But according to the report, Netanyahu has told Haredi lawmakers that if elections are triggered now \u2013 with campaigning effectively beginning within two weeks \u2013 he would be unable to fully focus on the race due to the ongoing security situation, particularly as US President Donald Trump weighs a resumption of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which is currently in a ceasefire that began more than a month ago.<\/p>\n
Elections must occur by October 27 in any case, and with the vote approaching, the government is planning to advance a five-year plan to support the ultra-Orthodox community that would include transferring hundreds of millions of shekels to programs focused on that population, according to Hebrew media reports.<\/p>\n
According to Kan public broadcaster, the plan entails allocating 25 percent of the Education Ministry\u2019s construction budget to the ultra-Orthodox education system. In addition, an annual budget of NIS 44 million ($15.1 million) will be earmarked for a \u201cdropout prevention\u201d program from yeshivas whose purpose is to help students avoid enlistment in the IDF. Tens of millions of additional shekels would be transferred annually for professional training programs and \u201cultra-Orthodox tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The report said the government aims to approve the plan before the elections.<\/p>\n \t The maneuvering came two days after the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction, one of two factions of the United Torah Judaism party, announced that it would push to dissolve the Knesset and move up the election. Degel HaTorah called for elections in protest of the coalition\u2019s failure to pass a law that would enshrine blanket conscription exemptions for yeshiva students. That position was later backed by the other UTJ faction, Agudat Yisrael.<\/p>\n If lawmakers vote to dissolve the Knesset, elections must be held within the following three to five months, which would mean mid-to late-October at the latest \u2014 and potentially as early as August. The Haredi parties reportedly favor an election date in early September.<\/p>\n Shas is reportedly pushing for elections on September 15, while UTJ prefers September 1. Haredi parties reportedly prefer early September as it coincides with the High Holidays, which begin on September 11. During that time, religious communities are especially active, organized, and focused on Jewish observance, which presents opportunities to drum up support.<\/p>\n Netanyahu, however, prefers later elections to give himself more time to campaign, according to Hebrew media reports. Channel 12 reported that internal polls presented to the prime minister show his current coalition bloc failing to win the 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset needed to form a government.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister\u2019s Office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.<\/p>\n \t Further government allocations to Haredi causes<\/p>\n The reported five-year plan in support of Haredi institutions comes after months in which Netanyahu\u2019s government has allocated<\/a> billions of shekels of taxpayer money for Haredi education<\/a>, prompting pushback from the parliamentary opposition and the High Court of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last month, the Knesset Finance Committee approved<\/a> the allocation of nearly NIS 100 million ($33 million) in additional funding for Haredi schools, part of a larger NIS 1 billion ($331 million) transfer that was halted in December by the High Court.<\/p>\n According to a February 2025 report<\/a> from the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, one in every five children in Israel\u2019s education system is Haredi.<\/p>\n Ynet reported that on Thursday, government secretary Yossi Fuchs and coalition chair MK Ofir Katz spoke with ministers and lawmakers in the coalition to see which of them would support the draft bill that aims to enshrine draft exemptions for yeshiva students.<\/p>\n Eisenkot disappointed by Bennett-Lapid alliance<\/p>\n Gadi Eisenkot, chair of the centrist anti-Netanyahu Yashar party, privately described the alliance<\/a> between former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid as a \u201cdeep disappointment,\u201d and said it took him days to process the news of the merger, which happened behind his back, according to recordings aired by Channel 12.<\/p>\n Speaking at a closed-door conference this week, Eisenkot said he initially tried not to \u201cget dragged into negativity,\u201d telling himself that Bennett and Lapid were each acting in their own political interests.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it was a blow,\u201d Eisenkot was heard saying. \u201cI asked myself how we got to this situation. I thought we were a united team.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260114YS35-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tDegel HaTorah chair Moshe Gafni (right) and United Torah Judaism party chair Yitzhak Goldknopf attend a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 14, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260412CG10-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tUltra-Orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against the draft, in Jerusalem, April 12, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260512AVS187-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260512MA431-e1778619266192-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>