Overview
- UTJ’s Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah factions signed an internal three‑part agreement that ties party behavior in coalition talks to enactment of a statutory full exemption for full‑time yeshiva students.
- Under the pact UTJ will refuse to back most coalition bills until the exemption law is legislated, with narrow exceptions only if senior Torah scholars explicitly approve a bill.
- The agreement also bars UTJ members from serving as ministers, deputy ministers, or Knesset committee chairs until the exemption measure becomes law.
- Party officials told the haredi paper Hamevaser that the hardline stance responds to recent enforcement steps, arrests of yeshiva students, and financial penalties that they say harmed the community.
- The practical effect on government formation will depend on final vote totals and haredi turnout because any loss of UTJ seats or vote‑splitting would reduce the party’s bargaining leverage.