Haredi faction Degel Hatorah's vote on the 2025 budget remains uncertain amid coalition strife.
Baharav-Miara added that the government must act against individuals who evade draft.
The relationship between the IDF and society
Perhaps a decade from now, after the ultra-Orthodox population has become accustomed to core studies and state service, a universal military draft can be imposed.
Some reports indicated that politicians were encouraging yeshiva students to open businesses on paper in order to continue being eligible for subsidized state care.
"We will not agree to any further delay in passing the budget. The budget will not be held hostage by the legislation of the [haredi] conscription law,” Smotrich said.
While preparation of the haredi draft bill sped up in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in recent weeks, it is still unlikely to pass into law by March 3.
For those hoping that shared national challenges might bridge the secular-religious divide, Rabbi Landau’s words are deeply discouraging.
“We’re not fighting for freedom. We’re fighting against terror," Rivlin said.
Recordings published in Ynet last week revealed that Agudat Yisrael party officials were instructing yeshiva students to open fictitious small businesses.
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