Poll: Huge majority of National Religious public supports Chetboun's vote against draft law
Take this with a grain of salt, because online polls tend to be self-selecting. A poll on the National Religious Srugim website shows that
76% of the respondents support MK Yoni Chetboun's defiance of coalition discipline to vote against the law to draft Haredim (link in Hebrew).
According to the poll, 76% believe that Chetboun acted correctly, 10% believe that he was mistaken because it was a good law, 9% believe that he was mistaken because it is forbidden to defy coalition discipline, and 5% agree with Chetboun (for a total of 81% who agree with him!) but believe it is forbidden to defy coalition discipline.
Over the weekend, newspapers contained a full-page advertisement supporting Chetboun, which was signed by Rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu, Nachum Nerya and Elyakim Levanon. According to Rabbi Eliyahu, Chetboun represents a 'huge public' which cannot be silenced.
Labels: draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Torah, Yoni Chetboun
Religious Zionist rabbis defend Chetboun
You might recall that Jewish Home party MK Yoni Chetboun was the
only coalition MK to vote against the 'equal burden' law. Chetboun was punished for his vote by his party - he was stripped of all his committee memberships and of his position as deputy speaker of the Knesset. On Thursday,
Chetboun got support from three prominent religious Zionist rabbis.
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who is chief rabbi of the city of Tzfat; Rabbi
Elyakim Levanon, who is chief rabbi of Samaria (Shomron); and Rabbi
Nahum Nerya, who heads the Torah B’Tzion yeshiva, all expressed support
for Chetboun on Thursday.
The three signed on to an advertisement in Arutz Sheva’s weekly
paper, B’Sheva, saying, “To the (reserves) Major decorated by the Chief
of Staff Citation, who loves the land and the nation, the Torah and its
scholars, the honest man, MK Yoni Chetboun – something real is
beginning.”
The advertisement concludes, “Hazak v’ametz,” a traditional blessing for strength to continue in the same path.
The phrase “something real is beginning” is a play on the
Jewish Home’s campaign slogan in the last election, “something new is
beginning.”
I wonder what percentage of Jewish Home party voters agree with Chetboun, Just saying....
Labels: draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Torah, Yoni Chetboun
'Jewish Home' party to support bill to strip Chief Rabbinate of powers over conversion?
In an earlier post, I reported on the
pact with the devil made by the main parties in the coalition. Each of Likud/Beiteinu, Yesh Atid and Jewish Home agreed to force every member of its Knesset delegation to support three bills - electoral reform, Haredi draft and referendum. The tactic worked and the last of the bills - the referendum bill -
passed the Knesset on Wednesday.
But there's a fourth party in the coalition - the Tzipi Livni party - which also voted in favor of all three bills. I hope you didn't think they're not getting something too. And indeed they are. The Hebrew daily Maariv is reporting on Thursday that the coalition has agreed to support the Tzipi Livni party's bill to
strip the Chief Rabbinate of its exclusive powers over conversion in Israel.. Et tu Naftali Bennett?
The legislation, put forth by MK Elazar Stern (Hatnua), would allow
city rabbis to conduct conversions, and would allow potential converts
to choose the beit din (rabbinic court) they wish to convert with.
Currently, would-be converts are restricted to conversion via the
rabbinic court in their place of residence.
The bill’s supporters say it will ease the process of conversion to
Judaism while ensuring that state-recognized conversions adhere to the
requirements of halakha (Jewish law). Opponents warn that it could
effectively strip the Chief Rabbinate of its authority
over conversions, and could ultimately lead to rabbis being forced to
accept a definition of Jewishness that contradicts Jewish law.
Stern reportedly received a promise of Coalition support for his
bill, and in exchange, retracted objections he had made to various
clauses in the Enlistment Bill.
Sources in Hatnua and Likud explained, “Hatnua was unhappy that it
was being forced to support three laws, each of which it had some
problems with, without the party getting support for any law associated
with it. That led to the agreement on promoting Stern’s conversion
bill.”
Given
what's currently going on in America over precisely this issue, is this really the direction in which we want to go?
Given that the 'Jewish Home' party regards itself as the primary proponent of the idea that the state institutions of the State of Israel (qua State) has religious significance, is the 'Jewish Home' party actually going to support this bill?
I can name two MK's - one from Jewish Home and one from Likud - who probably won't. Yoni Chetboun from Jewish Home and Moshe Feiglin from Likud. I have to wonder what others will do.
Labels: Chief Rabbinate, Jewish converts, Jewish Home party, Jewish law, Moshe Feiglin, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, Yoni Chetboun
It's official: 'Equal burden' law passes Knesset
In 2014, Israel is about to become the only country in the world where a Jew can be jailed for studying Torah. That's because on Wednesday morning, the 'equal burden' law
passed the Knesset 67-1, the one being
Yoni Chetboun of the Jewish Home party. The opposition, a hodgepodge of parties from the Right and the Left, boycotted the session, as they did Tuesday's session on
electoral reform. The law includes criminal sanctions against boys who opt to study Torah rather than join the IDF.
This is from the first link.
"This is a historic, important bill," MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi),
who led the Knesset committee to prepare the legislation, declared. "For
65 years there was an exemption for all yeshiva students and the change
the coalition made is proportionate and gradual and correct."
Shaked added that she "believes in the haredi public and that it will
reach the [enlistment] goals the government set. If there will be
cooperation from haredi leadership, there will not be mandatory
enlistment.
Good luck with that.
Back to the first link again...
"I imagine this court will reach the High Court by tomorrow. I hope the
judges will read the protocols of the committee meetings and see that
even if the law is not equal it has a worthy goal, which is why I think
it will stand the test of the High Court," she added.
Immediately after the new law passed., the Movement for Quality Government petitioned the High Court against it.
Since when does a 'worthy goal' get a law through the 'High Court'? Oh wait, I forgot, it depends who thinks the goal is 'worthy.'
Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri, who headed a committee on
the matter of haredi enlistment, said following the passage of the bill,
" For the first time, an issue at the heart of the conflict of Israeli
society, will be solved. Dramatic change will come."
Right....
Meanwhile, Likud MK Moshe Feiglin
praised Jewish Home MK Yoni Chetboun for having the courage of his convictions... but Feiglin did not join him in voting against.
"Yesterday, I sent an SMS of support to MK Yoni Chetboun,” wrote
Feiglin on Facebook. “Not because I agree with him – but simply because I
appreciate any person who goes against the stream and is willing to pay
a price for standing up for his principles. I did this with MK Adi Kol,
also, after she veered a little from the sacred Coalition discipline
and was tarred and feathered by her boss.
"This whole idea of Coalition discipline needs rethinking,” Feiglin added. “Is it really the only way?”
"Sometimes, I entertain 'heretical' thoughts. I would like to set up a
government without Coalition discipline. Let every MK be truly
responsible for the laws he passes and also for maintaining the
government. Let changing wall-to-wall coalitions and oppositions form
around every law. Let the Knesset cease being a 'law machine' and
restore lost pride to itself and its members.”
Fat chance. Take responsibility for their actions? In what world?
Chetboun had clear vision about this bill.
“On the one hand, the members of the Jewish Home party, and chief among them MK Ayelet Shaked, really made a very significant effort so that this law, as I have said in the past, will be workable for the hareidi community,” he told Arutz Sheva Tuesday. "On the other hand, as time goes on – and particularly over the last twenty-four hours – I feel that we are creating a serious schism between us and the Torah world, and the hareidi community.”
“I see Israeli society being split apart by this law. I’m sure nobody meant for that to happen,” he continued. Talk
surrounding the law “is creating a message that is against the Torah
world, against the yeshivas. That disrespects them,” he lamented. “I felt deep inside that I must listen to my conscience, and that I cannot vote for this law."
By the way, Yesh Atid's Adi Kol said that she voted in favor of the law, but didn't really support it. Where would be without coalition discipline?
Labels: Ayelet Shaked, draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Moshe Feiglin, Torah, Yoni Chetboun
Jewish Home party: Voting your conscience is 'immoral'
In an earlier post, I reported on how the coalition parties had signed an agreement that they would produce every last vote in favor of
three bills that are being brought for approval this week. The three bills are electoral reform (already approved), the Haredi draft and the referendum bill.
Now, the whole house of cards may collapse. This evening, Jewish Home MK Yoni Chetboun, who has thus far been a
straight shooter, announced that he will
vote against the Haredi draft bill.
“I will oppose the Enlistment Bill. This bill was born in sin, as part
of a wave of anti-religious legislation aimed at challenging the Jewish
identity of the state,” he declared.
...
On Monday, Chetboun revealed that he, and other MKs with similar views, had made “holes” in the Enlistment Bill
through behind-the-scenes parliamentary work. “What they were hoping
for and the product we brought to the Shaked Committee were completely
different,” he declared.
His Jewish Home colleagues are
furious.
A statement from the Jewish Home faction said that Chetboun agreed to
vote in favor of the bill just one day earlier. “The Jewish Home
decided yesterday in a faction vote to support the Enlistment Bill and
the National Referendum Bill, and MK Chetboun supported that decision
too,” according to the statement.
“Any vote against the faction is immoral, anti-social and
inappropriate,” it continued, adding, “The Jewish Home faction will not
tolerate a blow to the party and its members. This will have serious
consequences.”
Sources with ties to the party informed Arutz Sheva that if Chetboun
follows through on his plan to vote against the bill, the Jewish Home is
expected to force him out of all official Knesset roles, including his
position as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.
They accused Chetboun of “undermining the hesder yeshivas and the
National Referendum law just because he wants to make headlines.” and
called on him to retract his statement.
Immoral? Voting your conscience is 'immoral'? Voting to prevent an irreparable divide in the nation is 'immoral'? Someone needs to learn a little morality.
Labels: draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Jewish Home party, Yoni Chetboun
