Israel: PM Bennett loses majority after MP resigns on religious ground

Bennett's shaky government remains in power following the defection but will face severe challenges legislating on key issues

Israel's fragile government on Wednesday was reduced to a minority in the 120-member House with the ruling coalition's whip quitting on religious grounds, raising the possibility of elections in the Jewish nation in less than a year after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took charge.

Idit Silman of Prime Minister Bennett's Yamina party quit the government, surviving on a razor thin margin, over the question of “Jewish values” related to a dispute about Passover “matzo” rules.

"I can no longer serve in a coalition that is adversarial towards the values we all hold dear," Silman said in a letter to the prime minister,