From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Haredi parties understood draft law wouldn’t pass, prioritized budgetary demands – Likud source
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties did not publicly protest the government’s decision to halt advancement of its bill exempting yeshiva students from military service because they understand that it was unlikely to pass and are concerned about obtaining their budgetary demands, a Likud source tells The Times of Israel.
“The Haredi factions have an interest in passing the budget, and they’ve realized there’s no chance of getting the conscription law the way they wanted,” the source states, adding, “I don’t believe there’s any feasibility of passing the law after the budget. There simply won’t be a majority.”
On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the government was putting aside the controversial legislation as part of a larger effort to pass the 2026 state budget as fast as possible to help cover the cost of war with Iran.
Hours before the statement by Smotrich and Netanyahu, the government authorized over NIS 5 billion ($1.6 billion) in discretionary funds for Haredi institutions, West Bank settlements and other coalition priorities, drawing harsh condemnations from the opposition.
Netanyahu had previously stated that the passage of the bill would have to wait until after that of the budget, a stance the Haredi parties looked increasingly willing to accommodate in the days leading up to the premier’s announcement.
The Times of Israel Community.