{"id":1942,"date":"2025-07-16T05:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T05:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1942"},"modified":"2025-07-16T05:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T05:13:20","slug":"israeli-ultra-orthodox-party-quits-netanyahus-coalition-over-military-conscription-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1942","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Party Quits Netanyahu&#8217;s Coalition Over Military Conscription Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at\u00a0the governing coalition\u2019s shake-up in\u00a0<strong>Israel<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Australian<\/strong>\u00a0Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s meeting with\u00a0<strong>Chinese<\/strong>\u00a0President Xi Jinping, and a corruption investigation in\u00a0<strong>South Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Netanyahu\u2019s Rattled Coalition<\/h3>\n<p>An Israeli ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/15\/world\/middleeast\/netanyahu-ultra-orthodox-draft.html\">announced<\/a> on Monday that it would quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s coalition government over a long-running dispute relating to the country\u2019s new conscription bill. The move leaves Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority of just one seat; if more parties also resign, it could severely limit Netanyahu\u2019s ability to govern and bring Israel a step closer to holding new elections.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at\u00a0the governing coalition\u2019s shake-up in\u00a0<strong>Israel<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Australian<\/strong>\u00a0Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s meeting with\u00a0<strong>Chinese<\/strong>\u00a0President Xi Jinping, and a corruption investigation in\u00a0<strong>South Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Netanyahu\u2019s Rattled Coalition<\/h3>\n<p>An Israeli ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/15\/world\/middleeast\/netanyahu-ultra-orthodox-draft.html\">announced<\/a> on Monday that it would quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s coalition government over a long-running dispute relating to the country\u2019s new conscription bill. The move leaves Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority of just one seat; if more parties also resign, it could severely limit Netanyahu\u2019s ability to govern and bring Israel a step closer to holding new elections.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli ultra-Orthodox religious students have long been exempt from the country\u2019s mandatory military service that applies to most other young Israelis. However, those exemptions were scrapped last year after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that they amounted to discrimination against the country\u2019s secular majority and ordered the government to begin drafting the religious students.<\/p>\n<p>That decision <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/world\/ultra-orthodox-men-clash-with-israeli-police-in-protest-against-court-order-to-enlist-in-military\">sparked<\/a> outrage within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, whose members argue that their men serve the country through their intensive religious studies and that mandatory military service would threaten that tradition and their way of life. Netanyahu has since worked hard to resolve the issue by pushing for a new military conscription bill in the parliament. The new bill lays out a plan to gradually integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the military while potentially cutting public funding for individuals or religious schools (known as yeshivas) that fail to participate in the program. Even still, UTJ lawmakers said that the proposal is too harsh.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement announcing its resignation from the coalition, Degel HaTorah, one of the two factions that make up the UTJ, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/15\/israeli-ultra-orthodox-party-quits-netanyahu-government-over-conscription\">cited<\/a> the \u201crepeated violations by the government of its commitments to ensure the status of holy yeshiva students who diligently engage in their studies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear whether Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party within Netanyahu\u2019s coalition, will make a similar move. Though Monday\u2019s announcement puts Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, under greater political pressure, it does not yet signal that his government has collapsed. UTJ members have 48 hours before their resignation takes effect. Plus, the parliament is slated to go on summer break at the end of July, potentially allowing Netanyahu to dodge a vote to dissolve parliament and use the intervening period to coax UTJ back into the coalition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod willing, everything will be fine,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-netanyahu-government-gaza-war-elections-e207f3519314012df4c489fe1eaafa33\">said<\/a> Miki Zohar, a cabinet minister from Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition shake-up could also further strain Netanyahu\u2019s capacity to make concessions to Hamas in the ongoing cease-fire talks in Qatar, as the Israeli leader will have to rely on the coalition\u2019s far-right parties, who strongly oppose an end to the war in Gaza, to maintain his parliamentary majority.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Albanese visits Beijing. <\/strong>Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/australia-pm-albanese-discuss-trade-security-meeting-with-chinas-xi-2025-07-15\/\">met with<\/a> Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday. The exchange was a part of Albanese\u2019s six-day state visit to China and was aimed at reaffirming economic ties between the two nations, especially amid increased global financial uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAustralia\u2019s relationship with China is important \u2013 for our economy, our security, and the stability of our region,\u201d Albanese <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AlboMP\/status\/1944980617680048634\">wrote<\/a> in a social media post. Meanwhile, Xi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/15\/chinas-xi-says-australia-ties-have-turned-around-as-he-hosts-albanese\">reiterated<\/a> that Beijing and Canberra should continue to deepen their relationship \u201cno matter how the international landscape may evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even as trade remained a central focus, security concerns loomed over the meeting, with Canberra facing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lowyinstitute.org\/the-interpreter\/aukus-ultimatum-australia-over-taiwan-risks-backfiring-washington\">growing concerns<\/a> about Washington\u2019s commitment to AUKUS, the security partnership composed of Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Albanese\u2019s trip coincided with Australia <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/australia-talisman-sabre-miltary-exercise-e236e5ed9173bc766c2ed73441b3efda\">conducting<\/a> its largest-ever military drills in collaboration with 19 countries, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nvidia chips. <\/strong>Nvidia, a U.S. chipmaker and the world\u2019s most valuable company, on Monday said in a company blog post that it would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-07-15\/nvidia-expects-license-to-sell-h20-ai-chip-to-china-again?sref=gAQr8Hwd\">resume<\/a> selling its advanced H20 computer chips to China after the Trump administration said it would approve such shipments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, I\u2019m announcing that the U.S. government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,\u201d Jensen Huang, the company\u2019s CEO, who is currently in China on a visit, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/nvidia-says-it-has-trump-administration-green-light-to-sell-its-advanced-h20-computer-chips-used-for-ai-to-china\/\">told<\/a> reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s so innovative and dynamic here in China that it\u2019s really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here,\u201d Huang added.<\/p>\n<p>The move is a reversal of policy that was previously announced in mid-April, when the U.S. government said that Nvidia would require a special license to sell the chips\u2014which are used to develop artificial intelligence and were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/07\/15\/nvidia-says-us-government-will-allow-it-to-resume-h20-ai-chip-sales-to-china.html\">specifically designed<\/a> to bypass export controls\u2014to Beijing. The government\u2019s decision in April effectively forced the company to halt its sale of H20 chips.<\/p>\n<p>However, following recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/07\/15\/nvidia-ai-chip-sales-china\/\">U.S.-China talks<\/a> in London and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/nvidia-says-it-has-trump-administration-green-light-to-sell-its-advanced-h20-computer-chips-used-for-ai-to-china\/\">lobbying effort<\/a> by Huang and other tech leaders, who argued that the restrictions would limit U.S. competitiveness, the Trump administration appears to have altered its course.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Corruption allegations. <\/strong>South African President Cyril Ramaphosa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/13\/world\/africa\/south-africa-police-corruption-ramaphosa.html\">announced<\/a> on Sunday that he was suspending the country\u2019s police minister, Senzo Mchunu, and creating a commission to investigate allegations of police corruption. The move comes a week after a provincial police chief accused Mchunu of interfering with police investigations relating to a criminal syndicate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn establishing this Commission of Inquiry, we are affirming our commitment to the rule of law, to transparency and accountability, and to building a South Africa in which all people are safe and secure,\u201d Ramaphosa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepresidency.gov.za\/statement-president-cyril-ramaphosa-establishment-commission-inquiry-allegations-regarding-law\">said<\/a> in a televised address to the nation on Sunday. The independent body will have three months to present its initial findings.<\/p>\n<p>The recent allegations come at a time of political turmoil for Ramaphosa, who campaigned on the promise to combat South Africa\u2019s endemic corruption woes. Yet the announcement of a new commission was met with criticism. \u201cThese allegations provided the President with an opportunity to show bold and firm leadership,\u201d South Africa\u2019s second-biggest party, the Democratic Alliance, which is part of Ramaphosa\u2019s governing coalition, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/07\/14\/nx-s1-5467245\/south-africa-police-corruption-scandal-ramaphosa\">said<\/a> in a statement. \u201cInstead, he has once again outsourced executive responsibility to a commission, and South Africans have grown cynical of talk shops, task teams and commissions which they see as buying time and avoiding accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Odds and Ends<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Indian police looking for stranded tourists in a forested area of southern India last week instead made a startling discovery when they came across a Russian woman living in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/15\/world\/asia\/india-russian-woman-cave.html\">remote cave<\/a> with her two children. The 40-year-old woman, Nina Kutina, and her two daughters had been living in the cave for a week and in the wilderness for years, the police said, adding that Kutina\u2019s visa expired in 2017. \u201cWe have big experience to stay in nature, in jungle. We were not dying,\u201d Kutina <a href=\"https:\/\/amp.cnn.com\/cnn\/2025\/07\/15\/india\/india-russia-woman-daughters-cave-intl-hnk\">told<\/a> India\u2019s ANI news agency, insisting that her daughters were \u201cvery happy.\u201d However, police have deemed living in the cave, which is susceptible to landslides and poisonous snakes, to be \u201cdangerous\u201d and are taking steps to repatriate the family to Russia.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/15\/israel-utj-netanyahu-ultra-orthodox-conscription-bill-coalition-gaza-ceasefire\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at\u00a0the governing coalition\u2019s shake-up in\u00a0Israel,\u00a0Australian\u00a0Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s meeting with\u00a0Chinese\u00a0President Xi Jinping, and a corruption investigation in\u00a0South Africa. Netanyahu\u2019s Rattled Coalition An Israeli ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism (UTJ), announced on Monday that it would quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s coalition government over a long-running dispute relating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}