים ובקצב עלייה גבוה - איננו גיוס אלא השתמטות, ולכך התנגדתי לכל אורך הדרך.בזמן שחיילי צה״ל ומפקדיו נמצאים בעיצומם של מאמצי… pic.twitter.com/hwb5jYErib
— Yuli Edelstein יולי אדלשטיין (@YuliEdelstein) June 4, 2025
Haredi parties consider leaving government
Some haredi parties are considering leaving the government over its failure to pass a law that would exempt a majority of eligible haredi men from IDF service.
Edelstein did not reach an agreement during a meeting with representatives from the ultra-Orthodox community on Tuesday, angering the haredi faction Degel Hatorah and prompting rabbis to issue a directive to escalate threats against the government and coalition.
Haredi Lithuanian Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch said in a statement that he would “likely” instruct the Degel Hatorah faction to leave the coalition in the near future.