The unusual ultimatum issued Tuesday evening by the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox parties, Aryeh Deri and Moshe Gafni, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook Israel’s political system. Their formal statement warned that the Knesset could be dissolved as soon as next week if military draft legislation is not advanced.
But Channel 12 political commentator Amit Segal quickly offered a different reading. In a post responding to the joint announcement by Shas and United Torah Judaism’s Degel HaTorah faction, he wrote, “Translated into Hebrew, a deal was reached between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox, elections on 20.10 in exchange for the legislation.”
According to Segal, this is not a sudden crisis meant to topple the coalition immediately. He says it is a coordinated move designed to satisfy both sides. The ultra-Orthodox parties would get the Basic Law on Torah study and a halt to arrests of yeshiva students, which he said could happen within days through Knesset committees.
In return, Netanyahu would receive an agreed and relatively distant date for general elections, in the coming autumn. Segal’s interpretation suggests the public threat of Knesset dissolution masks an already worked-out political arrangement.
