Israel’s chareidi parties are expected to make a critical decision in the coming days on whether to advance legislation regulating the draft and the status of yeshiva bochurim, as the Knesset prepares to open its summer session.

The decision must be made quickly, with only a few months remaining before the political system enters an election period, during which such legislation cannot be passed.

Within Shas, officials have indicated support for continuing the legislative effort but are waiting for a final position from Degel HaTorah, as both parties previously agreed that any move would be carried out in full coordination.

“From the outset, Shas and Degel HaTorah have worked together in full coordination to advance the draft law,” a senior Shas official told Matzav.com. “Recently, the gedolim from the Litvishe community instructed that the legislation be delayed in order to allow for further discussions.”

A senior figure in Degel HaTorah said that a ruling from the rosh yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau, could come within the next 24 hours or early next week.

At the center of the discussions are several key options:

-Whether to accept the demands of the Knesset’s legal advisers and introduce changes and stricter provisions into the bill.

-Whether to pass the law without the backing of the Knesset’s legal counsel, risking that it could be immediately struck down and face an interim injunction.

-Whether to abandon the current legislative effort altogether and postpone the issue until the next Knesset, in the hope that the right-wing bloc remains in power.

The office of Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni issued a firm denial of reports claiming that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had asked chareidi parties to delay completing the legislation until after the expected elections.

“The report that Prime Minister Netanyahu requested to delay the completion of the draft law until after the elections — is entirely false,” Gafni’s office said in a brief statement.

The denial followed a report by journalist Avraham Freund, who claimed that Netanyahu had recently held discussions with leaders of the chareidi parties and urged them to remove the draft law from the agenda and wait until after elections, arguing that there is currently no realistic path to passing it.

As noted, the chareidi parties are operating under significant time pressure. With the Knesset’s summer session approaching, only a limited window remains before the country enters an election period, when legislation of this kind cannot move forward. This situation is forcing party leaders to make a rapid decision: whether to continue pushing the law now or forgo the opportunity to pass it in the current Knesset.

{Matzav.com}