Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

May 15, 2026

Why the Haredi Parties, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Want Early Elections

Religious parties are gambling that the opposition hates the prime minister more than it hates draft exemptions.

Elected in 2022, the current Israeli Knesset was expected to be the first to complete its four-year term since 1992, with elections expected to take place near the end of October. But on Wednesday, Likud moved to dissolve the government, which would advance elections to August or September. The move was triggered by the haredi parties, who are poised to leave the government out of dissatisfaction with a bill that would make it harder for their young men to avoid military service. (A substantial number of non-haredi Israelis, by contrast, believe the bill isn’t stringent enough.)

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