Citing broken promises and threats to yeshiva students’ status, Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael—two core factions of United Torah Judaism—have formally exited the coalition following orders from their top rabbinical authorities. The dramatic walkout puts further strain on the Netanyahu government’s stability.
In a dramatic political rupture late Monday evening, Degel HaTorah, a leading faction of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, formally withdrew from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, citing a breach of coalition agreements surrounding the contentious Draft Law. The departure, mandated by the faction’s spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando, was swiftly followed by a similar withdrawal directive issued by the Council of Torah Sages to the Agudat Yisrael faction of UTJ.
The party issued a clear and pointed statement:
“Following the instruction of our revered leader, Rabbi Dov Lando, and in response to the unacceptable draft legislation presented tonight—which blatantly deviates from the promises made by Likud—Degel HaTorah is exiting the government and the coalition.”
According to the statement, Rabbi Lando held a decisive conversation with the faction’s Knesset members earlier in the evening, emphasizing their spiritual obligation to defend Torah scholars and declaring the proposed draft bill a betrayal of both religious values and political trust. The rabbis criticized the government for repeated failures to protect the legal status of yeshiva students, calling recent developments part of a broader trend to “humiliate and trample” Torah learning.
By midnight, Degel HaTorah’s MKs—including Moshe Gafni, Uri Maklev, Yaakov Asher, Yitzhak Pindrus, and Eliyahu Baruchi—had signed and submitted formal resignation letters. The move forces MK Gafni to relinquish his influential post as Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, a position he has long used to advance Haredi community interests.
In coordination, the Council of Torah Sages instructed the Agudat Yisrael faction—also part of UTJ—to vacate its coalition roles, issuing a parallel rebuke of the draft law for failing to reflect the “will and values of our great Torah scholars.”
The resignation letter from Rabbi Lando, released to the public shortly after the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, delivered a blistering indictment of the government’s conduct:
“When authorities consistently show their intention to restrict the lives of Torah scholars and fail again and again to uphold their commitments, it is our duty to disengage entirely.”
Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, a senior spiritual leader, co-signed the letter at Lando’s request, further signaling broad rabbinical unity behind the unprecedented withdrawal.
The exits leave Netanyahu’s coalition in a precarious position, potentially short of votes to pass key legislation, including the very Draft Law that triggered the crisis. The fracture underscores deepening tensions between Israel’s ultra-Orthodox leadership and the ruling Likud party, with long-term implications for government stability, Haredi-military relations, and broader coalition dynamics.
