It doesn’t happen a lot in the Knesset, but on July 3, the members of the predominantly Arab Joint List lent a helping hand to the right-wing coalition headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Arab Knesset members absented themselves from a vote on the first reading of an amendment to the law concerning conscription of the ultra-Orthodox into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The move was part of an understanding that they had reached with the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members voted against the amendment — which passed 63-39 — but behind the scenes, the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers support the law and are planning to vote for it when it comes up again, in two more rounds of voting. Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has rejected several versions of the law. The ultra-Orthodox know that considering the limitations imposed by the court, the current version is the best they can hope for for now, so they preferred that their Arab colleagues leave the plenum rather than threaten its chances for approval.

The understanding between the Arabs and the ultra-Orthodox became public June 19 during a meeting of the Knesset’s Finance Committee. Joint List member Ahmad Tibi said to the committee chairman, Moshe Gafni of Yahadut HaTorah, “With regard to the understandings between us, and the understanding you showed to an issue that is near and dear to our hearts, today the law is being brought up before the Constitution Committee.” Tibi was referring to a promise made by Yahadut HaTorah that its legislators would vote against the proposed muezzin law, submitted by Knesset members from HaBayit HaYehudi and the Likud, to limit the volume of the call to prayer in mosques across the country.

Ostensibly, the bill sought to reduce the noise level in public spaces. In practice, it targeted the Arab population. The Association for Citizens’ Rights in Israel said, “Since the problem of noise nuisances is already resolved with the Law to Prevent Public Hazards, it seems that the purpose of this law is different. It is intended to exclude and harm the country’s Muslim population and their religious and national symbols, while increasing the sense of discrimination and inequality.”