Story perspectives

Knesset Advances Daycare Bill for Ultra-Orthodox Draft-Evaders

6/11/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The Knesset Finance Committee advanced a daycare subsidy bill for children of ultra-Orthodox draft-evaders, sending it to a first reading.
Finance Ministry officials say the bill, which bases eligibility on the mother’s work or study status and gives IDF reservists priority, harms ultra-Orthodox integration.
Lawmakers linked the bill to moving the election to October 20 and to a Basic Law on Torah study, which opposition calls an “exemption law on steroids.”

History

Historical Context

In 2002 the Knesset approved the Tal Law, formalizing long-standing draft exemptions for yeshiva students—a policy rooted in the 1948 status-quo agreement between David Ben-Gurion and religious parties. The law covered about 41,450 ultra-Orthodox men, but the 2012 Supreme Court ruling declared it unconstitutional, prompting new proposals such as today’s Finance Committee plan linking daycare subsidies to mothers’ employment while giving priority to IDF reservists.

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Story summary

The Knesset Finance Committee advanced a daycare subsidy bill for children of ultra-Orthodox draft-evaders, sending it to a first reading.
Finance Ministry officials say the bill, which bases eligibility on the mother’s work or study status and gives IDF reservists priority, harms ultra-Orthodox integration.
Lawmakers linked the bill to moving the election to October 20 and to a Basic Law on Torah study, which opposition calls an “exemption law on steroids.”

1 / 2