Report: Netanyahu ‘rolling up his sleeves’ to pass Haredi conscription bill, convince holdouts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s televised speech this evening will focus on endorsing his coalition’s bill regulating Haredi conscription, Channel 12 reports, adding that the premier is “rolling up his sleeves” to shore up support.

The network reports that the extent of opposition to the bill within the coalition was not foreseen, which has led Haredi parties to feel that the bill may fail. If it does, it could pose a threat to the survival of Netanyahu’s government.

Netanyahu’s speech will seek to dispel the idea that the bill is doomed, and will indicate that he’s fully behind it, Channel 12 adds. He’s also working on reaching a compromise on the bill’s language that will satisfy both Haredi leaders and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionism party.