Haredi Parties Threaten to Freeze Knesset Work Unless Childcare Funding Bill Advances

Ultra-Orthodox parties are again threatening to paralyze Knesset activity unless the government brings the so-called daycare bill to a vote. The legislation would regulate state funding for daycare centers for yeshiva students, and it is tied to the politically explosive issue of Haredi military conscription.

The warning comes on Monday, the last day the coalition can still move toward dissolving the Knesset and holding elections on September 15. If the dissolution bill is not approved in three readings by midnight, that election date cannot be met, pushing elections to October, which is also what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants. But several other bills are already at risk of being stranded if the Haredi demand is not met.

Among the measures the coalition wants to pass before any dissolution are a bill splitting the attorney general’s post, a national commission of inquiry bill, and additional governance bills that would enable automatic dismissal of senior public officials up to 100 days after elections and allow the new government to appoint replacements. The Ultra-Orthodox factions are threatening to oppose all coalition legislation if the daycare bill is not advanced.

After last week’s deal that saw the Haredi factions back a preliminary vote on the Basic Law: Torah Study in exchange for final approval of the bill removing the Police Internal Investigations Department, the coalition is now checking whether it can muster support for the daycare bill from coalition MKs who oppose the draft exemption push. Haredi leader Moshe Gafni sent a clear message to the Prime Minister’s Office and senior coalition officials that without the bill, Knesset work would be completely shut down this week. The bill remains contested in both the opposition and parts of the coalition, especially Likud and Religious Zionism, so its passage is uncertain.