The haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - announced on Monday that they would halt voting in favor of coalition legislation after the highly controversial daycare subsidies bill, which would expand state-funded daycare subsidies for draft evaders, was not placed on the plenum’s schedule as planned.
The daycare bill has been pushed by the haredi parties and aims to change the eligibility criteria for daycare subsidies, basing it solely on a mother’s income, in a move that critics argue will encourage state subsidies for parents of draft evaders even amid the IDF’s severe manpower shortage.
"We have just informed the coalition chairman that, due to the failure to place the Daycare Bill on the Knesset agenda, we will not vote today in favor of coalition-sponsored legislation in the Knesset plenum,” Shas and United Torah Judaism stated in a joint message.
The plenum schedule published shortly after the announcement did not include any coalition legislation.
The haredi parties' announcement comes as the coalition’s highly controversial bill to establish a political probe into October 7 failures was reportedly expected to be brought for its first reading vote in the plenum this week.
The coalition had reportedly lacked a majority to pass the daycare subsidies bill in its first reading, if the vote were to be held on Monday as planned. A group of lawmakers in the coalition have vowed to vote against the legislation, including MKs from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party.
Shas threatens to halt coalition over Torah Study, Basic Law bill
Last week, Shas also threatened to halt coalition voting if another contentious bill that seeks to enshrine Torah Study in the country's Basic Law was not advanced. The legislation then passed its preliminary reading on Wednesday, after receiving government backing.
The Basic Law: Torah Study legislation is part of a proposal pushed by haredi parties that seeks to encourage draft evasion and change the status of yeshiva students who do not serve, enabling them to continue receiving state benefits.
The move to enshrine Torah study into the country’s Basic Law would have sweeping implications on the status of haredim who evade service in the country and would, effectively, equate IDF soldiers to draft evaders.
Haredi party leaders have continuously pushed for Netanyahu’s coalition to advance legislation that would not increase haredi enlistment. The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage, notably after more than two years of war.
In March, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF could soon collapse if there is no solution to the manpower shortage.
There have also been reports of an agreement between Netanyahu and the haredi parties to move the election date to October 20, rather than hold it in September, as the haredi parties have sought. In return, they reportedly would receive advancement of the Basic Law: Torah Study and the haredi daycare subsidies bill.
The tensions come amid the coalition’s last Knesset session to advance its legislation before the upcoming elections, scheduled to take place no later than October 27.