Israel’s first major government crisis was centered around religion. At the time, religious parties constituted less than 14% of Ben-Gurion's coalition, yet he was prepared to offer them substantial concessions. In an interview, Ben-Gurion explained:

Any government leader must prescribe for himself priorities and must decide on first things first. Where there was agreement, and what was urgent to me, I was prepared to make concessions on what was urgent to others. When I wanted to introduce national service and conscription, the religious party said they would, of course, support it, but they insisted that all army kitchens be kosher. Kosher kitchens were of paramount importance to them. To me, they were subsidiary. It was a price I was prepared to pay for their full-fledged support on a vital defense measure. In the same way, I agreed not to change the status quo on religious authorities for matters of personal status. I know it was hard on some individuals, but I felt again, in the national interest, it was wise to pay the comparatively small price for a religious status quo.

Although Ben-Gurion was willing to compromise, a crisis developed over the education of the newly arrived Yemeni immigrants. The religious parties demanded that these immigrants receive a religious education. Ben-Gurion initially conceded to this demand, but the issue resurfaced nine months later, when the religious parties insisted that they provide the education for the Ma'abarot schools. In response, Ben-Gurion sought to resolve the impasse by calling for a new election, hoping to build a coalition without the religious parties. However, Ben-Gurion’s attempt was unsuccessful, and was once again forced to form a coalition with them, leading to the establishment of State religious schools.

However, this approach has not proven particularly successful.