Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Yamina party is pushing forward an initiative which would allow the children of fathers who are not currently working but did serve in the IDF to continue receiving daycare subsidies, Kan 11 News reported.
According to the Kan report, Yamina does not want to deepen the rift between itself and the Religious Zionist community: Many Religious Zionist men study Torah for the first few years after their weddings, though on a lesser scale than the haredi community,
To this end, the party is working to add a criterion to the law which determines eligibility for daycare subsidies.
Prior to Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman's (Yisrael Beytenu) amendment, families were eligible for subsidies if the mother worked 24 hours weekly. Following the amendment, families are only eligible if the father as well works 24 weekly hours, or is studying for a degree or undergoing occupational training.
Yamina's proposal would allow families in which the father is not currently employed but did serve in the IDF to continue receiving the subsidy.
It is not yet clear if the proposal would pass scrutiny in the Supreme Court, which demands legislative equality.
MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said: "The cat is out of the bag... Liberman, Bennett, and their partners are motivated by hatred of the haredim, and nothing else."
MK Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the religious Zionism party, tweeted: "Just prior to Tisha B'av (the Ninth of Av), Bennett and [Interior Minister Ayelet] Shaked (Yamina) are trying to sow more disunity and disagreements - this time between Religious Zionism and the haredi community. They will not succeed."
"The blood of a child with a knitted kippah (skullcap) is no redder than the blood of a child with a black kippah. We will remain united in the face of those who prefer to give in to terror supporters while at the same time humiliating those who learn Torah."