Coalition delays first reading of state budget amid Charedi draft row

Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), the two major Charedi parties in the Knesset, have threatened to block the passage of the budget until an acceptable compromise can be found on the draft bill.

Per Channel 12, both parties are likely to vote for the budget on first reading, but then withdraw their support until a deal is reached on conscription.

Senior officials from both parties have also reportedly told the Times of Israel that the budget delay and draft issue are linked, but declined to identify the specific issue, with one saying only: “There are difficult problems with the law.”

UTJ has already withdrawn from the Likud-led coalition, leaving Prime Minister Netanyahu with a working majority of just one MK.

While Shas remains part of the coalition, it has resigned all of its ministerial positions and has previously signalled its willingness to pull support from government legislation if its demands over conscription are not met.

The conscription bill is still stuck with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, headed by Netanyahu loyalist Boaz Bismuth.

Bismuth replaced fellow Likudnik Yuli Edelstein after the latter was ousted from the committee by his own party after refusing to water down the bill.

The subsequently revised version under the new chair contains significant concessions to Charedi leaders, including a commitment to draft only yeshiva graduates, rather than current students, and time limits on the sanctions applied to draft dodgers.

Nevertheless, some senior Charedi rabbis are still pushing to reinstate the total service exemption struck down by the Supreme Court in 2024, while other proposals include limiting the number of Charedi conscripts and allowing strictly-Orthodox men to serve in the civilian security services rather than in combat roles.

Per the latest figures, the IDF recruited 537 Charedi soldiers in the December-January cycle, a single-cycle record, with 230 joining as combat troops.

However, attempts to sanction draft dodging, including the detention of several yeshiva students, sparked significant civil unrest, with thousands of Charedim taking to the streets of Jerusalem in October, blocking roads and clashing with police, in protest at the arrests.