Israel government loses majority as religious lawmaker quits

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli lawmaker has quit the government’s ruling coalition after a dispute over religious observance during the Passover holiday, throwing the fragile alliance into disarray. Backbencher Idit Silman’s departure on Wednesday raises the possibility of new parliamentary elections less than a year after the government took office. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government remains in power but it’s hamstrung in the 120-seat parliament and could struggle to function. Silman, from Bennett’s religious-nationalist Yamina party, had opposed allowing people to bring leavened bread and foodstuffs into public hospitals — food prohibited according to religious tradition during the Passover holiday. But there are signs Silman had been plotting her exit for some time.