Six-month maternity leave nearing final Knesset approval

The coalition is expected to back a bill extending maternity leave to six months.

However, the extension beyond the current 14 weeks of paid leave will not be paid.

Only the first 14 weeks will be covered by National Insurance, as is currently the case.

The bipartisan bill was submitted by MKs Dalia Itzik (Kadima) and Tzipi Hotovely (Likud).

The Ministerial Legislative Committee approved the bill Sunday, and said the coalition would support it.

The bill seeks to let women take longer maternity leave without losing their jobs. Currently, many mothers who would like to stay home for more than 14 weeks do not do so, due to concerns they might be fired.

Due to the financial burden of financing longer paid maternity leave, the bill states that the remainder of the 26 weeks off will be unpaid.