极端正统派犹太教政党、长期与本雅明·内塔尼亚胡结盟的“统一托拉犹太教党”周四拒绝推荐他继续担任以色列总理，随着迹象显示对手加迪·艾森科特将获得首次组阁机会。
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party long aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu declined on Thursday to recommend him to stay as Israel's prime minister, as signs grew that rival Gadi Eisenkot will have the first chance to form a government.
以色列总统伊萨克·赫尔佐格在10月27日大选后举行第二天的政党磋商。在这次选举中，内塔尼亚胡——这位带领以色列度过三年战争、极具争议的右翼领导人——以及艾森科特均未获得足以组建多数派政府的席位。
President Isaac Herzog was holding a second day of consultations with political parties after the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu -- a polarising right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war -- nor Eisenkot secured enough votes for a majority.
“统一托拉犹太教党”在前五次大选后均支持内塔尼亚胡，但在与赫尔佐格会晤时拒绝再次推荐内塔尼亚胡为总理，同时也未站在艾森科特一边。总统府在声明中称，该党告知赫尔佐格“决定不推荐任何议员组建政府”，指的是该党在120席的议会（克内塞特）中赢得了七个席位。
United Torah Judaism, which backed Netanyahu after the previous five elections, in its meeting with Herzog declined to recommend Netanyahu again as prime minister, although it also did not side with Eisenkot. The party informed Herzog "that it has decided not to recommend any member of Knesset to form a government," the president's office said in a statement, referring to the 120-member parliament in which United Torah Judaism has won seven seats.
该党代表阿什肯纳兹裔极端正统派犹太人，他们多源自或祖籍欧洲；另一政党“沙斯党”代表同一群体中的塞法迪裔，即主要源自中东和北非的极端正统派犹太人。内塔尼亚胡一直支持这两个党派，因为它们推动维持宗教学生的免除兵役特权。
The party, which represents ultra-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi origin, who mostly hail from or have roots in Europe, as well as Shas, which represents the same community but of Sephardic, or mostly Middle Eastern and North African descent, have both been backed by Netanyahu as they push to maintain the exemption from military service for religious students.
面对许多以色列民众的强烈不满——预备役士兵因加沙、黎巴嫩和伊朗的战争而不得不多次服役——内塔尼亚胡虽保留了该豁免，但未将其写入法律。
Netanyahu has preserved the exemption but stopped short of enshrining it in law, in the face of major resentment from many other Israelis as reservists serve multiple tours due to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
“统一托拉犹太教党”议员伊扎克·平德鲁斯表示：“在下届政府组建后，我们的当务之急是解决托拉学生的身份地位问题。”
In whatever government is next formed, our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students," United Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said.
寻求团结中间派和中右派的前军方首脑艾森科特坚持取消兵役豁免，他的部分反对派盟友严厉批评极端正统派自私自利。
Eisenkot, a former military chief seeking to unite the centre and centre-right, has been adamant about closing exemptions to military service, with some of his opposition allies harshly criticising the ultra-Orthodox as self-serving.
观察人士认为，“统一托拉犹太教党”的做法更多可能旨在惩罚内塔尼亚胡和这表明他们的选票不能被想当然地视为囊中之物，而如果他组建政府，他们仍可能在政府中任职。赫尔佐格将于周四晚些时候会见主要政党的代表，然后委任一名议员组建政府。
Observers say United Torah Judaism's approach may be aimed more at punishing Netanyahu and showing that their votes cannot be taken for granted, while they could still serve in a government if he were to form one. Herzog will meet representatives of the major parties later on Thursday before tasking one lawmaker with forming a government.
他通常根据哪位候选人获得最多政党推荐来做出决定，因此他很可能会请艾森科特出面。一旦赫尔佐格授予组阁授权，这位议员将有28天时间组建政府，并有可能获得14天延期。如果该议员组阁失败，赫尔佐格随后将委托其他人组阁。内塔尼亚胡的阵营——包括联合托拉犹太教党——在新议会中拥有53个席位，而艾森科特的阵营拥有48个席位。
He generally bases his decision on which person receives the most party recommendations, making it likely he will ask Eisenkot. Once Herzog gives the mandate, that lawmaker will have 28 days to form a government, with a potential 14-day extension. If the lawmaker fails, Herzog will then task someone else. Netanyahu's bloc -- including United Torah Judaism -- has 53 seats in the new parliament, as opposed to 48 for Eisenkot's bloc.
由于对内塔尼亚胡强硬右翼政府的愤怒，以色列阿拉伯政党势力大增，赢得19个席位。艾森科特可以与阿拉伯政党组建政府，但将面临失去部分反对派支持的风险。
Israeli-Arab parties soared in strength on the back of anger over Netanyahu's hard-right government, winning 19 seats. Eisenkot could form a government with the Arab parties but would risk losing support from some in the opposition.