MK Ya'akov Litzman
MK Ya'akov LitzmanMiriam Alster/Flash 90

Head of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett, anticipating foul play from Prime Minister Netanyahu, made a deal in recent weeks with the two haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) regarding the bi-annual budget, and funding promised to coalition partners.

Yossi Verter of Ha'aretz reported that after the bi-annual budget for 2017-2018 was approved, Bennett had discovered that the paragraph apportioning the promised coalition money to the three religious parties - Shas, UTJ and Jewish Home - simply did not appear in the budget.

According to the report, Bennett, suspecting that the Prime Minister would exploit his vacation in the US for some foul play, had formed a preemptive agreement with the leaders of the two other religious parties, Yaakov Litzman and Aryeh Deri, that they should form a united front: either they all receive what was promised, or else none of them will vote in favor.

The three, surprised by the missing paragraph in the budget, called for an immediate meeting with Netanyahu, and demanded a response. The Prime Minister acted surprised, claiming he was unaware of the reason for the omission, and promised to deal with the matter.

According to the report, when the three were about to leave the room, the Prime Minister asked Litzman to stay a moment. According to a reliable source, Netanyahu suggested to Litzman that he turn a cold shoulder on Bennett. He told Litzman not to worry; he and Deri would get what was promised them, and the Prime Minister would deal with Bennett later. Litzman, however, was faithful to his agreement with Bennett, and refused to hear the Prime Minister out, and told the Prime Minister that he and Bennett had a "covenant of brothers" to which he was obligated.

Bennett thanked his haredi colleague for standing by his word. In the coalition, they say that it took some time for Netanyahu to recover from the shock.

Verter also added his own personal commentary to the incident he claims to have occurred: "Bennett, the voodoo doll of Netanyahu and his house, is proceeding in this government as one with the cross-hairs aimed at his back. He needs cooperation like this as a protective wall and, sometimes, as a life-saver. His ideal partner is Litzman, the chosen son of Netanyahu. His pays his part of the deal with an outstretched hand, in his easing or cancelling of the 'decrees' enacted against haredi institutions in the period of [Yair] Lapid and [former] Education Minister Shai Peron.

"When he was criticized at the beginning of the month for cancelling [the law imposing secular] core subjects for haredi institutions [promoted by Yair Lapid], he replied in a nuanced post that Lapid's original decision was never really implemented anyway, and that 'most haredim already want to study at a higher level. You don't need to come to blows, just to work with them quietly.' That is exactly what Litzman and his partner in leading the faction, Head of the Monetary Committee Moshe Gafni, want: 'quiet, not blows.'"