Report: Netanyahu tells UTJ he can sway coalition to back Haredi draft bill

Channel 12 reports details from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting earlier today with the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, highlighting unresolved disagreements within the coalition over the draft exemption bill and the 2026 state budget.

According to the report, Netanyahu told UTJ representatives that he remains committed to passing the draft law and said there are only two coalition MKs whose support he is uncertain he can secure – Likud’s Yuli Edelstein and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharon Haskel. He reportedly added that he would be able to “apply pressure” on the remaining lawmakers who currently oppose the bill to ultimately vote in favor.

UTJ lawmakers also raised concerns about budget shortfalls, including funding for the New Horizon program, which funds work in small groups in Haredi schools between teachers and pupils and bumps up teacher salaries, among other initiatives and allocations for yeshivas. Netanyahu is said to have pledged to work with the relevant ministers to address the issue.

Channel 12 further reports that Netanyahu has not yet reached a final decision on the draft bill, amid growing opposition from within the Likud base in recent days.

In a separate report, Kan public broadcaster quotes Netanyahu as telling the faction: “Elections at this time would be a mistake. The conscription law needs to be explained to the public, and I believe there will be no more than 2 or 3 opponents from the coalition in the end,” apparently referring to Edelstein and Haskel.

“We will be required to complete this legislation as soon as possible,” he reportedly added.

The meeting comes as UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction backs the latest draft of the bill, which would continue to grant military service exemptions to full-time yeshiva students. However, the party’s Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction opposes any legislation containing sanctions on Haredim who don’t serve.