Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), has announced it is quitting the country’s fractious right-wing coalition due to a long-running dispute over mandatory military service, threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on power. … The decision would leave Netanyahu with a razor-thin majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. It was not clear whether Shas, another ultra-Orthodox party, would follow suit. … The ultra-Orthodox have long been exempt from military service, which applies to most other young Israelis. But last year, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Defense to end that practice and start conscripting seminary students.” (07/15/25)