Ultra-Orthodox Parties Threaten Coalition Bills After Daycare Subsidy Measure Is Pulled

Israel's coalition crisis deepened on Monday after the government told ultra-Orthodox parties that the so-called daycare bill would not come to a vote, citing intense public criticism. In response, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers said they would not support other government legislation, including the bill to establish a politically appointed inquiry committee.

The dispute is now spilling over into the coalition's push for a broadcasting law as well. The ultra-Orthodox have also frozen that measure because the planned government app would operate on Shabbat and, they say, could include pornographic content funded by the state. United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told the Knesset committee on Sunday that he would oppose the broadcasting bill. "The amendments are not enough, we demand that the government app that will carry the channels' broadcasts not work on Shabbat at all and that indecent content not be included under the law. They are increasing Shabbat desecration under state sponsorship," he said.

The daycare legislation at the center of the fight would subsidize daycare tuition for children of draft evaders. It passed its preliminary reading about two weeks ago after an earlier ultra-Orthodox threat to back the establishment of a state inquiry into the October 7 attacks. Under the proposal, the state's share of tuition would be calculated based only on the mother's status.

Many coalition members supported that earlier vote, including Likud lawmakers. The Religious Zionism party refused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to back the bill, and party leader Bezalel Smotrich said, "They already finished the draft and now they are demanding the daycare law? That is absurd."