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Kulanu, UTJ on verge of signing coalition agreement

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Media reports suggest that Kulanu and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) could today sign coalition agreements which would see them officially join a Likud-led government.

Likud leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until next Thursday to present a workable government to President Reuven Rivlin. Apparently agreement has been reached with Kulanu, which will likely become the coalition’s second largest party, having won 10 seats in last month’s election. Party leader Moshe Kahlon will become Finance Minister while other Kulanu MKs will serve as Housing Minister and Environment Minister. Kulanu will also control the Planning Authority and chair the Knesset Labour, Welfare and Health Committee, helping advance the party’s socio-economic agenda.

More controversial though is the agreement reportedly reached with ultra-Orthodox party UTJ. Senior MK Yaakov Litzman will control the Health Ministry while Moshe Gafni will chair the influential Knesset Finance Committee and Meir Porush will become Deputy Education Minister. Importantly, the coalition deal will reportedly see Likud agree to roll back cuts designed to encourage ultra-Orthodox workforce participation and also weaken attempts to integrate ultra-Orthodox students into the IDF. Both were flagship initiatives of Yesh Atid during the previous government and party leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of “a complete surrender… at the expense of the working and serving public.”

The Likud-UTJ agreement will also reportedly freeze a law to reform the Jewish conversion process and according to Raviv Drucker in The Marker, UTJ is demanding a veto on all legislation dealing with religion and state. Such stipulations are especially problematic for Jewish Home, whose own coalition talks appear to have stalled. A Jewish Home statement yesterday said that negotiations would only continue once it receives clarifications on a number of issues including “the distribution of portfolios in the government, and religious services.” Jewish Home is reportedly refusing to agree to ultra-Orthodox party Shas being handed the Religious Services Ministry. Instead, a Likud MK may be handed the portfolio, with two deputy ministers, one from Shas and the other from Jewish Home.