After the release of the letter by HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita in the chareidi media on Tuesday 9 Adar 5773, it has become increasingly clear to those following and listening to the chareidi side of the share the burden debate that it just will not occur. The Gadol Hador has stressed the dangers associated with a draft of bnei yeshivos, and for those who still do not get, it should now be clear – it will not occur.
After Tzipi Livni’s party joined the coalition, it sent a clear signal to the chareidim that their best hope is to abandon Bayit HaYehudi and work to persuade Labor Party leader Shelly Yacimovich to join the government. They will of course follow suit, leaving Yesh Atid and the dati leumi community out in the cold.
From the dati leumi perspective, and many are in agreement, that Bennett the political novice has made a major error in calculating the course of coalition negotiating events and now, he remains tied to Yesh Atid and a major senior portfolio, the Ministry of Justice is gone, taken by Livni.
In addition, it was reported earlier that Yahadut Hatorah has given up on any working relationship with Naftali Bennett, and the chareidim are responding with a vengeance. Their party’s document of principles basically sells out the settlements, the communities and their 250,000+ residents living in areas over the Green Line. What many viewed as the natural ally of the chareidi parties may very well become public enemy number one chas v’sholom.
Gafne has begun citing the enormous cost to the state associated with maintaining, building and protecting these communities, the yishuvim; working to shift attention away from the chareidim, seeking to lock hands with the left-wing at the expense of the yishuvim to save the yeshivos and distance the draft threat to bnei yeshivos. While Labor Party officials support the share the burden issue, they are more focused on implementing their socialist economic agenda and increasingly likely to exhibit a willingness to compromise on the share the burden issue, so much so that a formula acceptable to chareidim will be reached.
Bennett and Lapid however have made this ‘the’ issue and their unwillingness to show any flexibility may very well leave them without a say in policy-making decisions in the 19th Knesset and with many angry voters. Coalition talks are far from over and there is a place around the cabinet table for Bennett and Lapid, but both are aware than entering now places them in a bad light, for Livni has already set the pace and tone of the next government and now instead of leading, they are following.
Interestingly, in a recent Kol Berama Radio interview with prominent chareidi correspondent Avi Bloom, he spoke of the exorbitant cost associated with the yishuvim and just how much of the taxpayer funds have been poured into these communities over the past three decades. Bloom spoke of how the settlers inflame the goyim and the Arabs, and “we”, the nation must pay the price to provide security. This represents the same trend, placing the settlers on the outs, fingering them as the enemy, shifting attention away from the share the burden issue and lomdei Torah.
The chasm that appears to be widening between the chareidi and dati leumi communities may be unprecedented, andt it appears that Yahadut Hatorah is far angrier at Naftali Bennett and his colleagues than Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party.
Channel 10 Chareidi Affairs correspondent and commentator Avishai Ben-Chaim, who has years of experience monitoring the chareidi tzibur and its rabbonim agrees. He feels that the split between the chareidim and settlers will indeed be unprecedented, and the big loser in this case will obviously be the yishuvim, those Yidden who already face expulsion in many cases chas v’sholom. Ben-Chaim wisely points out that for those who are not in the loop, after reading Rav Shteinman’s words on 9 Adar it is clear, that no matter what formula is presented, the Lapid Plan, Ya’alon Plan, Netanyahu Plan, or Kandel Plan, the chareidim will not be serving in the IDF as envisioned by Bennett and Lapid, and it is time for realists to understand this, for continued discussion on the share the burden issue is simply not in line with current reality. Ben-Chaim tries to explain the stature of Rav Shteinman and the significance of his words, especially the letter in which he addresses the government as well, not just his tzibur. He explains the Lapid/Bennett share the burden vision is a non-starter.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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14 Responses
The frum community shares in the socialist economic agenda. It isn’t a concession for them to agree to something they always agreed on. And leftists are more likely to be sympathetic to the idea of allow religious objection or some form of conscientious objection, or ending conscription. Also note that the leftist Jewish parties (other than the Palestinian’s parties) favor keeping some settlements, and in particular the large well established ones, rather than outposts.
If Bennett is a success, he’ll have moved the hareidim into an alliance with the left, and gained very little for it. It isn’t like Lapid will give him a blank check on settlements in return for supporting his conscription plan. He probably forgot that the hareidim support liberal welfare programs, and in the past are fairly dove-ish in foreign affairs.
What a shame that both YA and BY will follow in the footsteps of Kadima. Next election will be a battle for relevance by these two. 30 mandates wasted for nothing.
Wow. This is not a happy story for anyone but the arabs. But I suppose if you want to play ball, you have to be ready to catch as well as hit.
Fancy rhetoric on the Hareidim’s part, but the fact is that the largest group of settlers are the Hareidim. Yes, that’s right. The 2 largest settelments are Baitar and Kiryat Sefer. Add in Emanuael, and the largest segment of settlers are the Hareidim.
Will UTJ abandon their own and support dismantaling theses settelments?
Seems hacham ovadia was a step ahead of YH…
WOW. The stakes are growing higher by the day. No doubt UTJ understands that if Bibi’s current ploy fails and he has to go to Bennett and Lapid to form his coalition – it will be UTJ and its tzibbur that pays the price. And what a price that may end up being! Where just a week ago the goal was a negotiated settlement that everybody could at least live with, if not love, now we have a ‘winner take all’ war with repercussions that may last for a very, very long time. Bibi and UTJ may soon have nowhere to turn to to form their coalition but to Labor. Think of it – UTJ is placing its future in the hands of Shelly Yechimovich. And that is assuming that Bibi can hold on to all his MKs in such a scenario. And those are only the short-term risks. Let’s not forget that should UTJ continue down this path and openly abandon the settlements, it will be severing ties not only with the D”L community but with the Charda”l community as well. And all this for a shot at possibly kicking the ‘share the burden’ can a little further down the line? Well, it sure isn’t going to be boring.
@ Yagel Libi
“Sharing the burden” is not happening. Everyone knows that tens of thousands are not going to be compelled to serve against their will. This will blow over when Lapid and Bennet are left out of the government. Their parties will be another historical footnote, nothing more.
“The 2 largest settelments are Baitar and Kiryat Sefer. Add in Emanuael”
From http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=157531
“The Maariv report signals the Ashkenazi chareidi party is willing to back uprooting all yishuvim with the exception of the so-called settlement blocs, which would include Efrat, Ariel, and Maale Adumim … that Yahadut Hatorah will raise the issue of how much it costs to maintain and protect isolated yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron as compared to yeshiva funding.
Sweet dreams for those in Beitar, Moshav Mattiyahu, Kiryat Sefer and even Ramat Shlomo and Nvei Yakov,,,,when the Arabs are given Yishuvim for breakfast and lunch, dinner will include everything post ’67.
So many yeshivos, kollelim, betai medresh, bet yaakovs, kiruv centers all dismantled, destroyed and the entire Charedi population will be concentrated in Bnei Brak, Tel-Aviv, Yafo and Netanya –all areas of Israel in 1948. At that point much less monies will be needed for less talmidim, maintance of fewer yeshiva buildings and campuses and far less salaries. Good luck UTJ/Shas in the world of the Left-Wing, many of your voters will be saying “Shalom”.
As i wrote in another comment, this will end up being a disaster for the chareidim. Firstly, it is totally inane to htink that arabs will magnanimously give up on kiryat sefer, emmanuel, etc. all of it will be up for grabs- chas vesholom. But worse thsn that, the israeli public-still the large majority in israel- will react with disgust to this arrangement and pressure on the chareidim will only increase. Lastly, what do the roshei yeshiva think will HKBH do? when we give yp our Holy land volumtarily.
Whatever. I’m for Moshe Feiglin.
I put the full blame on BY. They could’ve signed with Likud and chareidim and form a government. But no. They just had to go with Lapid, who wants to end the chareidi way of life (and btw not exactly the biggest fan of settlers either). BY was supposed to be a bridge and now they’ve burned it for nothing.
#7 – It is a pipe dream to think that ‘sharing the burden’ will not happen. B”H the charedi population in E”Y has grown tremendously and it is no longer possible for it to sit on the side and be carried by the rest of the country. The situation has changed – and for the better. Nor is there any moral justification for the great number of bochurs who are not, in fact, learning not to serve. The funny thing is that if you read the agreement that Bibi and Livni just signed you’ll see that it includes a ‘share the burden clause’; and certainly Kadima – that recently toppled the government over this issue – will also require real change on it. The question then truly is not ‘if’ but rather ‘how soon’ and ‘at what rate’. That UTJ is choosing to take such risks and burn bridges with the D”L and Charda”l communities over this is, well, interesting, in my eyes.
Please read correctly
They r not talking about any place in Yerushalaim or the settlement blocs as Beitar, Ariel, Modin etc