CNN —The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to stop funding religious schools whose students defy the country’s mandatory military service, posing one of the most serious threats to date for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. Netanyahu relies on two Ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – to maintain a governing coalition. But the exemption has never been enshrined in a law that the Supreme Court views as equitable, and for years has been carried out by patch-work government mandates. After decades of rulings on the subject, the Supreme Court told the government that it was illegal for the government to both fund yeshivas and exempt their students from conscription. In a ruling late Thursday, the Supreme Court said that starting on April 1, the government could no longer transfer funds to yeshivas whose students did not receive legitimate deferments.

---

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz, “, Ariyeh Deri, ” Young, Yitzhak Goldknopf, ”, Gantz Organizations: CNN, Shas, United, –, National Unity Party, Justice, Court Locations: Israel, The State