Peres drafted a secret agreement with
Aryeh Deri and
Shas to support the dissolution of the national unity government. The
Alignment then issued a
motion of no confidence against the government. Shamir promptly sacked Peres, and the other Alignment ministers resigned as well. On 15 March, the government was dissolved by a vote of 60 to 55.
Agudat Yisrael voted for the motion, while Shas abstained. It was the only time in Israeli history that a government was dissolved by a motion of no confidence. After the government fell,
President Chaim Herzog chose Peres to form the new government. Peres soon found this task difficult. Speaking in a rally at the
Yad Eliyahu Arena, Rabbi
Elazar Shach,
Degel HaTorah's spiritual leader, called on his public not to tolerate a coalition with the secular,
Kashrut-violating left, "eaters of hares and swine". This later became known as "The hares address". Following Rabbi Shach's firm objection, Shas mentor Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef also refused to allow Shas to serve under Peres. Peres was thus left with the support of 60 MKs, one short of a majority. The extra MK would be
Avraham Sharir, who had left the Likud in February to form the
New Liberal Party. The new government was to be approved on 11 April. However, on that morning two
Agudat Yisrael MKs,
Eliezer Mizrahi and
Avraham Verdiger, were absent due to the
Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson refusing to support any concession of Israeli territory. It later turned out that Mizrahi was not even present at the signing of the agreement between the Alignment and Agudat Yisrael, while Verdiger had only pretended to sign it, and in fact had just waved his pen over the paper. Peres asked Herzog for an extension,{{Cite news ==Aftermath==