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Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu and ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) yesterday became the first parties to agree to join a Likud-led coalition. Likud leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has until next Wednesday to recruit the additional partners needed to form a workable government.

Under yesterday’s agreement, UTJ head MK Yaakov Litzman will control the Health Ministry while the party will also chair the powerful Knesset Finance Committee and provide a Deputy Education Minister. On signing the agreement, UTJ officials told Haaretz they looked forward to a partnership “full of achievements for all citizens of Israel.”

However, the agreement means a commitment to roll back the previous government’s reforms which were aimed at better integrating the ultra-Orthodox community into Israeli society. Legislation to mandate ultra-Orthodox military service will be effectively defanged and an overhaul of the Jewish conversion process will be frozen, while benefits for ultra-Orthodox educational institutions will be reintroduced. Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, whose party spearheaded much of the legislation yesterday accused Netanyahu of having “sold the values of equality.”

Meanwhile, Kulanu also agreed to join Netanyahu’s coalition yesterday. 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. On signing the agreement, Kahlon commented, “The Israeli market needs reforms and we at Kulanu – together with Likud, the prime minister… know how to implement them.” In particular, Kahlon indicated changes in the housing and banking sectors.

However, it appears that Kahlon did not commit to support proposed legislation spearheaded by another potential coalition partner, Jewish Home, to limit the power of the Supreme Court at the expense of the Knesset. Yediot Ahronot claims that Kulanu has an effective “veto” on such legislation, which Supreme Court President Miriam Naor yesterday called an affront to “the last barrier against harm to human dignity.”