JERUSALEM: Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday voted to advance a bill submitted by the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/israel-pm-confirms-gaza-flotilla-interception-says-thwarting-malicious-scheme" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Netanyahu</a> which would dissolve parliament and pave the way for early elections. In a preliminary reading, 110 out of 120 lawmakers voted in favor and none against the bill, which will now pass to a committee before three more parliamentary readings. If the bill is ultimately approved it would automatically trigger elections to be held after 90 days. Polls are currently scheduled to take place by the end of the legislative term on October 27. Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, while his fractious right-wing coalition appears to be facing possible collapse. Ultra-Orthodox parties accuse Netanyahu of failing to deliver on his promise to pass legislation that would permanently <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/thousands-of-orthodox-jews-protest-israeli-draft-changes-in-new-york" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">exempt young men</a> of their community from compulsory military service if they are studying in yeshivas, or religious seminaries. Sensing an opportunity amid the turmoil, several opposition parties announced earlier this month that they intended to introduce their own bills to dissolve the Knesset. On Wednesday coalition chairman Ofir Katz said: &quot;This coalition has completed its days. &quot;This is the only opposition that caused the coalition to grow. In this term we passed nine budgets and 520 laws,&quot; he added. The bill does not set a date for elections, which would be fixed during the committee stage.

Dozens of protesters gather in front of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) to demonstrate against a controversial bill that proposes the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners in West Jerusalem on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, while his fractious right-wing coalition appears to be facing possible collapse.

Israeli lawmakers advance bill to dissolve parliament

JERUSALEM:&nbsp;One person was killed, and three were injured during a protest in Jerusalem on Tuesday against a law to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli armed forces, emergency crews said. A bus ran over and injured three pedestrians, then drove on and struck an 18-year-old who got trapped under the vehicle, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. &ldquo;Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene,&rdquo; the agency said. Manpower shortages&nbsp;Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had taken to the streets to protest a law to conscript them to the army, as the military faces manpower shortages after two years of war on multiple fronts.Mass demonstrations against the law have been taking place on a regular basis in recent months. According to a police statement, Tuesday&#39;s protest turned violent after &quot;a small group of rioters began violently disturbing public order, including by blocking traffic routes, damaging buses, setting trash bins on fire, throwing objects and eggs at police officers and Border Police, shouting invective, and assaulting journalists working at the scene&quot;. The police added that the bus &quot;was blocked by rioters who were... obstructing the route&quot;.&nbsp; Driver arrested&nbsp;The driver was arrested and under questioning alleged &quot;that he was assaulted by rioters, after which the unfortunate incident occurred&quot;. Israeli police sources quoted by local media ruled out concerns the event was a terror attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under pressure from the opposition and some coalition partners to increase the number of military recruits, but ultra-Orthodox party leaders -- traditionally Netanyahu allies -- oppose the conscription of religious students, who form a large part of their constituency. De facto passUnder a ruling established at the time of Israel&#39;s creation in 1948, men who devote themselves full-time to studying Jewish texts are given a de facto pass from mandatory military service. But this exemption has come under mounting scrutiny from the rest of Israeli society -- particularly when tens of thousands of conscripts and reservists are mobilized on several fronts, despite the fragile truce that has ended the war in Gaza. 14% of Jewish populationThe ultra-Orthodox make up 14% of Israel&#39;s Jewish population. Keeping ultra-Orthodox parties on board is key to the survival of Netanyahu&#39;s right-wing coalition. In November, a new draft law was put forward in the parliament&#39;s foreign affairs and defense committee, after a previous conscription bill was voted down in July. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party quit the government over that bill, and now Netanyahu&#39;s coalition only holds 60 out of 120 seats in parliament. Resignations&nbsp;Ministers from the other main ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, resigned from the cabinet over the issue, though the party has not formally left the coalition. In late October, a teenage boy fell to his death from a high-rise during another mass protest against the conscription law in Jerusalem.&nbsp; Israeli media said his death was likely to be a suicide, as the boy had left a farewell message on his Instagram account.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had taken to the streets to protest a law to conscript them to the army, as the military faces manpower shortages after two years of war on multiple fronts.

Teen killed in anti-conscription protest in Jerusalem

ISLAMABAD: Colombian authorities said Sunday they had rescued 17 minors from members of Lev Tahor, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect under investigation for alleged child sex abuse. Lev Tahor, which practices a form of Judaism in which women wear black tunics covering them from head to toe, has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries. &quot;We have rescued 17 boys, girls and teens,&quot; the country&#39;s immigration service said on X, with pictures of some of the children, their faces blurred or shielded from view. &quot;International alerts have been issued over crimes against minors associated with this community.&quot; The raid took place on Saturday, police said. The minors -- who are of various nationalities including American and Guatemalan, were taken to a government-run center. &quot;There are indications that some of them may have been kidnapped, suggesting a possible human trafficking scenario, under the guise of religious activity,&quot; a police report said. The Lev Tahor sect was formed in the 1980s, and some members settled in Guatemala in 2013. Authorities estimate that the community is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries. Lev Tahor also has run into problems with officials in Mexico and Canada. Interpol has issued red notices for the arrest of some of the group&#39;s leaders. In December 2024, Guatemalan authorities rescued 160 minors from a farm occupied by Lev Tahor, alleging they were being abused. At the time, public prosecutor Dimas Jimenez told a press conference that the raid was carried out due to suspicions of &quot;forced pregnancy, mistreatment of minors and rape.&quot;

Americas

Lev Tahor has been the subject of investigations for the mistreatment of minors in several countries.

Colombia says 17 minors rescued from Jewish sect accused of abuse

NEW YORK: Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews packed the streets and sidewalks for blocks around the Israeli consulate in New York City on Sunday to protest issues, including a potential end of an exemption for religious students from compulsory service in Israel&#39;s military. The protest at the consulate, a block from the United Nations campus in Manhattan, illustrated the complex relationship between Israel and segments of the large population of very religious Jews in New York and its suburbs. The two influential, and often rival, grand rebbes of the Satmar community both called on adherents to participate in the demonstration.&nbsp; The Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada, a consortium of Orthodox Jewish groups, said it helped organize the protest. It comes after Israel&#39;s Supreme Court last year ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the military.&nbsp; Enlistment exemption There had been a longstanding enlistment exemption &mdash; dating to the founding of Israel in 1948. The ultra-Orthodox worry that mandatory enlistment will impact adherents&rsquo; ties to their faith.&nbsp; But many Jewish Israelis have argued that an exemption is unfair. Rifts over the issue have deepened since the start of the war in Gaza. &lsquo;Freedom and liberty&rsquo;Rabbi Moishe Indig, a Satmar community leader, said he&#39;s not sure organizers expected so many people to show up but he said he felt urgency building around the issue. He said he was appreciative of the governments in New York and the US &ldquo;for giving us the freedom and liberty to be able to live free and have our children go to school and study and learn the Torah.&quot;

There had been a longstanding enlistment exemption — dating to the founding of Israel in 1948; the ultra-Orthodox worry that mandatory enlistment will impact adherents’ ties to their faith. 

Articles tagged with "ultra-Orthodox Jews"

Israeli lawmakers advance bill to dissolve parliament

Teen killed in anti-conscription protest in Jerusalem

Colombia says 17 minors rescued from Jewish sect accused of abuse

Thousands of Orthodox Jews protest Israeli draft changes in New York

Israeli lawmakers advance bill to dissolve parliament