From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Finance Committee advances bill restoring daycare subsidies for Haredi draft evaders
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.
The Knesset Finance Committee votes to advance a bill restoring daycare subsidies for the children of Haredi draft evaders, sending the measure to its first reading in the Knesset.
In August 2024, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered the Labor Ministry to cut daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who disobey military draft orders, explaining that since the High Court ruled that members of the ultra-Orthodox community must be inducted into the army, there was no longer a legal basis for the state to fund daycare for those who don’t comply.
Sponsored by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, the legislation would prevent the government from considering the status of yeshiva students when determining eligibility for daycare subsidies and priority in admissions. It stipulates that only the employment or educational status of a child’s mother will be taken into account.
According to a statement from the committee, the bill was also amended to give reservists priority in daycare admissions and in determining subsidy levels, following demands by committee chair and Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky and other lawmakers.
The bill’s sponsor, Degel Hatorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni, celebrates the bill’s advancement and says, “We are ensuring that women will be able to go out to work and earn a respectable livelihood.”
Justice Ministry representatives criticize the legislation and tell the committee that even if it passes, under the government’s own criteria, families in which the father is a draft evader would not be able to receive daycare benefits.
Lawmakers voted in favor of the bill in its preliminary reading last month after Gafni reportedly threatened to vote in favor of a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7 attack unless the legislation was approved. The coalition opposes the establishment of a state inquiry and is instead trying to establish an investigative panel comprised of politicians.
The daycare bill is expected to be brought before the Knesset plenum tomorrow for its first reading.
The Times of Israel Community.