B’Yachad submits bill to expand benefits for soldiers and reservists, as UTJ moves to cement yeshiva students’ draft exemptions

By Ariela Karmel

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party submits a bill that would expand benefits for reservists and discharged soldiers, as United Torah Judaism simultaneously submits legislation that would permanently enshrine yeshiva students’ draft exemptions and make them immune to arrest for draft evasion.

The two bills highlight a stark contrast in priorities between parties that are reported to be prospective allies in coalition talks.

B’Yachad’s proposal would provide active reservists with NIS 4,000 ($1,262) a month toward childcare; half off utility bills, municipal taxes, public transportation and government fees; and discounts on first-home purchases. It would also extend free tuition for discharged combat soldiers and half-price tuition for other discharged soldiers.

The party says the money would come from changing eligibility criteria and halting funds currently granted to “households that do not participate in military service or the workforce,” a reference to Haredi yeshiva students.

Meanwhile, UTJ MK Meir Porush’s bill would allow yeshiva students to receive annual draft deferrals until age 26, when they would be fully exempt from service. Porush and UTJ MK Eliakim Shtark also submit a bill that would freeze arrests, investigations and criminal enforcement against draft dodgers until legislation regulating their status is completed.

None of the legislation appears to have a clear path to passage.

While the bloc led by Yashar’s Gadi Eisenkot, of which B’Yachad is a member, theoretically commands a parliamentary majority to advance legislation rewarding military service, its prospects are complicated by ongoing coalition negotiations with the Haredi parties, for whom preserving draft exemptions is a central demand. At the same time, UTJ’s proposals to enshrine those exemptions lack majority support in the new Knesset, underscoring the seemingly irreconcilable positions of the parties now reportedly negotiating to form a coalition.