In a high-stakes coalition meeting on Sunday, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) chairman and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, along with Deputy Transportation Minister Uri Maklev, firmly rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s request to drop their demand that a bill regulating the Charedi IDF draft be passed before the approval of the 2025 state budget.

With the budget deadline looming—set to pass by March 31 to prevent the government from collapsing—pressure is mounting on coalition partners to reach an agreement. Although the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) has accelerated its work on the draft bill in recent weeks, it remains highly unlikely to be finalized by early March.

Goldknopf, who heads the Agudas Yisrael faction of UTJ, and MK Moshe Gafni, leader of the Degel HaTorah faction, have made their support for the national budget contingent on the passage of the draft bill. Maklev, representing Gafni in Sunday’s meeting, reportedly refused to consult with Degel HaTorah’s rabbinical leadership, citing the government’s failure to present a full version of the bill—leaving him with “nothing to show them.”

In a surprising shift, Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri sided with Netanyahu, urging UTJ leaders to suspend their ultimatum. Deri, who previously warned that he would leave the government if the draft bill did not pass before the budget, appeared to soften his stance during the meeting, a development that could indicate internal coalition negotiations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the FADC convened separately on Sunday to begin discussions on implementing sanctions against Charedim who ignore draft orders, rather than targeting yeshivas that fail to meet draft quotas. At the start of the meeting, FADC chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) denied reports that Netanyahu had urged him to finalize a version of the bill by the end of the week.

As part of the broader discussion on the draft bill, the FADC’s legal team has requested detailed data from government agencies, including the finance and labor ministries and the National Insurance Institute, to assess the benefits currently awarded to yeshiva students. Among the issues being examined are affirmative action for Charedim in government jobs, municipal tax discounts, and other financial incentives.

The most pressing concern, however, is the subsidized daycare program for children aged 0-3, a benefit set to expire at the end of February. The potential loss of this subsidy could significantly impact Charedi households, further complicating negotiations.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)