Israeli Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, whose haredi United Torah Judaism party is a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, threatened over the weekend to topple the government due to the premier’s failure to include previously pledged funds in the budget.
In a letter to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, published by the Ynet news outlet on Friday, Goldknopf urged coalition leaders to “immediately” approve some 1.3 billion shekels ($360 million) in funding for ultra-Orthodox yeshivahs in order to secure his support for the budget.
A state budget for 2025 must be approved by Knesset lawmakers by the end of this month or early elections will automatically be triggered.
The UTJ leader noted that while Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had recently promised him the monies, they were not included in a list of coalition funds set to be approved by the Cabinet on Sunday morning.
Last week, haredi outlet Kol Chai Radio reported that Netanyahu and Smotrich had offered Goldknopf and Aryeh Deri, who leads the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, some concessions to secure their support for the delay in passing a law exempting yeshivah students from IDF service.
According to the Kol Chai report, Netanyahu and Smotrich offered the two haredi parties a 15 percent hike in the budgets of ultra-Orthodox school networks, in addition to more funding for kindergarten teachers.
The UTJ and Shas parties account for a combined 18 mandates, out of the Netanyahu government’s 62-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox sector generally considers national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel and the ensuing war have heightened demands by the general public that haredim contribute to the Jewish nation’s defense.
An enlistment bill currently under consideration reflects Netanyahu’s attempt to forge a compromise with his haredi partners, who have said they will quit the coalition if the mass of yeshivah students is drafted.
Between 63,000 and 66,000 young haredi men studying in yeshivahs are legally required to serve. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, more than 1,000 haredim have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number have volunteered for civilian national service.