Jerusalem, 10 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — As the Knesset reconvenes Sunday after a six-week spring recess, Israel’s coalition government is preparing to advance a series of contentious bills on military service, the October 7 massacre, judicial reform and Jewish identity. The measures are expected to dominate the political agenda ahead of elections widely expected by October.
At the top of the agenda is legislation formalizing military draft exemptions for the Orthodox (Haredi) community, an issue that has deeply divided both the coalition and the broader public during more than two years of war.
The proposal under discussion in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee would continue exemptions for full-time yeshiva students while pledging to gradually increase enlistment among Haredi graduates. Critics, including senior Israel Defense Forces officials and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, argue the bill contains significant exemptions and would do little to address the military’s manpower shortages.
An estimated 80,000 Haredi men eligible for military service have not enlisted. Coalition leaders, dependent on support from Haredi parties to remain in power, have repeatedly struggled to find a compromise acceptable both to Haredi leadership and to Israelis demanding equal military service obligations.
The issue has repeatedly threatened the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. However, the United Torah Judaism and Shas parties have so far stopped short of toppling the government.
The military began making plans to draft yeshiva students after Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that exemptions for the Haredi community were illegal.
Dispute Over October 7 Investigation
Another major battle is expected over legislation creating a government-appointed commission to investigate failures surrounding the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.
The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, passed a preliminary reading in December and is being prepared for additional votes. Critics say the proposal is intended to avoid establishing an independent state commission of inquiry that could hold political leaders accountable.
Bereaved families, relatives of hostages and opposition lawmakers have strongly opposed the measure. Polls consistently show broad public support for an independent state inquiry.
Israel’s High Court of Justice set a July 1 deadline for the government to present a concrete investigative plan, while expressing frustration that no formal process has yet been launched more than two years after the assault.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition have resisted calls for a formal state commission of inquiry — typically led by a Supreme Court justice and empowered to summon witnesses — arguing such a body would be politically biased.
Death Penalty Bill for Terrorists
The coalition is also advancing legislation creating a special military tribunal for approximately 300 Hamas-led attackers captured inside Israel during the October 7 assault.
The bill, approved by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee shortly before recess, would establish a special military court authorized to prosecute suspects for crimes including genocide under Israel’s 1950 Genocide Law. Convictions on genocide charges could carry the death penalty.
Legislation allowing for the potential death penalty gained momentum after the remains of the final hostage believed held in Gaza were returned to Israel. A representative of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) told lawmakers, “Imposing the death penalty on terrorists can contribute” to deterrence, and said the agency would support the legislation as long as capital punishment did not become mandatory.
The only person ever executed by Israel was Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust. He was hanged in 1962 after being convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. Israeli courts also sentenced John Demjanjuk to death in 1988 for crimes committed at Nazi concentration camps, but the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1993. He was later convicted in Germany as an accessory to the murder of more than 28,000 Jews at the Sobibor death camp and died while appealing the verdict.
Coalition lawmakers are also renewing efforts to amend Israel’s Law of Return in what critics call a “Who is a Jew” bill.
The proposal would specify that recognized conversions to Judaism must be conducted “according to halacha,” or Jewish religious law as interpreted by Orthodox authorities.
The amendment is being promoted by Constitution Committee chairman Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party, together with opposition MK Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu, in an unusual bipartisan partnership.
Supporters say the measure would create a uniform state definition of Jewish identity faithful to Jewish tradition. Critics argue it could deepen divisions between Israel and secular diaspora communities.
The Law of Return is an Israeli law giving any Jew the right to live in Israel and obtain Israeli citizenship. Unanimously passed by the Knesset in 1950, the law did not define who is a Jew for purposes of immigration.
Other coalition priorities expected to move forward include legislation splitting the role of the attorney general and reforms to broadcast media regulation.