Netanyahu’s Deal With Ultra-Orthodox Parties Advances Amid Protests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political deal with ultra-Orthodox partners is moving ahead in the Knesset, even as street protests by ultra-Orthodox factions continue. Coalition lawmakers are advancing several bills aimed at the Haredi sector, with the goal of bringing them to a vote by the end of the current session.

Next week, debate is set to begin on a Basic Law on Torah study, a kosher certification bill, and immunity from arrest for draft evaders. The Torah study measure is meant to create a legal shield for Haredim and block High Court intervention in enlistment and related issues. The new kashrut bill would restore exclusive control to the Chief Rabbinate and roll back competition created by former minister Matan Kahana’s reform.

At the same time, Netanyahu is pushing legislation central to his judicial overhaul, including a bill to split and weaken the attorney general’s role. In a discussion held today, a legal difficulty surfaced because the attorney general is supposed to be part of the process for approving state funding to organizations and nonprofits. The coalition has not yet resolved that problem, and it hopes to finish the legislation before the Knesset is dissolved.

The protests are not coming from the parties that struck the deal with Netanyahu. The day’s disruptions were led mainly by the Jerusalem Faction and Agudat Yisrael, while the larger Haredi public largely stayed away. In the recent talks with Netanyahu, Moshe Gafni and Aryeh Deri finalized the arrangement, while Yitzhak Goldknopf, who led the protest convoy today, was not in that meeting. Within United Torah Judaism, Agudat Yisrael is taking to the streets, while Degel HaTorah is still holding back, and the report says that if the bills move forward, Gafni and Deri may also harden their stance during the election campaign.