But the strictly Orthodox parties in the coalition, Shas and United Torah Judaism, voted against the law and are threatening to leave the government if it is not amended according to their demands before the final reading.
In an attempt to bridge the differences, the government requested a seven-month extension of the High Court’s deadline next month. The court agreed to extend the deadline only by three months, meaning that the law must now pass by mid-December. The Knesset is currently in recess and will return to regular session only in October.
The rabbis who lead the charedi parties are split over whether to accept the law. Most of Shas’ rabbis, and the “Lithuanian” rabbis who lead the Degel Ha’Torah faction of UTJ are in favour of supporting the government as they believe that the law is the best they can get under current circumstances. They also fear that in the next coalition, one of the centrist parties will enter the coalition, denying them their current veto on legislation.
The Hassidic rabbis of the Agudath Yisrael faction, however, have taken a more hardline position and believe they can still force Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to change the law.
The High Court’s ruling means that for the rest of the summer and through the High Holidays, feverish attempts will be made to find a compromise. Should these attempts fail, it seems increasingly likely that the first thing the Knesset will vote on when it returns on October 14 will be to dissolve itself and hold early elections.
By Israeli law, elections do not have to be held before next November, it now seems increasingly likely that the Knesset will end its term at least six months prematurely.
