Yair Lapid wrote the following for Tisha B'Av (translated from Hebrew):I was at the Western Wall. We celebrated a...
Posted by Yesh Atid on Sunday, July 26, 2015
Labels: baseless hatred, baseless love, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:12 PM
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לפיד טוען שדבריו הוצאו מהקשרם אך הקלטת הראיון למקור ראשון מוכיחה שהוא אכן אמר: ״לא תמצאו אותי ממליץ על השמאל״, ובוזי זה שמאל?, שאלנו. "כן״
— חגי סגל (@haggai_segal) February 26, 2015
For the Hebrew impaired, the tweet above from Makor Rishon columnist Haggai Segal says "[Yesh Atid party leader Yair] Lapid claims that his words were taken out of context, but the recording of the interview with Makor Rishon proves that he said 'you won't find me recommending [that] the Left [form the next government].' 'And Buzi [Herzog] is the Left,' we asked. 'Yes.'Labels: Israeli Knesset, Kadima, Knesset elections 2015, Labor party, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party, Yitzchak Herzog
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:49 PM
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Shas pitas say: Lapid is concerned with sushi; we're concerned with bread pic.twitter.com/p0bazJOxBw
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) February 2, 2015
Heh. Labels: Knesset elections 2015, Shas, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:16 PM
1 comments
Tonight's @haaretzcom poll is the worst for Labor in a long while: Leaves Herzog with no option for a coalition. Ensures Netanyahu 4th term.
— Anshel Pfeffer (@AnshelPfeffer) February 2, 2015
Haaretz - for those who have forgotten - is Israel's Hebrew 'Palestinian' daily, probably the most Leftist rag among Israel's better known Leftist rags. (By the way, only about 5% of Israelis read Haaretz - they have a much wider audience among the elites in the US and Europe).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud would win 25 seats and the Labor Camp would secure only 23 if elections were held today, a new poll conducted by Haaretz-Dialog found on Monday.
The poll, which was conducted under the supervision of Professor Camil Fuchs with a representative sample of 514 respondents, showed Netanyahu gaining three more seats than what his party was predicted to win in the last poll conducted in January. The margin of error in the poll was 4.2 percent.
Naftali Bennett's Habayit Hayehudi weakened in this poll to receive 14 seats, compared to 16 in the last survey. The Joint List (Hadash and Arab parties) strengthened, predicted to win 12 seats, while Yesh Atid weakened from 12 to nine seats.
Kulanu and United Torah Judaism were both slated for eight seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas were predicted to receive six seats. Respondents gave Meretz five seats and Yachad was predicted to get four.That would put the Right at 25+14+8+6+6+4 = 63, the Left at 23+9+5 = 37, the Arabs (who have never been in any coalition at 12 and Kulanu (which really could go either way) at 8.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Knesset elections 2015, Labor party, Likud party, Meretz, Shas, Tzipi Livni, United Torah Judaism party, V-2015, Yesh Atid party, Yitzchak Herzog
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:00 PM
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The mayor explained that the increased presence of Arab workers in close proximity to educational institutions is potentially harmful to residents' security, and therefore their employment will stop until the tense security situation improves.
The contractor which performs the work in the schools in the city is employed by the Defense Ministry, and it should be noted that the work carried out in Ashkelon is done by Israeli Arabs and not by Arabs living in Judea and Samaria.
The decision angered Meretz MK Issawi Frej, who accused Shimoni of "racism of the lowest kind.”
“Under the poor excuse of a 'sense of security', Shimoni wishes to make the city of Ashkelon clean of Arabs and contaminate it with anti-Semitic racism,” charged Frej. “I call on Interior Minister Gilad Erdan and on the Chairman of the Local Government Center, Haim Bibas, to publicly condemn Shimoni and ask him to reconsider his decision with all its consequences."
The decision was also condemned by the President of the Israel Democracy Institute, former Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner.But Shimoni was also condemned by Labor MK Nachman Shai of the 'sane' Left, as well as by Ofer Shelach of Yesh Atid, which is in the coalition (one has to wonder for how long). Here's guessing that Shimoni's decision will stand, at least for now. And here's hoping that every neighborhood in Jerusalem makes the same decision.
Labels: Ashkelon, Gilad Erdan, Labor party, London Heathrow Airport, Meretz, Nachman Shai, Ofer Shelah, Palestinian terrorism, personal stuff, racism, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:47 AM
2 comments
It should be noted that in December 1976, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin broke apart his coalition with the Mafdal religious Zionist party over tensions, after an IAF ceremony at an airbase welcoming the arrival of the first three F-15 fighter jets to Israel desecrated the Sabbath.
Jewish Home, the offshoot of Mafdal, has yet to issue a response to Lapid's Shabbat gaff, which comes mere days before the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) on Wednesday.
However, Jewish Home MK Shuli Muallem hinted that Lapid's move may indeed cost the coalition, saying on Saturday "Yair Lapid has the right to do as he pleases in his private home - to cut down trees or pump water (forbidden acts on Sabbath - ed.) - but Yair Lapid works on Shabbat and desecrates the day of rest with the goal of gathering a few lost mandates."
"Jewish Home as a religious party in the coalition can not sit in the government with someone who gathers mandates and desecrates the Sabbath as if it's a normal work day," said Muallem, without elaborating on what exactly her statement will mean in terms of practice.Surprisingly, the criticism of Lapid didn't just come from the Right.
"While you were enjoying your day of rest, Finance Minister Yair Lapid decided to drag all the financial journalists from their homes in the middle of Shabbat, inviting them to park at the entrance to his house in Tel Aviv so that they could hear him read off a thoughtless announcement," charged Galon.
"The reading took exactly a minute-and-a-half, but it certainly was enough to destroy the Shabbat of the camermen and journalists forced to arrive to hear the utterances of his excellency the finance minister," added Galon tongue-in-cheek, noting the "unfairness" towards Sabbath observant journalists wasn't the only problem about his "futile announcements" on Shabbat.Hmmm.
Labels: Jewish Home party, Sabbath observance, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party, Zehava Gal-On
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:31 AM
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Knesset Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud) on Saturday indicated in a TV interview that the coalition may be in for a shake-up in the near future - and that "childish" Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) does not have high chances of being invited back in.
"We must weigh the possibility of a change in the coalition composition through the addition of the haredi parties," Levin told Channel 10. "It might be that there's no choice but to leave Lapid out."
Lapid has long been at odds with the hareidi parties of Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), particularly through his push for the Enlistment Law requiring a mandatory hareidi IDF draft, and recently through his 0% VAT bill that would give those who serve in the IDF benefits buying their first home.
The latter bill has received such harsh criticism that one hareidi MK from UTJ recently threatened "apartheid" Israel with an "Arab rebellion" over the bill.
Levin also slammed Lapid for his statements during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza; not long after Israel reached a ceasefire with the terrorist group Hamas, Lapid called for a return to the "diplomatic" process, urging a return to peace talks.
"If such not serious, irresponsible and even childish behavior continues, then we certainly must consider the possibility of a change in the composition (of the coalition)," said Levin, subtly targeting Lapid.
The Coalition Chairman added that because of the need to consider a change, he is not worried about Lapid's threats last Wednesday to quit the coalition if taxes are raised following Operation Protective Edge.This would really be rich if it happened.... But don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.
Labels: Haredim, Shas, United Torah Judaism party, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:08 AM
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The poll gives Likud 28 seats (up from 19), the Jewish Home 19 (up from 12), Yisrael Beytenu 9 (down from 12), Shas 7 (down from 11), United Torah Judaism (UTJ) is unchanged at 7.
All in all, the nationalist-religious bloc is at 70 seats – up 9 from its current 61 seats, which gives it a bare majority in the Knesset.
Also in the poll, Yesh Atid is clipped down to 11 seats from the current 19, Hatnua is at 4 seats, down from the current six, Meretz has 10 (up from 6) and Labor remains at 15. Kadima is wiped off the political map.
Israelis continue to favor Binyamin Netanyahu for prime minister. Thirty percent see him as the politician best suited for the role. Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett is in second place with 16%. Labor head Yitzchak Herzog has 11%, whereas ministers Avigdor Liberman and Tzipi Livni each enjoy 6% support. Yair Lapid is at a meager 3%, along with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.
We're going to see a much more hostile Obama after November. This is only going to get worse. Today (the missile shipment hold-up) was just the opening shot across the bow.The Jewish Home party has finished in second place in five of the six polls conducted since the start of Operation Protective Edge (Dialog, Smith, Midgam and Panels).
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli polls, Jewish Home party, Likud party, Naftali Bennett, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:36 PM
3 comments
“Yesh Atid doesn’t have an alliance with the Bayit Yehudi,” Peri said on Channel 2’s Meet the Press.
Peri blasted Economy Minister Naftali Bennett’s party over its stances on negotiations with the Palestinians.
“There is an abyss between Yesh Atid and the Bayit Yehudi, which has made delusional proposals and tried to sabotage negotiations, on both diplomatic issues and religion and state,” Peri said.
The two parties formed an alliance before the coalition was formed last year, forcing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s hand into including both of them in his government. The party’s chairmen, Yair Lapid and Bennett, formed a close partnership at the time, leading them to be nicknamed “brothers,” but it deteriorated over differences in opinion on religious and diplomatic affairs.
Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked said that “every Saturday on Meet the Press another left-wing minister attacks Bayit Yehudi."
“You know what it’s like to build a career on having a partner for peace [in the Palestinians] and then the partner runs away? It’s tough for them. Maybe they need a Plan B,” she quipped.
Similarly, a Bayit Yehudi spokesman said “the Left should try to keep its cool even when it’s in crisis.”Meanwhile, the Leftist parties in opposition are urging Yesh Atid and the Tzipi Livni party to withdraw. And they also had some choice words for Netanyahu.
Opposition leader MK Yitzchak Herzog (Labor) on Saturday night launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his coalition, blaming them for the collapse of the peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
In a post on his Facebook page, Herzog called on Netanyahu to “initiate a comprehensive and courageous offer” to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"In recent days, I spoke with the Prime Minister, with Abbas, with [American mediator] Martin Indyk and others, and my impression is that the situation is volatile and very sensitive and we must not take irreversible and potentially harmful steps,” he wrote.
Herzog attacked Netanyahu and wrote that the Israeli government is a "government that is dragged and not a government that takes an initiative. Netanyahu has no plan. He does not know where Israel will be a decade from now.”
He called on the Prime Minister to place on the table "a comprehensive and courageous offer that will win international support, while insisting that the Palestinian government that will be formed recognize Israel and meet the conditions of the international community.”Elections in September? I'd bet on it. Heh.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:12 AM
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The pact between Jewish Home and Yesh Atid, by which neither agreed to enter Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition government last year without the other, is over according to Perry, who spoke on Mako's TV show "Meet the Press."
"In recent months there's a gaping chasm in national topics and topics of religion and state" between the two parties, remarked Perry.
That seemingly was less the case as recently as last December, when Bennett voted for a Yesh Atid law to give same sex couples equal tax breaks while the rest of his party abstained, after a compromise removed official recognition of such couples in the wording, saving Jewish Home from being perceived as supporting same sex couples.
The Yesh Atid minister hinting at the possibility that his party would leave following the collapse of talks, saying sharply "neither Bennett nor Ariel - with all of their hallucinatory and sabotaging statements - will decide if we sit in the government."Netanyahu might want to go into a coalition with the Left, but I doubt that his own party will let him. Unlike Sharon, Netanyahu does not have the support from his MK's to govern using a new party, and would likely have to go to new elections to try to do so.
In response to Perry's caustic comments, Jewish Home fired back only a short reply, saying "the left needs to keep self-restraint even in times of distress."
Bennett reportedly gave members of his Jewish Home party orders not to soften their tone towards Justice Minister Tzipi Livni following the deal so as not to drive her from the coalition, saying "it's important not to celebrate too much, and to leave the platform for explaining the decision to (Finance Minister Yair) Lapid and Livni - they'll do that excellently."Actually, he gave orders TO soften their tone. Faster, faster....
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, Jewish Home party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Uri Ariel, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:27 PM
1 comments
Officials in Yesh Atid confirmed a Channel 10 report that past commitments Lapid made to remove his party from the coalition if there are no peace talks applied to the situation that could arise in upcoming days. The officials said the threat to leave was serious but not immediate.
"It is not as if we will leave the day after talks break down," a Yesh Atid official said.
Netanyahu's coalition is facing threats from Yesh Atid and Hatnua on the Left if negotiations with the Palestinians end and from Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett if Israeli Arab prisoners are released in a deal to extend the talks.
But Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman downplayed Bennett's threats Tuesday at a press briefing with his Austrian counterpart, Sebastian Kurz.
"There is no chance Bayit Yehudi will quit the coalition," Liberman said. "Dont take Bennett's threats too seriously."What could go wrong?
Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, Binyamin Netanyahu, coalition government, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:53 PM
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"Israel has been facing a new situation in recent days with the Palestinian appeal to the UN which flagrantly violated all the agreements with them since the Oslo Accords until today,” said Bennett.
“The emerging deal, if it includes the release of murderers with Israeli citizenship, harms Israeli sovereignty, and not only that - it is done being when the Palestinians have not cancelled their requests to join international organizations,” he added.
"Therefore, if a proposal for release of Israeli murderers comes before the Cabinet, the Jewish Home will oppose it,” Bennett declared. “If the proposal will pass - the Jewish Home will resign from the government, which frees murderers with Israeli citizenship. Enough is enough.
“On this evening of Passover, it is important to remember that we went from slavery to freedom so we that we can have an Israeli legal system which will protect the citizens of Israel - not a system that is being blackmailed by a gang of terrorists and which releases murderers,” said Bennett. “This is an act of extortion and surrender to terrorism which we cannot accept.
“I wish the citizens of Israel a Happy Passover, and I hope that our brother Jonathan Pollard will be released soon, but not in the immoral way that is this currently being suggested,” he concluded.The Jerusalem Post reported last week that Bennett had issued similar threats to Netanyahu then but had purposely confined them to private conversations with the prime minister. When talks became more serious on Thursday, Bennett upgraded his threat to a public warning.
"We are not keeping anybody in the government by force," the officials declared.
"This is a well-known method used by Bennett: to make threats when it is clear to him that they are false threats that will not come to fruition," they added.But other Likud officials, who were speaking on the record, had a very different take.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin warned Netanyahu on Thursday not to return to a diplomatic deal that would involve the mass release of terrorist murderers and restraining construction in Judea and Samaria, if the Palestinians did not withdraw their petitions to join UN bodies.
Signing such a deal under the current conditions could cause political shock waves and lead to elections, the deputy minister said.
Elkin thus became the first high-ranking Likud politician to warn of early elections, four days after Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman spoke at Sunday’s Jerusalem Post Conference in New York about the possibility of Israel going to the polls.
“Returning to the deal would project weakness and give the Palestinians a reward for their stubbornness,” Elkin said. “It would result in them attacking Israel internationally even more. We cannot turn the other cheek when they spit at us in the face. Surrendering to Palestinian hostility has only brought upon us disasters.”
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said he intends to resign from his post if a diplomatic arrangement to extend the talks with the Palestinians is reached. But other politicians are not expected to follow suit, because the deal would be softened by the inclusion of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard.According to a new poll, the Likud would gain in new elections... but so would Jewish Home.
The Dialogue Institute survey, published in Friday morning's Haaretz, shows that Jewish Home would tie with Labor as the second-biggest party in the Israeli government, in the event that elections were held today.
Likud-Beytenu would receive 37 seats - compared to 32 in a previous poll, the survey reveals. Meanwhile Jewish Home would receive 15, as opposed to 12 in the last poll. Likewise Labor would receive 15 seats, down from 16 in the last poll.
Yesh Atid would remain stable from the last poll at 14 seats, and both Shas and Meretz would drop a seat from the previous poll, from 10 to 9. United Torah Judaism would gain an extra seat, for a total of 7, Hatnua would lose two seats and have only 3, instead of 5 in the last poll, and Kadima would not pass the threshold.
All of the Arab parties would retain their previous projected number of seats: Raam-Taal - 5, Hadash - 4, and Balad - 3.Yes, but if these were the results, Likud, Labor and Yesh Atid could make a coalition without anyone else (assuming that Likud's MK's were willing to stay on board)....
Well-placed sources involved in efforts to bring about Pollard’s release said they were cautiously optimistic about the diplomatic developments and were hoping to welcome him home to Jerusalem. His medical condition required him to leave prison and seek urgent medical care in Israel, they said.
Should Pollard be allowed to fly to Israel in time for the Passover Seder, the last El Al flight that would arrive in time departs from New York at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday. Using a private plane or the government of Israel sending an airplane are also possibilities.Hmmm....
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli elections, Jewish Home party, Jonathan Pollard, Likud party, Middle East peace process, Naftali Bennett, Palestinian terrorists, settlement freeze, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:44 AM
1 comments
[O]n Monday, Lapid told JTA that he would sooner agree to freeze settlement growth than free Palestinian prisoners, as Netanyahu has done previously in an effort to advance the process. A fourth round of prisoner releases was due to take place March 29, but Israel reneged.Let him withdraw. I can think of 12 MK's who would go in to replace him... for a price....
“I would choose, every day of the week, freezing the settlements over freeing prisoners,” he said. “But in this coalition, in this particular moment, this was the favorable option.”
...
“If I would think this coalition did not exhaust all options and it is our fault that the negotiation is not in progress or process, then I can’t stay in this government,” Lapid said. “We decided we’ll do everything in our power to back up the negotiations.”
Labels: Middle East peace process, Palestinian terrorists, settlement freeze, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:08 PM
1 comments
Knesset Land of Israel caucus chair-people Yariv Levin (Likud Beytenu) and Orit Struck (Bayit Yehudi) expressed regret on Wednesday that a recording of the parliamentary group's closed meeting with US Ambassador Dan Shapiro was leaked to the press.
The meeting, which took place on Tuesday, was closed to the press and was described by attendees as "charged," after MKs used harsh language in discussions of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard's treatment and accused the US of bias against Israel in talks with Palestinians.
Shapiro spoke to Levin and Struck, saying that he was upset that the meeting was recorded.
Levin and Struck apologized and said that the participant did not realize the meeting was closed before recording it.
However, sources in the meeting were made aware that it was meant to be closed to press by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, but still agreed to divulge extensive information about it.
Struck and Levin thanked Shapiro for taking part in the meeting.
Shapiro accepted their apology and said that, in his opinion, it was a successful and beneficial discussion.But it's not likely to happen again anytime soon. Only in Israel....
Labels: Dan Shapiro, Israeli Knesset, Jewish Home party, Jonathan Pollard, Likud party, Yariv Levin, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:25 AM
0 comments
Exclusive sources revealed the deal to Arutz Sheva Tuesday afternoon, explaining that the move allowed the criminal sanctions - a clause Yesh Atid insists must be included in the Equal Burden of Service Law - to pass in the Shaked Committee, and for Hanegbi, who is a member of Netanyahu's own party, to be placed in a government position strategically important for the Prime Minister.
MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) was also due to serve as head of the key committee, but only toward the end of the current Knesset term. A rotation agreement was worked out after Netanyahu refused to immediately promote Shelah to the position, when it was vacated by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.
Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu spontaneously ordered the vote over sanctions to be frozen after conflict erupted between the hareidi parties and the rest of the Committee board.
That conflict, over hesder yeshiva service, was in direct response to the criminal sanctions bid. As a United Torah Judaism MK explained to Arutz Sheva, the hareidi community views the clause as a threat. "You push us, we push back," he declared.
Opponents to the move to enact criminal sanctions warn that the proposal has already alienated the hareidi community, noting that the Shas party quit the Shaked Committee over the move.There's something else implied here: That Yesh Atid and the Likud combined to sell out hesder (whose soldiers saw their active service increased from 16 months to 24). I'm sure Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett is pleased with his brilliance.... Sara Netanyahu is probably pleased too.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Home party, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud party, Naftali Bennett, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:11 PM
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Labels: Dov Lipman, Haredim, IDF, Shai Piron, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:22 PM
1 comments
Labels: Haredim, IDF, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:19 PM
1 comments
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday night, Yogev, a reserve committee member, termed the legislation “a stupid law” and said it “will not succeed in bringing about haredi enlistment.”
The MK said that the automatic imposition of criminal sanctions if enlistment targets were not met would not be effective. He introduced various procedural obstacles during the committee hearing to indicate his opposition to the legislation.
The committee’s vote to impose criminal sanctions evoked consternation from the mainstream haredi leadership, which vowed that the haredi public would take to the streets in mass protest against the law.Actually, some of the key campaigners for 'equality' seem to have gotten it right as well.
The Hiddush religious freedom lobbying group said the decision to impose criminal sanctions was “a classic example of public deception and the preference for coalition survival instead of the good of the country.
“This decision ensures that equality in military conscription will not be achieved, but what will be achieved is a severe and unnecessary societal division,” the organization commented.That's probably accurate....
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:21 AM
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The drama unfolded during the Committee meeting when MK Eliezer Stern (HaTnua) requested a revote on whether or not the army service chapter of the Hesder program, which combines Torah learning with army service, will be lengthened. Hareidi MKs then stated that they would, indeed, vote for the service to be lengthened.
One United Torah Judaism MK told Arutz Sheva that the move was in response to Jewish Home, who finally agreed with Yesh Atid Tuesday to allow criminal sanctions to be enacted for hareidi draft-dodgers - albeit with a few caveats. "You push us, we'll push back," the MK fired.
The Prime Minister then allegedly ordered MK Tzahi Hanegbi to leave the session and not to vote against the Hesder service extension, after realizing that Yesh Atid and Jewish Home had formed a "deal" to keep Hesder yeshiva service at the status quo.
At this point, Netanyahu put the vote on hold until internal conflicts could be worked out within the coalition. It is unclear why Netanyahu protested the move, as an agreement signed between the Likud and Jewish Home upon the latter entering the coalition included a clause ensuring that Hesder army service would remain as it is: at 16 months.Maybe Netanyahu is still holding out hope that the Haredim will replace Jewish Home in the coalition if the latter leaves over the 'peace process.'
"I am surprised to see the gap between Jewish Home's efforts to save them [the hareidi community] from the 'draft edict,' as they call it, and the outpouring of hate they respond with in the Knesset and in their newspapers," Orbach lamented.
...
The MK stressed that Jewish Home "is not looking for gratitude" from the hareidi sector, per se, "but nearly our entire faction rose up to try and prevent any single hareidi man from, G-d forbid, being drafted into the terrible army," he sarcastically noted. "Our faction was willing to dilute those 'criminal' sanctions until the Messiah comes, and to take into account the hareidi community's needs as much as possible."
Orbach lamented that the repayment that the Jewish Home, and the religious Zionist community, have received for their trouble, has been to be lumped together with the hareidi community, as the latter are being sanctioned by the State for refusing to heed the draft order.
"We have paid the price now that the Hesder yeshivas are facing cuts, because [MK Eliezer] Stern and the secular factions are apparently despairing on the hareidi draft issue," the MK fired.
"In all our efforts to appease the hareidi community and show that we care about the Torah learning of the hareidi world (even those who don't actually sit and learn), we seem to have forgotten that the ideal is a combination of army learning and Torah study," he added. "That a man has to provide for his family and also learn Torah. Yes, nonsense like that."
"They call us the 'Home of Gentiles', they spit dirt at us about our Rabbis, and we stay silent.,'" the MK continued, in a Facebook post. "It is difficult for us to fight with them, they are really unfortunate, and maybe one day they will even agree with us on the issue of the Land of Israel (ha!)."
"Yes, sometimes politics demands patience and forbearance," he reflected. "But sometimes we also exaggerate the issues a little."The Haredim still resent Jewish Home going into the coalition with Yesh Atid under an agreement to keep the Haredim out. Is anyone really surprised at this?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, hesder, IDF, Jewish Home party, National Religious, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:27 PM
2 comments
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.
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Rabbi Aaron Leib Steinman, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Yair Lapid, Yesh Atid party
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:50 AM
0 comments
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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