Ultra-Orthodox parties accuse Netanyahu of stalling army service exemption bill

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately delaying a bill that would formalize military service exemptions for Haredim, following another postponement of the legislative debate.

The bill, drafted by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth, was due for discussion last week but was once again postponed at the instruction of the Prime Minister’s Office, Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported on Sunday.

An official from Agudat Yisrael, part of the United Torah Judaism bloc, told the paper that “Netanyahu does not actually intend to pass the law, but is trying to buy time and muddy the waters.”

The ultra-Orthodox parties accused Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party of “punishing” them in response to the massive demonstration held last Thursday in Jerusalem, where more than 300,000 Haredim protested the prosecution of yeshiva students who refuse to enlist in the Israeli army.

One senior Haredi leader said the government’s decision to delay the debate “shows that it is punishing the senior rabbis who called for prayers against the harm inflicted on Torah students.”

The bill — which would grant near-total exemption from military service to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students — has sparked widespread criticism, including from members within the governing coalition, who argue that it deepens societal divisions amid ongoing conflict and security pressures.

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