Israel’s government faces a crisis after right-wing lawmakers resigned

TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government faces a crisis after a lawmaker left the ruling coalition, leaving it without a majority in parliament less than a year after taking office.

Idit Silman, the de facto leader of the coalition, said in a letter to Mr Bennett on Wednesday that she was resigning from the coalition over disagreements over the country’s Jewish character. She recently fell out with Israel’s health minister over whether leavened grain products should be allowed in Israeli hospitals during the upcoming religious holiday of Passover. According to Jewish tradition, such products are removed from public spaces and not consumed during the holidays.