Amid predictions that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government will quickly dissolve if opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu signs a plea deal and leaves politics, a report on Thursday morning said that Bennett recently expressed his regrets that the Chareidi parties are not part of his government.
According to a Reshet Bet report on Thursday morning, Bennett made the comment to UTJ MK Meir Porush during a closed meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee when Porush asked him to address the issue of the giyur reform that Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana is advancing.
Despite the fact that the issue wasn’t related to Bennett’s security briefing on Iran, Porush’s question led to the two engaging in a conversation – the first dialogue between Bennett and a Chareidi MK since the government was established.
“The fact that you’re not in the government is a disadvantage,” Bennett admitted.
When Porush asked him: “Why are you allowing the children of non-Jews to convert?” Bennett responded: “We won’t agree to everything but we have no intention of fighting against the Chareidim. Giyurim aren’t your inyan either, we’re doing the right thing. Even if seems to you that it’s against you, you should know that it’s not like that.”
Bennett’s coalition partner, Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid) explained afterward in an interview that she also is in favor of integrating the Chareidim into the government. “I’m in favor of a broad unity government, including with the Chareidim,” she said. “Am Yisrael wants its varying sectors to live together and compromise. There are also excellent people in the Likud and we can find a common denominator. The situation that developed [pitting us against] the Likud is not based on ideology.”
However, despite the rhetoric, the chances of the Chareidim joining the current government are basically nil. The Chareidi MKs have vowed not to join a government with left-wing parties. Additionally, in response to reports about the Chareidi parties possibly joining the government, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Reshet Bet on Thursday morning that he will oppose such a move.
“At the moment, we’ll oppose any attempt to include Shas and UT, definitely with the current coalition,” Lieberman said. “First, I want to pass the compromises we agreed on regarding giyur, the recruitment of bnei yeshivos, and the lowering of the exemption age -these are part of the coalition agreements.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
Hypocrite, whom are you fooling?
Bubkiss,
They won’t pass the threshold so they’re trying to save face now
B”H, the Chilul Hashem caused by (even if there is a heter, that’s besides the point) Chareidim being in the Zionist parliament is much less now since they aren’t in the governing coalition.
As well, another benefit to all of Klal Yisrael is that the sooner the Zionists self-destruct by attacking Torah, the sooner Mashiach will come.
Chareidi politicians dont deceive their constituents as Bennett did. If UTJ and Shas join this government, they will lose their voters just as Bennett did.
I was in E”Y in Tammuz.
After attending a Shiur given by a Posek from Yerusholayim, I approached him and asked about when he had recently on the weeks of פרשת שלך לך and פרשת קרח spoke about אחדות, but he didn’t refer to specifics. What exactly was the Rov referring to, I asked him.
He gave a very big smile and said: “I only know of one type of אחדות.”
And that is the אחדות that Bennett is trying to forge. Yes, sometimes אחדות requires more strength of character than splintered separatists.
Gut Shabbos
Avi Cohen:
There is only one type of achdus, and it does not mean embracing heretics as brothers. Achdus means no sinas chinam, etc. But CH”V we do not change the Torah’s exhortation of “halo misanecha Hashem esna” and the like for the sake of “achdus”. That’s fake achdus, and a Chillul Hashem.
there are clearly 2 distinct types of achdus in the Torah. Achdus of klal yisroel by ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר. Rashi explains that brotherhood achdus as כאיש אמד בלב אחד. But the other type, the achdus of wicked people with a shared goal, as in Beshalach מצרים נוסע אחריהם and Rashi explains בלב אחד כאיש אחד.
Charedim have very happily sat in left-wing governments many times before.
On 3/21/21, Israeli politician Naftali Bennett appeared on national Israeli television during the election campaign and stated “I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement.)” and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.” He signed a document affirming those words and held it up to the camera. In the first weeks of June of 2021, after the election, Bennett entered a rotation agreement with Lapid and established a government with the support of Mansour Abbas.