Hmmm....
Posted to Twitter by television newscaster Ayala Hasson:
For the Hebrew-impaired, the tweet reads "Ben Gurion Airport. Would two sit together unless it was arranged?" (It's a take-off on a verse in the Prophets which says "Would two go together unless it was arranged?").
For those who don't recognize the two, they are Tzipi Livni and Yitzchak Herzog, the leader of the Labor party. According to Friday's HaPeles, the free Haredi weekly that is under the direction of Rav Shmuel Auerbach, there is a survey out that claims that if Livni unites with Labor, they will constitute the largest party in the upcoming election.
Can Livni put aside her
massive ego to unite with Labor?
Hmmm.
Labels: Ben Gurion Airport, Knesset elections 2015, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Tzipi Livni, Yitzchak Herzog
It starts: IDF indefinitely postponing creation of Haredi infantry brigade because there are no soldiers
A lot of people in the Haredi community warned that trying to push young Haredi men to the wall and forcing them to enlist would mean that the community would close ranks and those who would have enlisted no longer will. Now, it's happening.
The IDF had planned to create an additional Haredi infantry brigade in parallel to Netzach Yehuda, which is the largest combat brigade in the army. A commanding officer had been chosen. The unit was ready to go. But, reports Maariv,
no one signed up (link in Hebrew).
The new brigade was to have been drafted in March (as in now). The IDF recently gave notice that the creation of the brigade is being postponed due to an absence of recruits who meet its criteria. And pity the poor guy who was supposed to command this unit. He's been told that if another unit is not found for him, he will have to leave the army.
The army is still hoping to create the new brigade by August.
Maariv notes that until now, the only part of the Haredi community that was totally opposed to drafting Haredim was what it calls "the extreme fringe of the Lithuanian community headed by Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach. But recently, the majority of the Haredi community has expressed its opinion that it must take a more extreme stand and oppose all drafting of Haredim.
Perhaps the yeshiva heads should thank Yair Lapid for ensuring that no one else will leave the yeshivas for some time to come.
Labels: God, Haredim, IDF, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Torah, Yair Lapid
Shaked Committee caves in to Lapid
I suppose this was inevitable. A report indicates that the Shaked Committee, which is dealing with the new law to draft Haredim, has agreed to impose criminal sanctions on Haredim who don't go to the army. But only after six months....
According to the new compromise, the sanctions against draft-dodgers
will be criminal, not economic - but only for a six-month period after
the Equal Burden of Service bill becomes law.
If the hareidi community does not meet the draft quota during a
shorter transition period after the law is enacted, the six-month
waiting period will take effect; the waiting period will, in turn, give
lawmakers time to gauge the effectiveness of the law and whether or not
there are other ways to solve the draft problem.
According to the framework reached within the Quartet of the Shaked
Committee - which consists of Chairman Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), MK
Ofir Shelah (Yesh Atid), MK Elazar Stern (HaTnua), and MK Amar Bar-Lev
(Labor) - the compromise is meant to bridge the gap between Yesh Atid,
which has been demanding criminal sanctions, and Jewish Home, which has been pushing for economic sanctions.
The compromise, as drafted by Bar-Lev,
sees both needs being met. On the one hand, the hareidi community has
been given a shorter interim period to respond to the draft notice; on
the other hand, the waiting period allows for the implementation of
economic sanctions to return to the committee agenda.
According to a "senior source," several members of the committee are
still pushing for economic sanctions to be enacted, as a preliminary
measure before the criminal sanctions take effect; however, the
likelihood of the proposal being accepted is minimal.
And for those of you who think that the Haredim will run to join the IDF once this bill is passed... that seems unlikely.
Tuesday's announcement surfaces amid concerns that the prospect of
criminal sanctions have already alienated the hareidi community even
more from the idea of a draft, after the Shas party quit the Shaked Committee over the move. Hareidi
leaders have expressed strong opposition to criminal sanctions for
yeshiva students, and some pro-enlistment leaders have warned that
strong sanctions could create a backlash that would mean fewer hareidi men in the army, not more.
For what it's worth, there is a split with the Haredi community over how to respond to this issue. All of those who have been arrested for being AWOL have been followers of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, who have been told not to appear at IDF headquarters at all in response to induction notices. Meanwhile the followers of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Steinman have been told to appear but not to sign at the final stage.
Last week's
demonstration was organized by the followers of Rabbi Auerbach through their daily newspaper, HaPeles. Last night, someone showed me a letter signed by Rabbi Steinman and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, condemning HaPeles, and urging that it not be read. Where the split will lead if criminal sanctions come into effect is still up in the air. But there is apparently some division among the rabbis about how provocative the Haredim should be, and for now, at least, the authorities are only responding to those they deem most provocative.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
