Netanyahu Loses Religious Party’s Support as Rival Tipped to Form Government

Netanyahu has preserved the exemption but stopped short of enshrining it in law, amid growing resentment among Israelis as reservists serve multiple tours due to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party long aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu declined on Thursday to recommend him to remain Israel’s prime minister, as signs grew that his rival, Gadi Eisenkot, could have the first chance to form a government.

President Isaac Herzog was holding a second day of consultations with political parties following the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu — a polarising right-wing leader who has led Israel through three years of war — nor Eisenkot secured enough votes for a majority.

United Torah Judaism, which backed Netanyahu after the previous five elections, declined to recommend him again as prime minister during its meeting with Herzog. However, the party also did not endorse Eisenkot.

The party informed Herzog “that it has decided not to recommend any member of Knesset to form a government,” the president’s office said in a statement, referring to the 120-member parliament in which United Torah Judaism won seven seats.

The party, which represents ultra-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi origin, mostly from or with roots in Europe, has joined Shas, which represents the Sephardic community, largely of Middle Eastern and North African descent, in supporting Netanyahu as they push to maintain the exemption from military service for religious students.

Netanyahu has preserved the exemption but stopped short of enshrining it in law, amid significant resentment from other Israelis as reservists serve multiple tours due to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

“In whatever government is next formed, our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students,” United Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said.

Eisenkot, a former military chief seeking to unite the centre and centre-right, has insisted on ending exemptions from military service, with some of his opposition allies harshly criticising the ultra-Orthodox as self-serving.

Observers say United Torah Judaism’s position may be aimed more at punishing Netanyahu and demonstrating that its support cannot be taken for granted, although the party could still serve in a government formed by him.

Herzog was expected to meet representatives of the major parties later on Thursday before assigning one lawmaker the task of forming a government. He generally bases his decision on which candidate receives the most recommendations from political parties, making it likely that he will ask Eisenkot to form the government.

Once Herzog gives the mandate, the lawmaker will have 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. If the lawmaker fails, Herzog will then assign the task to someone else.

Netanyahu’s bloc — including United Torah Judaism — has 53 seats in the new parliament, compared with 48 for Eisenkot’s bloc.

Israeli-Arab parties increased their strength following public anger over Netanyahu’s hard-right government, winning 19 seats.

Eisenkot could form a government with the Arab parties but would risk losing the support of some members of the opposition.