Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a delicate political dilemma after the High Court of Justice drama opened the door to a possible repeat vote in the Knesset on the next state comptroller. Senior figures around him believe the ultra-Orthodox parties will not back the coalition again for free, and will demand a price in exchange for their support. Netanyahu has ordered senior Likud officials to keep the coalition bloc together at any cost, but he is also under public anger, including inside Likud, over what many see as ultra-Orthodox extortion.
According to those close to Netanyahu, the ultra-Orthodox are likely to once again drag the coalition into an embarrassing vote. The immediate background is the daycare subsidies bill, which became a flagship demand of the ultra-Orthodox parties in recent weeks. The bill passed a preliminary reading, but the public backlash that followed halted its progress. Some Likud and Religious Zionism lawmakers have recently signaled they may not support the bill again, and there are fears of a broader public attack from within the coalition.
After the High Court issued an interim order following Likud’s demand that lawmakers be filmed during the vote, coalition leaders understand that repeating the earlier success will be difficult and will probably require concessions to the ultra-Orthodox. Attorney Michael Ravilio, a Netanyahu confidant, beat retired justice Yosef Elron only in the second round, after heavy efforts by Netanyahu’s office and coalition chairman Ofir Katz. That same morning, Degel HaTorah was already negotiating support for the coalition’s candidate to the rabbinical appointments committee.
If Degel HaTorah and the other ultra-Orthodox parties again demand compensation, the most likely tradeoff would be the daycare subsidies bill, which Moshe Gafni views as urgent because of harsh criticism in the ultra-Orthodox public. Gafni and Degel HaTorah have been boycotting plenary votes since Netanyahu told them the bill would not move forward, and that boycott has emptied the agenda and forced the Knesset to close early. Party sources say they will not back Ravilio in any renewed comptroller vote unless the daycare bill is advanced again. Likud figures warn that if Netanyahu does not clarify the limits of the relationship with the ultra-Orthodox, the party will suffer badly in the election, while some in Religious Zionism say it may be better to dissolve the Knesset than pay a political price that angers their voters.
