Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tuesday evening with the heads of the ultra-Orthodox coalition parties, Aryeh Deri of Shas and Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism, amid growing threats to bring down the government and a push by senior ministers to dissolve the Knesset this week. Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir did not attend the meeting.
According to Gafni and Deri, Netanyahu told them in the closed-door discussion that he was committed to advancing the legislation they want and would work to move it quickly. They said that if he does not do so, they will back a vote to dissolve the Knesset next week. Their public statement said they had demanded immediate progress on a Basic Law on Torah study and a law to stop arrests of yeshiva students, through convening the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Knesset Committee this week.
The emerging deal reportedly includes advancing a bill to split the attorney general’s role, a bill weakening the media, and a politically appointed investigative commission, in exchange for ending arrests and protecting Torah study. In return, the ultra-Orthodox are expected to give up two other initiatives, the daycare subsidies bill and the kashrut bill. Netanyahu left the meeting in a positive mood, according to the report.
The reaction was sharply critical. The October Council said, “This is not a political deal, this is trading in blood,” accusing Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties of bargaining over state inquiries and the legacy of October 7 for political survival. The group said more than 2,000 dead and murdered Israelis were being treated as worth less than laws on draft exemptions, kashrut, political immunity, and dismantling law enforcement.
