Coalition party says it’s boycotting budget discussions until Haredi education gets funds

The United Torah Judaism party has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it will boycott discussions about the state budget until the issue of funds for private ultra-Orthodox education is resolved, Hebrew media reports.

This would mean the coalition will lack the needed majority to pass budget-related matters in the Finance Committee and the Knesset plenum.

Last month, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur to cut daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who refuse to obey military draft orders, drawing Haredi fury.

In a letter to the minister, Baharav-Miara explained that since the High Court has ruled that members of the ultra-Orthodox community must be inducted into the army — as are the bulk of Israelis — there is no longer a legal basis for the state to fund daycare for those who don’t comply.