Court ruling on haredi draft law lands Netanyahu second legal blow
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a blow Sunday, when the Supreme Court rejected his government’s request to extend the deadline for passing a controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) enlistment bill by four months and gave him only until January 15.
Had the four-month extension been granted, Netanyahu could have gotten away without passing a new bill at all and keeping the next election on time on November 5. But because Likud officials have said the bill cannot be passed with the current makeup of his coalition, Netanyahu’s only choices are passing the bill and letting United Torah Judaism force the election or initiating the race on his own.
Either way, the decision made it much more likely that the next election will be held in May. If Arab MKs complain that the election cannot be held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, then Tuesday, April 30 could be a possibility.
Without the extension, technically, the government would have been required from Sunday to enlist all haredim of army age.
The court’s decision was a compromise between the request of the government and that of the petitioners against it, Yesh Atid and the Movement for Quality Government.
The government cited the November 16 resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman as its reason for seeking the extension.
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