Draft Law Fight Splits Israel's Coalition Before Vote

Shas chairman MK Arye Deri said Wednesday that his party won't join or support Israel's next government unless lawmakers pass legislation regulating the military service status of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshiva students. The demand comes as the IDF warns of a manpower shortage after three years of war, while soldiers and reservists already stretched thin shoulder the burden of service.

"There will be no government in Israel with Shas's support or participation unless the status of yeshiva students is regulated," Deri told the haredi news outlet Kikar HaShabbat. He made passage of a draft law a condition for Shas to join any future coalition, no matter who forms the government.

A Manpower Crisis Behind the Politics

The numbers aren't abstract. After three years of war, the IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage. In March, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the army could soon collapse if it found no solution. The source doesn't say which year he issued that warning, but the alarm has been repeated—and it hasn't gone away.

The October 27 Knesset election was 13 days away on Wednesday, and haredi military enlistment had become central to coalition negotiations before voters go to the polls. Parties are sharply divided over whether yeshiva students should continue to receive exemptions from IDF service.

Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) have long partnered in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. They've faced fresh criticism over their position on haredi conscription as the manpower crisis deepened. The haredi parties urged Netanyahu's coalition to advance legislation that critics said wouldn't increase haredi enlistment during the government's term. They also boycotted coalition votes, saying they wouldn't cooperate until the coalition made progress on the contentious legislation they'd been promoting.

Opposition: The Cost Falls on Those Who Serve

Opposition leaders in the bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu condemned Deri's remarks. They say the burden falls on those who serve. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the B'Yachad party, said: "Netanyahu will continue funding draft dodgers, and in return, Deri will give him the reins of power, all at the expense of those who serve."

Bennett cited the chief of staff's warnings. "The IDF chief of staff is raising 10 red flags over the army's collapse, while Deri, a member of the Security Cabinet, tells him: We intend to continue down the same path and institutionalize draft evasion," he said.

He cast the election as a choice with concrete consequences. "A vote for Netanyahu, [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich, or Deri is a vote for draft evasion, 150 days of reserve duty a year, and billions of shekels every year transferred from the pockets of those who serve to those who evade service," Bennett said.

MK Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party, said Deri had "admitted in his own words that he will agree to forming a government only if his puppet, Netanyahu, agrees to permanently exempt all haredim from military service." Liberman added: "What does this mean in practice? Voting for the draft-dodgers' government led by Bibi [Netanyahu] and Deri means an even greater burden on those who serve, hundreds more days of reserve duty, and further extensions of mandatory service for active-duty soldiers."

Why This Matters: The draft dispute shows how coalition arithmetic can clash with a military under strain. Israeli soldiers and reservists, many already serving long stretches after three years of war, bear the cost of any exemption not offset by new recruits. The standoff also leaves less room for any government to address larger questions, including a political path out of the conflict. Coalition demands like Deri's shape what a government can and can't pursue. With the IDF chief of staff warning of possible collapse, the unresolved question of who serves isn't only a domestic quarrel. It affects the army's capacity and the human toll on those who carry it, long after the votes are counted.