Reply To: What To Do When You Lose A Political Battle

Bentch, in re-reading your post I realized that there is a fundamental disconnect in perception here. I and many others, don’t think Yesh Atid is necessarily anti-Torah, though it may be anti-Chareidi. It is the assumption that political disagreement with Chareidi parties or entitlements is by definition anti-Torah that has disengaged the rest of the religious/dati community in Israel politically from the Chareidim this time around. It is also the fundamental lack of respect or recognition of the value of the yiddishkeit of those outside of the Chareidi world that has disengaged this group from the Chareidim. I saw a short interview of Rav Chaim Druckman today, and when asked about the idea of a boycott of Chareidim in Bayit Yehudi forming a government, he said this.

[brotherly love within the Jewish world] [Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen] Kook? I mean, this is a total boycott, all of the time.”

He goes on to talk about the fact that when Rabonim and Roshei Yeshiva from the dati leumi world are referred to in many Chareidi publications or on the radio, they won’t use the term Rav or Rabbi. So its not the dati boycotting the Chareidi, it has been a chareidi boycott of the dati for a long time.

This is why I am saying that the Chareidi veld, if it wants to accomplish anything practical, needs to make a cheshbon about how and why it is alienating its natural allies, let alone not engaging the non frum in any positive way, even if there are those who are inclined against them among these.