Gov’t again defies A-G, aims to continue subsidies for draft-age haredim

Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal aimed at avoiding economic measures against military-age haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshiva students, who are required by law to report for IDF service. The proposal was deemed “not legally viable” by the attorney-general’s office, whose opinions are legally binding, but the government approved the measure regardless.

The text of the government proposal was not published on the government’s website but was obtained by The Jerusalem Post.

The measure came following a High Court ruling in June that ended the legality of the haredi exemption from IDF service. The A-G derived from the ruling that the state can no longer continue to provide subsidies to yeshiva students while failing to adhere to the law, saying that they must be drafted. This includes daycare subsidies for toddlers aged 0-3.

The state issues such subsidies to families in which both parents either work or study. Until now, “study” has included yeshiva study as well, but according to the A-G, it was no longer legal for men of military age (18-26).

Still, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara decided in late August to allow a three-month transition period in which the subsidies for yeshiva students would continue, beginning with the new school year on September 1 and ending on November 30. The goal of this transition period was to enable “operational needs” for the Labor Ministry, such as amending the executive orders on the issue so that they reflect the new legal situation and allow for the updating of related computer systems. Baharav-Miara also insisted that the annual criteria published by the ministry for this year’s daycare subsidies should reflect the new legal situation.

Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas), who had requested that the transition period last for the entire 2024-2025 school year, criticized the A-G’s decision, arguing, among other claims, that the loss of state-subsidized daycare will force working haredi mothers to leave their jobs and remain at home.

Government discussions

The government held a number of discussions on the matter, and in the interim, Ben-Tzur refrained from publishing the criteria, despite the A-G urging him to do so, and despite the beginning of the school year on September 1. Sunday’s government meeting agenda included a “discussion on daycare subsidies,” but did not include the text that was eventually brought for a vote.

On Sunday, however, the government voted to publish the criteria “in the coming days,” but with a catch – this would apply to all Israeli citizens only until the end of November, instead of for the entire school year.

The Attorney-General’s Office argued that this was illegal, saying that there was no legal reason given regarding why the subsidies for all other groups who are not military-age haredim, such as single parents and new immigrants, do not apply for the entire school year. The government went ahead with the vote regardless.

The government also decided to form a team headed by the Labor Ministry director-general and including representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Office, in order to “examine the differences in employment between different populations,” in other words, the effect the decision will have on working haredi mothers.

The team will be required to present its recommendations within one month, and if these are not received, Ben-Tzur will be required to update the rest of the government within a month and a half, i.e. until November 6.

In its explanatory section, the decision directly addressed the issue of the employment of haredi women, citing a sharp rise in the past two decades.

The decision also noted an ongoing court case in the Supreme Court, in which the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned against the A-G’s decision to allow the aforementioned three-month transition period, during which haredi families will continue receiving daycare subsidies.

The government has ignored a number of the office’s legal opinions recently on a number of issues with growing frequency in recent months, including the haredi IDF draft, indicating the deepening constitutional crisis between the executive branch and the judicial branch, which reiterated in many rulings as late as January that the A-G’s opinions are legally binding.