In the Knesset today (Tuesday) lawmakers are debating the law granting arrest exemptions to Haredi draft dodgers, as part of the coalition's push to ensure that before the Knesset recesses for elections on July 17 all agreements with the Haredi parties pass, alongside other bills the coalition deems important. Communications Minister Shlomo Karai lashed out at secular Israelis during his lengthy speech after hours of debate. 'Are you Hellenizers? Then why do you celebrate Hanukkah?' he said among other remarks. MK Gilad Kariv attacked him and declared: 'Hatred is not my Torah. Shame on you, you are a man of baseless hatred.'

Due to the legislative blitz and Haredi pressure, coalition chairman Ofir Katz removed the metropolitan authorities bill - the most important measure for improving public transportation in the country's congested areas - from the plenum agenda. Behind the pressure to pass no legislation before the arrest exemption law stands an instruction from Rabbi Landau to Haredi MKs not to trust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'until the final moment.'

During debate on the arrest exemption law for draft dodgers, the Knesset legal advisor instructed Haredi MKs to disclose whether they have family members who are draft evaders who would benefit from the measure. MK Elazar Stern declared before the vote that 'following the legal advisor's directive, Deri has draft-evading grandchildren' - prompting Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Limor Son Har-Melech to demand his microphone be cut off.

She then read disclosures from nearly all Shas and United Torah Judaism MKs that did not explicitly state they have draft-evading relatives. The statement noted that 'among tens of thousands of Torah students, we too have children and grandchildren over age 18 serving as the tribe of Levi and in whom we take pride, for whom the provisions of the current bill may have an impact.' Opposition members countered that this does not constitute proper disclosure.

Before the vote on the bill, the plenum voted on reservations submitted against the measure. The votes on the reservations were accompanied by opposition MKs shouting 'Shame, shame' and 'Go away.' Meanwhile, MK Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionism party announced in the plenum that he would vote against the law due to 'deep understanding regarding its implications for society and the IDF.' Netanyahu arrived at the plenum ahead of the vote after participating in the Negev conference in Dimona.

As part of the deal with the Haredi parties, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to advance the laws they demanded just before the end of the term for one purpose only - preserving the coalition bloc so the sides reach the upcoming elections united. Given the polling situation, Netanyahu and his associates believe the price he will pay for advancing the Haredi laws is lower than remaining without a united bloc that can at least prevent the other side from forming a government.

Only yesterday the Torah Study Basic Law passed in its softened version amid sharp criticism from reservists and the opposition. The law freezing arrests of Torah-studying draft evaders is also expected to be completed this week, first in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and later in the plenum. As part of the deal the Haredim waived passage of the daycare subsidy law in the current Knesset but in return received passage of the Torah Study Basic Law, the measure preventing arrests of draft evaders, and the kosher supervision law.

The Haredim, for their part, will support the bill splitting the attorney general's role, which is expected to pass second and third readings as a result. In addition, the Haredim voted in favor in the first reading of the bill to establish a political inquiry committee into the October 7 massacre.

The law exempting Haredi draft dodgers from arrest reached final approval in the Knesset plenum despite the opposition of IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, a day after the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved for second and third readings the law extending regular service to 32 months - shortly after the Knesset gave final approval to the Torah Study Basic Law.

The draft evasion arrest freeze bill approved by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is intended to prevent for several months the arrest, investigation and enforcement proceedings against Haredi draft evaders recognized as yeshiva students. The updated version stipulates that the law will remain in force until November 30 instead of only 90 days as initially set. Due to the provisions of the Basic Law: The Knesset and the approaching elections, its validity may extend into the term of the next Knesset.

The text includes a mechanism of declarations and checks as well as a list of yeshivas to be determined by the defense minister while taking into account the recommendations of the yeshiva committee and the oversight mechanisms of the Education Ministry. At the same time several sanctions initially proposed against yeshivas where violations are discovered were removed from the text. The legal advisor to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee also sharply criticized the proposal, describing it as a 'sectoral exemption' that lacks a balancing mechanism to reduce inequality. In her opinion she warned that an arrangement exempting a specific group from the obligation to comply with the Defense Service Law without effective oversight or complementary sanctions heightens the constitutional difficulty of the proposal.

The metropolitan authorities law, it should be recalled, reached the final stretch only this month after years of ego and power struggles. Had the law passed, the Transportation Ministry would have relinquished broad powers in favor of local authorities in Gush Dan, Jerusalem and Haifa, which would have been responsible themselves for comprehensive planning at the metropolitan level. The long-awaited change was meant to improve public transportation, bicycle paths, coordination of schedules between different modes of transport and easier transfers from city to city so fewer residents would travel by private car in the country's congested areas.

The Economic Affairs Committee approved the metropolitan authorities law already two weeks ago and it appeared on the agenda as one of the laws to be raised in the final week of legislation. However the Haredi MKs pressured Katz to give priority to laws important to them under the deal, such as the exemption from arrest for Haredi draft dodgers, the kosher supervision reform, expanded gender separation in academia and more. The Haredim also oppose the law out of concern it will lead authorities to independent solutions that would regulate public transportation on Shabbat.

In addition other laws important to the coalition - such as Shlomo Karai's communications law or the law extending service for conscripts - are also supposed to be advanced urgently. As a result, and because debate on every controversial law lasts many hours, other laws were pushed aside - including the metropolitan authorities law. The opposition, it should be noted, made clear to the coalition chairman that even without the Haredim the law would receive their support - yet Katz ultimately yielded to political interests.

If the law nevertheless enters at the last moment and passes in the Knesset this week, perhaps under pressure from Minister Miri Regev, the new authorities will be able to begin work within half a year. Yet its removal from the agenda will miss a historic opportunity and delay it by at least a year. While traffic jams only grow and Israel's population continues to increase, this is a fateful decision that will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents.