|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
JERUSALEM – A high-stakes political standoff emerged Sunday as United Torah Judaism (UTJ) leaders rebuffed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to detach the passage of the contentious haredi IDF draft bill from the approval of the 2025 state budget, a source revealed.
Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, chairman of UTJ, and Deputy Transportation Minister Uri Makleb firmly refused Netanyahu’s appeal during a coalition party leaders’ meeting.
They reiterated their stance that the draft bill must be enacted before they lend their support to the budget, which must pass by March 31 to prevent the government’s collapse.
Despite recent expedited deliberations in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC), the bill remains unlikely to be finalized before the crucial deadline.
Both Goldknopf, representing the Hassidic Agudat Yisrael faction of UTJ, and MK Moshe Gafni, leader of the Lithuanian Degel Hatorah faction, have maintained their conditional backing of the budget, emphasizing that an acceptable draft law must be secured first.
Makleb, standing in for Gafni at Sunday’s meeting, refused to approach Degel Hatorah’s rabbinical leadership for consultation, arguing that no comprehensive version of the bill had yet been presented, according to the source.
Shas Leader Deri Backs Netanyahu
Notably, Shas chairman MK Arye Deri broke ranks with his haredi colleagues, siding with Netanyahu in urging them to abandon their ultimatum.
Deri had previously issued his own threat to exit the government should a draft bill fail to materialize before the budget’s approval. However, his position on Sunday suggested a shift towards compromise.
FADC Discusses Sanctions Against Haredi Draft Evaders
While coalition leaders debated the bill’s passage, the FADC convened separately to discuss punitive measures against haredi individuals who refuse to comply with draft orders. These discussions marked a shift from earlier deliberations focused on institutional sanctions against yeshivot failing to meet draft quotas.
Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) denied reports that Netanyahu had instructed him to present a draft version of the bill by the end of the week.
To assess the potential impact of individual sanctions, the committee’s legal team requested data from several government bodies, including the finance and labor ministries, as well as the National Insurance Institute.
The inquiry focused on mapping out benefits currently provided to yeshiva students, such as preferential hiring in government jobs, municipal tax reductions, and, most significantly, state-subsidized daycare for children under three.
The daycare subsidy is set to expire at the end of February, a development that could significantly affect the economic stability of haredi families.
The FADC is scheduled to continue its deliberations on Monday and Tuesday, as tensions surrounding the draft bill persist within the government. The outcome of these discussions will likely influence the coalition’s stability and the political future of Netanyahu’s administration.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members