Litzman, Gafni seeking rabbis' permission to compromise on Haredi draft law
Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litznman threatened on Sunday that if the bill does not pass into law before the Knesset leaves for spring recess on March 15, he would quit the government.
By GIL HOFFMANUpdated: MARCH 6, 2018 15:45Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman at the Knesset plenum discussing goverment allowances for the disabled, September 18, 2017.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The heads of United Torah Judaism, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litznman and Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni, will be meeting with their rabbis Tuesday night in order to seek their permission for compromising on a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) conscription bill.Litzman threatened on Sunday that if the bill does not pass into law before the Knesset leaves for spring recess on March 15, he would quit the government.Bit since then, it has been pointed out, that it is not possible to complete the legislative process by spring recess. According to the compromise the bill will pass in one reading and its legislation will be completed later on. Meanwhile, UTJ would vote for the 2019 state budget and allow it to pass into law.Finance minister Moshe Kahlon threatened for the second day in a row Tuesday that if the budget does not pass soon, he will remove his Kulanu party from the government and initiate an election.“I don’t see how I could continue to function as finance minister if the budget doesn’t pass," Kahlon said. "Will I tell the elderly and the handicapped I don’t have their money due to the Haredi conscription law? It was a mistake to connect the draft bill to the budget. There is no reason to go to elections when the government is functioning well. Whoever wants to drag us to early elections harms our economy.”
