Amid draft law talks, head of Haredi party threatens to quit over court deadline

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, head of the Ashkenazic ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, threatens to resign if the High Court of Justice doesn’t extend a deadline on concluding negotiations over a bill on the military draft of Haredi seminary students.

Last September, the High Court threw out a previous version of the law and gave lawmakers a year to institute a new regime for the enlistment of the ultra-Orthodox. That year ends in September.

But the Knesset is about to conclude its spring session on July 19, and won’t reconvene for the fall session until mid-October.

On Tuesday, citing the need for dramatic changes to the new bill currently wending its way through committee, UTJ said the parliament needed an extension of the court’s deadline to complete the changes the party is demanding.

To that end, Litzman has sent an ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he would resign from the government if Netanyahu doesn’t ask the High Court for more time, or if the High Court doesn’t grant his request.

Litzman did not explicitly say his party would also leave the coalition, suggesting he does not, in fact, want to topple the government and force elections over the issue.