The Knesset approved in a preliminary reading the law intended to allow daycare subsidies for haredi draft dodgers, thereby bypassing the Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
The bill passed by a majority of 44 MKs in favor and 36 opposed. Its approval was made possible with the support of coalition members who voted in favor of the move.
The bill now heads to the Knesset Committee, and from there it will be brought to the Knesset plenum for its first reading. If approved, it will return to the Knesset Committee for further preparation ahead of its second and third readings, after which - if approved - it will become law.
Likud MK Dan Illouz chose to vote against the bill, contrary to the position of the rest of his faction, and explained: "The Daycare Law is a law bypassing the draft, intended to perpetuate the exemption and allow political wheeling and dealing to continue funding the non-participation of tens of thousands of young men in the burden of service."
"I will not lend a hand to a law that removes the only incentive a young haredi man has to enlist. Instead of reducing incentives, we must add them and promote a complete framework in which whoever does not serve receives nothing from the State. I regret that my party, the national liberal movement, chose to support a law that contradicts the movement’s goals and values."
Deputy Minister Israel Eichler, who initiated the bill, welcomed the plenum’s decision, saying, "The Daycare Law, which I proposed many months ago, enshrines the right of the working mother to a daycare discount regardless of her husband’s actions. The Knesset’s vote in favor of the law is an important point of light amid the darkness of the persecution of the entire haredi public."
"If the secular government does not understand the importance of Torah study, at least in this respect the Knesset understood that you cannot impose antisemitic decrees on children and mothers because of the father's Torah study. This is important news for thousands of families whom this law will help earn a dignified living in the labor market. I hope the Knesset will expedite the legislative process as soon as possible, through to the final enactment."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich refused appeals from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates to support the law, stressing that as long as the haredim oppose a Draft Law, "Religious Zionism is not part of the event."
The Religious Zionist Party clarified: "While some haredi parties are politically flirting with the left-wing bloc and at the same time opposing any serious draft framework, Religious Zionism cannot be expected to be the perennial sucker. It cannot be that they both torpedo a Draft Law and at the same time demand the Daycare Law and additional benefits. The public that serves in the reserves, fights, and pays the price is no longer willing to accept this reality."
The explanatory notes to the proposal state: "A woman’s rights to her work and livelihood are constitutional rights of the highest order. Labor laws protect her rights regarding wage conditions, employment conditions, working hours, prevention of discrimination, and more. In order to allow a woman to realize her employment and livelihood potential, social rights such as a daycare discount were established, subsidized by the State from taxpayers’ money from all sectors. These rights cannot depend on any person other than the woman."
"Canceling the discount for daycare centers and family daycare programs for working women, in connection with their spouses who chose to dedicate their lives to Torah study, contradicts the foundations of human dignity and liberty and freedom of occupation. It cannot be that in the Jewish state, mothers are prevented from going out to work and providing bread for their children by canceling daycare and family daycare discounts."