From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
What’s actually in the coalition compromise deal?
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe coalition agreement to avert elections says the following:
1. Each coalition party will vote en masse either for or against a private member bill by Shas MK Yoav Ben Tzur that would exempt all ultra-Orthodox seminary students from military service. This is to allow Yisrael Beytenu to vote against the bill without it counting as a violation of coalition agreements.
2. If the bill passes a preliminary vote in the Knesset, the ultra-Orthodox parties will vote for the 2019 state budget before the Knesset goes to recess on Thursday night.
3. The coalition then commits to present a Defense Ministry-drafted version of the conscription bill when the Knesset returns from recess in mid-April. That bill would be merged with the Ben Tzur bill, and would be advanced with coalition support — including, presumably, the votes of Yisrael Beytenu, whose leader Avigdor Liberman heads the Defense Ministry that will have drafted the bill.
4. The result: Everyone gets what they want. The ultra-Orthodox get a show of political relevance for their constituents. Yisrael Beytenu gets to claim it stopped the Haredi-drafted version of the bill. Netanyahu gets a commitment of all coalition partners to pass the 2019 budget and — possibly — prevent any early elections before the winter of 2019.
The Times of Israel Community.