Overview
- Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who had stalled the bill over fears of harsher penalties for yeshiva students, withdrew his formal objection Wednesday on the condition that Rabbi Dov Landau approves.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Degel HaTorah leaders the coalition will bring the measure to a Knesset vote before elections if the senior rabbis give their blessing.
- A report said Netanyahu sought to delay the legislation until after elections. Degel HaTorah's Moshe Gafni denied it and UTJ chair Yitzhak Goldknopf accused the prime minister of breaking coalition pledges.
- Degel HaTorah MKs warned that waiting could expose non-serving haredi men to deeper cuts in state funding and even arrests, and they cautioned that shelving the bill could dampen haredi turnout at the polls.
- The Draft Law sets military service rules for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, and haredi lawmakers follow guidance from top rabbis, so Rabbi Landau’s decision now likely decides whether the coalition moves to a pre-election vote.