Haredi party agrees to delay vote on contentious Daycare Bill, which has imperiled coalition

A highly contentious bill to keep subsidizing daycare for Haredi families of draft evaders will not be put up for a Knesset vote today after all, after ultra-Orthodox parties agree to delay the move they have been demanding.

United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler’s office says he has met coalition whip Ofir Katz and they have agreed for now to take the bill off the agenda “to enable the government to solve” the matter.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied demands from United Torah Judaism to pass the law, and ordered the so-called Daycare Bill taken off the Knesset agenda after the coalition majority for passing the bill dissipated. According to Hebrew-language press reports, the ultra-Orthodox party had threatened to not support any other coalition legislation before the bill is brought to a vote.