Israel’s government has secured a temporary solution in a dispute over military exemptions for religious students, as ultra-Orthodox leaders in parliament agreed to delay their demand for a new conscription law until after this week’s budget vote. Originally, ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition had insisted that a new exemption law be passed before the 2025 budget, threatening to withhold their support and risk destabilizing the government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who represents the religious nationalist faction, stressed the necessity of passing the budget on time, with Smotrich warning, “Whoever opposes the budget will pay a price and bear full responsibility.” The proposed budget calls for substantial spending cuts, totaling 40 billion shekels ($10.8 billion), along with tax increases.
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
In exchange for supporting the budget, ultra-Orthodox parties secured an agreement on funding for Haredi day care, ensuring assistance as long as the mother is employed. Moshe Roth of United Torah Judaism noted, “We are still in the middle of a war, which is not the time for elections,” acknowledging the Haredi commitment to national security.
Netanyahu, reliant on support from ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, faces mounting pressure from other coalition members who see wartime needs as making exemptions unsustainable. The High Court previously ruled that ultra-Orthodox men must begin military service, a mandate that threatens deserter status for young men in seminaries.