The United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party has temporarily backtracked from its threat to disrupt government budget discussions, following a day of escalating tensions over military service exemptions for Charedim.

On Monday afternoon, UTJ leaders had demanded the postponement of a cabinet meeting on the budget until a bill exempting Charedi bochurim from military service was passed. However, according to Channel 12, the party’s leading rabbanim instructed the leadership to shift focus to daycare subsidies for Charedi children, a move prompted by pushback from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara recently ordered the suspension of daycare payments, citing legal restrictions against funding for the children of Charedi lomdei torah who are legally obligated to serve in the military but do not.

The High Court of Justice ruled in June that there is no legal basis for the long-standing exemption of Charedi men from military service. Currently, a bill intended to regulate the issue is stalled in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, led by Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who emphasized that it will only advance with broad consensus.

In a sign of the party’s change in strategy, UTJ announced that MK Yisrael Eichler has prepared a bill stating that families with just one employed member would qualify for state-funded daycare for young children. The party is pushing for swift passage of this legislation.

Netanyahu had previously assured Charedi leaders that an agreement on the army exemption bill would be reached before the cabinet votes on the state budget later this week. However, as the deadline approaches, no significant progress has been reported, prompting UTJ chairman and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf to insist that the cabinet discussion be delayed to address military draft issues first.

Despite the growing tensions, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterated their commitment to passing the budget on schedule. Earlier in the month, Goldknopf threatened to exit the coalition if the exemption bill was not approved before the 2025 state budget process.

Addressing the ongoing conflict, Smotrich criticized coalition officials for irresponsible threats against the budget and called for the Charedi leadership to support military recruitment within their community. Meanwhile, dissenting voices within Netanyahu’s Likud party and other coalition members expressed opposition to the exemption bill, advocating for significant reforms in military draft policies.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)