In an ultimatum issued this evening (Tuesday), Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri and Degel HaTorah Chairman MK Moshe Gafni threatened to bring down the government immediately over what they describe as prolonged foot-dragging in advancing laws important to the haredi public.
The joint statement was released following a tense meeting the two held with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office.
“On behalf of the great Torah sages, we conveyed to him an unequivocal demand to immediately advance the Basic Law: Torah Study and the law to stop the arrests of Torah students, by convening the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Knesset Committee already this week," Deri and Gafni stated. They made clear that without concrete action on the ground, they would vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset in the coming days.
Netanyahu, for his part, made clear during the meeting that he is committed to the laws and will personally work to secure the necessary majority in the plenum.
The parties also clarified: “There is no ‘deal’ with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Our demand to advance the Basic Law: Torah Study and the law preventing the arrests of Torah students stands on its own, is not dependent on anything, and we have not given up on any demand. If we see that these laws are being practically advanced, we will be able to resume voting on coalition legislation, in accordance with the instructions of the great Torah sages."
Earlier, Deri and Gafni decided to publicly boycott the meeting of coalition party leaders that was scheduled to take place in the afternoon, leading to its immediate cancellation.
The unusual move was intended to force Netanyahu into a private meeting in order to determine whether there is even a coalition majority to pass the haredi legislation.
Behind the haredi anger is deep frustration that has accumulated in recent weeks. Just last week, Netanyahu promised Deri that he would personally guarantee that the two laws - the Basic Law granting constitutional status to Torah students and the arrests law intended to halt Military Police actions against haredim who have not enlisted - would pass their second and third readings during the current Knesset.
In practice, however, the coalition continued delaying the measures, prompting Deri and Gafni to escalate their threats toward the Prime Minister.