Rabbi Law: Second Bomb Threatening to Unravel Netanyahu's Hardline Coalition

While the law on drafting the religious remains stuck and threatens the survival of his far-right coalition, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces another explosive bomb: "Rabbis Bill."

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a coalition partner, is pushing for the law that transfers the authority to appoint city rabbis from local authorities to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, led by Shas minister Moshe Gafni.

However, members of Netanyahu's Likud party and the far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit), led by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, oppose the law.

What Happened? 

Amidst the division of religious parties over the coalition's power-sharing, Shas was preparing to pass the law. But on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Netanyahu withdrew the bill from the agenda before its first reading in the Knesset, citing a lack of majority support.

The goal was to ensure greater control for Shas, representing ultra-Orthodox Mizrahi Jews (Easterners, the Guardians of Torah), over rabbinical appointments and to appoint its supporters, a move opposed by Western Jews.

The controversial law project would increase control of extremist Orthodox parties over the Israeli religious institution by granting the Ministry of Religious Affairs, under Shas, the authority to appoint hundreds of municipal and neighborhood rabbis.

The contentious law also allows the Minister of Religious Affairs to compel any city, town, or neighborhood to appoint a rabbi to its council, even against their wishes.

The law requires rabbis to sign a loyalty document to the Chief Rabbinate and submit it to its religious authority, significantly increasing the number of rabbis receiving salaries from the Zionist state.

Aware of opposition within his Likud ministers and coalition partners to the Chief Rabbis Bill, Netanyahu postponed the vote to delay internal government conflicts.

Before canceling the vote, Netanyahu discussed with Shas leader Aryeh Deri, explaining that there was no majority for the law, and it couldn't be passed.

However, Deri was furious and accused Netanyahu of losing control over his party, telling the prime minister that Likud’s legislators “do whatever they want.”

“Either there is a coalition or there isn’t,” Deri said, adding that “there has not been a government as bad for the ultra-Orthodox public” as the current one throughout the entire history of the state.

The following day, Shas stated that the complete solution for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was only a matter of time.

According to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, officials in Shas launched a strong attack on Netanyahu's Likud party after the Chief Rabbi Bill was dropped.

With 11 seats in the Knesset out of a total of 64 supporting votes for the current government, Shas threatens to withdraw from the government, leading to its collapse as it would only have 53 seats, lacking the required majority of 61 out of 120 in parliament (Knesset).

The government is formed by the Likud, Shas, Jewish Power, Religious Zionist party, and United Torah Judaism parties; any withdrawal from it means collapse.

Coalition at Risk 

As Netanyahu's coalition faces suicide due to religious laws, Haaretz reported on June 19, 2024, that the Chief Rabbis Bill crisis shows how vulnerable Netanyahu is to blackmail by ultra-Orthodox Jews in his government.

It affirmed that Netanyahu's coalition is committing suicide by legislating to create a stockpile of jobs that will be in the hands of extremist Orthodox parties, noting the objections of many "rebellious" Knesset members from the Likud to the law.

The Jerusalem Post on June 19, 2024, also saw the failure of the Chief Rabbis Bill as shattering the confidence of the Haredim (religious) in Netanyahu and putting the coalition on the verge of collapse.

It pointed to the risks of tensions erupting within the Israeli Occupation’s ruling coalition after Netanyahu dropped the Chief Rabbis Bill.

Members of Likud, Shas, and Jewish Power openly “attacked each other publicly in a series of developments that indicated a serious erosion of the coalition’s cohesiveness and a threat to the government’s stability,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Times of Israel on June 19, 2024, also viewed the Chief Rabbis Bill's failure as breaking the Haredim's trust in Netanyahu and putting the coalition on the brink of collapse.

It confirmed that the trust of the ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, in Netanyahu's ability to advance their interests has collapsed, posing a threat to his government coalition and thereby Israeli stability. 

Netanyahu failed to pass both the Chief Rabbis Bill and the compulsory military service Law, currently under debate in the Foreign Affairs and War Committee of the Knesset, amid disagreements among his government members.

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews view the state's attempts to regulate compulsory military service for Haredim as an existential issue, seeking to maintain most exemptions for students of religious schools. The Times of Israel notes that with the failure of the Chief Rabbis Bill and many Likud members pledging to oppose Haredi exemptions from military service, the crucial question now is whether Netanyahu can fulfill any of his promises to them.

Israeli analyst Shai Cohen, in a June 18 analysis on Channel 12, explained that the Chief Rabbis Bill was a litmus test for Haredim to assess Netanyahu's strength. He emphasized that after a year and a half of Netanyahu's sixth government, the Haredi bloc feels desperate as they have not achieved any of their central election promises, failing in every attempt. Thus, they are now testing whether Netanyahu truly controls his coalition or if they are merely defending Likud's rule without any accomplishments.

They pushed the Chief Rabbis Bill as a test balloon before the Military Service Law, both stalled and serving the interests of ultra-Orthodox Jews. Cohen clarified that Netanyahu faces three challenges from his religious coalition partners: firstly, the Chief Rabbis Bill concerning what Haredim considers the Jewish identity of the “State of Israel;” secondly, regarding religious education, ensuring its independence and preserving budgets that sustain its institutions; and thirdly, concerning the Yeshiva education sector, protecting against interference in their student conditions and religious budgets, aiming to prevent their reduction.

All these promises and laws have not materialized for the Haredi bloc, leading them to view Netanyahu's sixth government as a failure, questioning whether to stay in or leave this coalition. When it came to the Chief Rabbis Bill, the Haredim told Netanyahu that the issue is stuck because of members of his Likud party, and because of Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is aligned with him. Therefore, if this coalition fails to pass the law, there is no point in its existence, with Israeli analyst Shai Cohen stating, “If we cannot pass anything, why should we remain in this government?”

What's Next? 

Because his coalition faces collapse during a critical time when “Israel” is engaged in wars on two fronts in Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu urged his allies, in a rare warning on June 19, 2024, to restrain themselves to prevent the government from falling at this sensitive time. He made this plea publicly after his ministers, representing different parties, exchanged accusations over the law.

The issue extended beyond threats of party withdrawal from and dissolution of the government, as signs of rebellion among Likud ministers, led by Netanyahu, appeared most dangerous. Netanyahu addressed his partners via his Telegram account, stating, “We are at war on several fronts, facing great challenges and difficult decisions. Therefore, I strongly demand from all coalition partners to get yourselves together and realize the importance of the time we’re in,” Netanyahu’s statement began.

What angered Likud members was Netanyahu's attempt to secure a majority for the law by removing Likud Knesset members Tally Gotliv and Moshe Saada from the Law and Constitution Committee, after they expressed opposition to the law. Complicating matters further, Likud's Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel, Nir Barkat, informed Netanyahu of his intention, along with Likud Knesset members, to vote against the current format of the Military Service Law, which exempts the religiously Orthodox (Haredim) from mandatory military service.

This contradicts the desires of the other coalition partner parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism. They were also upset by talk of Netanyahu trying to enlist the Joint Arab List to rescue his government by exploiting the votes of the Movement's five deputies in the vote on the Chief Rabbis Bill, despite the latter's denial.

Israeli analysts say this crisis not only threatens the government coalition but also the alliance Netanyahu has solidified since 2009 between Likud and far-right factions, which was further strengthened after the 2015 elections. 

They note that there are right-wing voices within Likud that have accepted their alliance with the Haredim over the years, but now they are confronted with the issues of the Chief Rabbis Bill and the law exempting Haredim from military service. 

Thus, Zionist analysts ask: What if Netanyahu's ministers and the conflicting parties within, especially the religious ones, fail to show restraint? When will the coalition explode and disintegrate—over the Chief Rabbis Bill or during the debate on the draft law?