(REUTERS) — JERUSALEM – A decades-old exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service is a deeply divisive issue in Israel at the heart of a cabinet crisis that could lead to an early election.
A preliminary vote in parliament on a new bill that would maintain the exemption is expected on Tuesday. One faction in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s six-party coalition government has vowed to defy him and oppose the legislation.
That could cause Netanyahu’s government to unravel, setting the stage for the possible dissolution of parliament and a snap election in which he would seek a new mandate to help survive corruption allegations threatening his political survival.
