All legislation was removed from the Knesset plenum agenda for the second day in a row on Tuesday, as ultra-Orthodox lawmakers continued their boycott of coalition bills to protest the lack of advancement of the so-called Daycare Law.

The continuation of the boycott appeared to spell at signal at least a temporary halt to the coalition’s ongoing legislative blitz, coming as lawmakers attempt to pass laws splitting up the role of the attorney general, establishing a political commission of inquiry into October 7, and giving the government significant control over the media before the upcoming pre-election Knesset recess.

The Haredi-backed bill seeks to overturn an August 2024 order by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara cutting daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who disobey military draft orders in the wake of a High Court ruling that there was no longer a basis for the state to provide such funds for evaders.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted, despite the persistent IDF manpower shortage. Haredi lawmakers have pushed hard to legislate renewed exemptions for yeshiva students while the attorney general and High Court have pushed to cut evaders’ benefits.

In order to circumvent that decision and restore the subsidies, the bill stipulates that only the employment or educational status of a child’s mother will be taken into account when deciding on a child’s eligibility for subsidies.

An initial Haredi-backed push to reinstate the subsidy in late 2024 failed when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the controversial legislation pulled from a Knesset vote due to lack of coalition support.

The latest push on the issue began in late May when lawmakers voted 44-37 in favor of a preliminary reading of a bill restoring the subsidy, following........

© The Times of Israel