Israel PM race: Ultra-Orthodox party rejects Netanyahu, Eisenkot

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party has refused to recommend either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot for the post of prime minister and to lead the next government.

The decision comes as Israeli President Isaac Herzog conducts the second and final day of consultations with political parties to determine which lawmaker should receive the mandate to form a government following the October 27 Knesset elections.

UTJ representatives conveyed their decision to Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Thursday, November 5. Lawmaker Yitzhak Pindrus told the president that protecting Torah students was the party’s first priority, ahead of establishing a government, Jerusalem Post reported.

Pindrus said UTJ expected any government formed to prioritise addressing what he described as the persecution of people studying Torah. “We came to discuss topics and not people,” he said.

He also maintained that sanctions against those avoiding military service should apply only to people who do not study Torah, distinguishing them from those whose primary occupation is religious study.

When Herzog asked whether people who do not study Torah should be required to serve in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Pindrus reiterated that the party’s opposition to conscription applied specifically to Torah students.

הצטרפו לשידור החי מבית הנשיא מסבב התייעצויות הנשיא עם חברי הסיעות שנבחרו לכנסת ה-26 https://t.co/PDsvM8APZT

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 5, 2026

Responding to the discussion, Herzog said he regretted that the Tal Law had been struck down by Israel’s High Court of Justice, particularly by a narrow margin.

UTJ holds seven seats in the 120-member Knesset. Four lawmakers from its Degel HaTorah faction had previously indicated that they would not back either candidate, while the position of the remaining three members of its Agudat Yisrael faction had been unclear.

Herzog is meeting representatives of eight parties on Thursday. The schedule includes National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, the Democrats, Arab-led Ra’am, the Joint List, B’Yachad, Eisenkot’s Yashar and Netanyahu’s Likud.

Otzma Yehudit and Likud have backed Netanyahu, while Yashar, the Democrats, B’Yachad and Ra’am have declared their support for Eisenkot.

According to The Times of Israel, Eisenkot was expected to receive at least 56 recommendations, compared with 53 for Netanyahu. The Joint List has yet to announce whether it will recommend Eisenkot or abstain.

No bloc secures majority

The October 27 elections resulted in a divided Knesset, with neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition securing the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu’s bloc holds 53 seats, while opposition parties aligned with Eisenkot have 48. The Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am together hold 19 seats.

If the Joint List also backs Eisenkot, the opposition and Arab-led factions could together represent 67 lawmakers, exceeding the threshold required for a parliamentary majority.

However, securing the mandate would not guarantee the formation of a government. Eisenkot could face difficulties assembling a coalition because of opposition within his camp to working with Arab-led and ultra-Orthodox parties.

Under Israeli law, Herzog must select the lawmaker he believes has the best chance of forming a government, rather than automatically choosing the leader of the largest party.

The selected candidate will have 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible extension of up to 14 days.

Herzog began the consultations after receiving the certified election results on November 4. The process follows Netanyahu’s repeated allegations of foreign interference in the polls, despite the Central Elections Committee saying it found no evidence of irregularities affecting the results.

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