At the conclusion of the meeting of the leaders of the Gur and Lithuanian haredi communities today, it was decided that no official ultimatum would be set for the legislation of the recruitment law.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a long conversation in the afternoon with the head of the Slabodka Yeshiva and one of the leaders of the Lithuanian community, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch.

The conversation, which was conducted in English, dealt with the progress of the recruitment law and the way in which harediMKs would vote on the budget law, which is supposed to be put to a vote tomorrow in the Knesset plenum.

Netanyahu also spoke with the Rebbe of Belz, in an effort to strengthen cooperation with the haredi factions and ensure support for upcoming decisions.

Netanyahu spoke with the haredi rabbis after reports in the media about cooperation among rabbis to formulate a unified position on the recruitment issue. A short while ago, the Rebbe of Gur met with Rabbi Dov Landau in an attempt to overturn the decision and insist on setting an ultimatum for Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The meeting also included Rabbi Hirsch, who is expected to present his position favoring not setting an ultimatum for Netanyahu. As mentioned, after the meeting, it was decided not to set an official ultimatum for the Prime Minister regarding the legislation of the recruitment law.

The issue bears greater significance than usual with the approach of the vote for the state budget. The haredi parties are seen as being essential to passing the budget. Failure to pass the budget is automatically counted as a vote of no confidence, collapsing the government and forcing an election.