MK Gafni says UTJ will shelve objections to Rabbis Law II despite previous objections

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni says the Haredi party will shelve its objections to the so-called Rabbis Law II, as long as it is consulted before future readings.

The Shas-backed Rabbis Law is set to go to the Knesset plenum for its first reading today, after being repeatedly blocked by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party.

Demanding to be involved in the controversial legislation, which aims to amend the law that regulates how much the government and municipalities contribute respectively to the budgets of the bodies providing communal religious services at the city and regional council levels, Gafni says, “There are no agreements yet.”

His statement comes as UTJ attempts to advance legislation to circumvent a High Court ruling preventing state-funded daycare subsidies from going to the children of ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the military. That bill has been held up due to opposition within the coalition that left it without sufficient support to pass an initial vote in the Knesset.