Both the Bayit HaYehudi and Yesh Atid parties are euphoric over their negotiating victory, now members of the new cabinet, both turning to voters with a feeling of accomplishment. Both party leaders, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid told voters “we made good” on campaign promises and they hope to implement many changes during their tenure as cabinet ministers.
While the dati leumi tzibur celebrates its return to power, today a formidable voice in the administration, no one seems too concerned with the fact that the religious status quo that was safeguarded by chareidim for decades does not appear in the coalition agreements. Perhaps on indicator of what the future will bring was seen with the recent announcement by State Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, who is seeking to impose restrictions on batei din. Weinstein threatened sanctions and criminal action in certain cases if a beis din issues a ‘siruv’.
The attorney general’s move resulted in an angry response from Eida Chareidis Ravaad HaGaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita but while one might have expected to hear similar statements from dati leumi rabbonim, there was no such reaction heard. Perhaps this is an indicator, to the dismay of many, for the rabbinical courts should be no less important to the dati leumi rabbonim and attempted state control over issues of Halacha should cross the hashkafa boundaries. Nevertheless, the dati leumi community remains silent.
With Bayit Yehudi in control of an expanded Ministry of Religious Services, one that will now include the Chief Rabbinate, giyur, shmitah and more, chareidi parties are very concerned over the future Jewish character of the state with the religious status quo clause removed from the coalition agreements.
This clause impacted many aspects of life in Israel along with the actions of cabinet ministers, limiting their public chilul Shabbos and preventing public buses on Shabbos and Yomtov to name two examples, but it now appears chas v’sholom all of this is about to change, albeit not for the better. Yair Lapid has already stated that Shabbos bus service was on his agenda for the 19th Knesset.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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21 Responses
It’s shameful that Naftali Bennett, chairman of Bayit HaYehudi, supposedly a representative of Dati Leumi, is married to a secular wife. What understanding can such a person have for Limud Torah or in defense of Judaism?
Then we’ve got Yair Lapid, chairman of Yesh Atid, whose father Tommy was not even Jewish as his mother only had a Reform conversion.
Then we’ve got Yochanan Plesner, (as was mentioned on YWN about a year ago) the champion of the “share the burden camp” whose father was not a Jew, but a Catholic from Denmark, a descendent of priests and bishops. His parents were married in a church.
“Only in people in whose veins flows mixed blood could be behind the effort to destroy limud torah, that which watches over and protects the Jewish People throughout the ages”.
So sad. Why is Bennett doing this?
You are supposed to be a news source not hoped.. State facts not opinions.. Until now charoedi world operated an unfair world within greater society now like usa and rest of world they’ll learn to integrate to society.. Hey NY Lakewood not such bad places
This is news? The election almost two months ago.
or have some people just noticed that the new government is the most anti-Torah one since the Crusaders took over (noting that the various Muslims and British never objected to Jews learning Torah and never objected to Beitei Din operating independent of government supervision).
As someone who is dedicated to Torah learning and Torah values, I ask that the Charedi leadership and laymen realize that this is an opportunity to shape the country and have a Torah influence on the greater tzibur. Instead of viewing this as a ‘gezeira’, view this as a calling that Hashem and the Jewish people want charedim to be involved in Israel’s growth.
There is one solution to beating these assimilationist. Let bochurim marry at 16 instead of 18. This will bring to israel 30 thousand more chareidi babies earlier by two years. There secular bullets can’t beat our chareidi babies.
So according to them, the Dati Leumi community is not yiddishkeit — I think that’s a much greater concern!!!!
Why is anybody shocked. Dati Leumi turned the State, and territory, into a Mitzvah. Not only a Mitzvah, but, it appears, the single most important mitzvah in the Torah.
Wake up & smell the coffee….Israel became a secular goyishe country with some jewish cultural themes. Exactly as the founders of zionism wanted.
Heshy
Even without marrying at 16, the Charedei tzibur is growing by leaps and bounds and will soon be the majority.
What we are seeing now is a “LAST STAND” by the secular/semi-semisecular which can’t last long!!!
However, our Rabbonim WILL BE FACED WITH A PROBLEM!!!
They can attempt to postpone a decision but eventually they will have to make one.
WHEN the Charedei Tzibur does, in fact, become the majority…HOW DO WE HANDLE ARMY SERVICE?
Unless we are zoche to the geula (hopefully) they will eventually have to make a decision.
The Rabbonim should have known, that the Siruvs, were getting ridiculous and out of hand.
AThought stop the hysteria and irrelevant and,maybe, untrue facts. You are doing yourself and the Chareidim a disservice.
if the chareidei leadership were willing to compromise even a little they would have been part of coalition.
but they decided to play tough .
They think they are doing the ratzon of hashem, but i am not so sure.
Before the elections I decided to increase my learning and do extra in hachnosas orchim but at this point it seems like the eibishter is just giving a slap in the face its so disghusting I’m ready to throw in the towel what’s the point
Yussel #8 good answer for #7.
Gotta #9 well said.
Mottel #10 WHEN the Chareidi Tzibur does, in fact, become the majority, those who won’t “share the burden” by learning torah will, if they want, join the army – an army which will be run strictly according to Torah by Gedolei Yisrael.
Ader #11 not the siruv getting out of hand but the chutzphah.
Mdd #12 So the truth hurts. It’s important for all chareidim, Gedolei Yisrael and religious Datim to be aware of who’s behind all this evil.
1818 #13 Refusing to compromise when the only option is enlisting in a secular anti Torah military out to shmad orthodox Jews is the ratzon Hashem. The decree is almost like those reshaim throughout history who forced Jews to shmad or be expelled.
If the Chareidi political parties had restricted themselves to defending the “status quo” there probably wouldn’t have been such a backlash by the electorate against the political blackmail and coercion they have increasingly exercised over prior governments. Perhaps the new government with a more secular focus will do more to restore the status quo and result in a refocus by the religious parties on issues that really matter to their constituents such as eduction, affordable housing and job opportunities.
Mottel1.
Right now the israeli army is made up of thirty per cent goyim. Russians,vietnamese and ethiopians etc. When we chareidim take over the army leadership will be chareidim and with todays technology even kollel wives can fire drones and missles fron office computers. Also the arab world won’t hate us so much because our moral and family values coicide.
AThought, no – the the Chillul HaShem does.
There is a ‘silver lining’ to the changes in the new goverment. Sit back and smell the aroma.
The idea that the Charedim were boycotted or discriminated against is ridiculous,, the formation of a government takes NEGOCIATIONS, Compromises and discussions. When one side states we have nothing to discuss, compromise or negociate they closed & locked the door on their big toe. Why wasnt there any discussions over a year ago when the TAL LAW expired???
If this government is such “a threat to Yiddishkeit,” Yiddishkeit is in big trouble without this government. That whole notion is obsurd. It’s just sour grapes. If they think that, maybe there is big trouble in the Chareidi world in general.
Also, maybe if Chareidi tactics were more mentchlach, people wouldn’t be so against them.
Traditionally Orthodox Jews consider army service absolutely forbidden, because the army is the wing of the state that actually carries out the conquering and maintaining of Jewish control over the Holy Land, which the Torah forbids. Torah Jews wish to live in peace with all peoples of the world, and G-d’s decree of exile forbids them from taking any military action. We are waiting for G-d’s redemption. We are conscientious objectors to the Israeli army, but the Israeli government has never granted us the dignity of freedom to practice the original Judaism, and be exempt from the army on principle. Rather, they have, until now, forced us to use yeshiva studies as a pretext to exempt ourselves, causing untold impoverishment and suffering to our communities. Men whose families desperately need their income are not allowed to work. They are forced to remain jobless for most of their adult life. The self-sacrifice of the Orthodox community in their dedication to the anti-Zionist ideal is hard to imagine. Most of the Orthodox in the Holy Land live in abject poverty, subsisting on charity funds collected from Jews in other countries.
Now they are preparing to take away even this yeshiva exemption, so that Torah Jews may have to choose between going to prison or sacrificing their principles. But there is no reason why the Israeli government should not completely exempt Orthodox anti-Zionist Jews from the army, just as they exempt Arabs and Bedouins. Like the Arabs, anti-Zionist Jews are a community that predates the Zionist state by hundreds of years, and has no desire to live under the Zionist state or “benefit” from its army. (In fact, Torah Jews see the army as no benefit at all. Its actions only serve to inflame world opinion against Jews and prolong the state of war in the Middle East.)
If they were permanently exempted from the army, the men from this community would be able to enter the workforce and support their families honorably, as Jews from similar Torah communities do in all other parts of the world.
http://www.truetorahjews.org/issues/armyap