Israel Coalition Crisis: Haredi Spiritual Leader Rabbi Lando Orders Knesset Dissolution After Netanyahu Freezes Draft Exemption Bill

A major coalition crisis erupted in Israel on May 12, 2026, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze progress on the military draft exemption bill for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men ahead of expected October 2026 elections. Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah faction within the United Torah Judaism coalition, ordered his party's three Knesset members to act immediately to support dissolving the Knesset, declaring there was 'no more trust in Netanyahu.' The three-MK Agudat Yisrael bloc indicated it would also support a dissolution vote, and the Knesset plenum was set to hold a dissolution vote the following week. Netanyahu's decision to shelve the exemption bill is seen as an appeal to center-right secular voters ahead of elections — at direct expense of his Haredi coalition partners, who view exemption from IDF service as non-negotiable. A Channel 12 poll published May 11–12 showed only 58% of 2022 Likud voters intend to vote Likud again, with 28% planning to switch parties, reflecting broad governing fatigue after nearly four years of continuous coalition crises. The coalition drama adds to existing strains: Justice Minister Yariv Levin separately threatened on May 7 to let the Supreme Court 'go extinct' if sitting justices block his judicial appointments, while the far-right ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich continue pushing policies condemned internationally.