Government said seeking to approve hundreds of millions in spending on Haredi community before elections

The government is planning to advance a five-year plan to promote the ultra-Orthodox community that would include transferring hundreds of millions of shekels, according to Hebrew media reports.

According to Kan public broadcaster, the plan entails allocating 25 percent of the Education Ministry’s construction budget to the ultra-Orthodox education system. In addition, an annual budget of 44 million shekels will be earmarked for a “dropout prevention” program from yeshivas whose actual purpose is to prevent enlistment in the IDF. Tens of millions of additional shekels would be transferred annually for professional training programs and “ultra-Orthodox tourism.”

The report says the government aims to approve the plan before the elections.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition on Wednesday submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset and trigger elections.

The maneuvering came a day after the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction announced that it would push to dissolve the Knesset and advance the next general election over the coalition’s failure to pass a draft exemption law for yeshiva students.

If lawmakers vote to dissolve the Knesset, elections must be held within five months of that vote passing, which would mean mid-to late-October at latest — and potentially as early as August. The Haredi parties reportedly favor an election date in early September. Elections must in any case be held by October 27.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

In recent months, Netanyahu’s government has allocated billions of shekels of taxpayer money for Haredi education, prompting pushback from the opposition and High Court of Justice.

Last month, the Knesset Finance Committee approved the allocation of nearly NIS 100 million ($33 million) in additional funding, part of a larger NIS 1 billion ($331 million) transfer that was halted in December by the High Court.