Fears over Israel’s Coalition : Ultra-Orthodox face a fall from power

Islam News – A new coalition that aims to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office could also usher in a more liberal civil rights agenda.

JERUSALEM – Still in shock from bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel , then a murderous mob during ‘a religious holiday, Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel now face the prospect of losing the power they wielded in government – a setback that could relax some of the restrictions on living in Israel.

Heterogeneity coalition which looming to replace the 12-year reign of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Missing are the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, a Hebrew term for those who tremble before God. Their political representatives have served in most, but not all, Israeli governments since the late 1970s, when the right-wing Likud Party overthrew decades of political hegemony from the socialist founders of the state.

Over the years, the two main Haredim parties have forged a close alliance with Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud, and have leveraged their pivotal role in a series of government coalitions. There they wielded what many critics see as disproportionate power over state policy that has become apparent as they fought successfully or, in the case of some sects, simply refused to follow the pandemic restrictions.

The influence and official privileges of the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 13% of the population, have created resentment among mainstream Israelis and alienated from many Jews abroad who practice less strict forms of Judaism. The ultra-Orthodox chief rabbinate, the state’s religious authority, dominates official Jewish marriage, the

The Haredim parties have also secured generous public funding for their people and institutions, allowing many to engage in in-depth Torah study and avoid military service c ‘is mandatory for others.

Now the Haredi rabbis are sounding the alarm.

“Fear and vigilance among Haredi Jews, “said HaMevaser, a daily newspaper representing the Hasidic wing.

” The Torah world and the Jewish character of the Land of Israel are in grave and imminent danger, “warned the Torah Council of Elders, which guides the Shas, the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party , in a press release.

The emerging coalition, which will take power if it wins a parliamentary vote of confidence, is the result of an alliance between secular and centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. The pair have formed an alliance for the last time in 2013, joining a Netanyahu-led coalition that kept Haredi parties out of power for two years. But reforms and cuts to Haredi funding havewere quickly quashed by the next government.

This time, they seek to present their coalition as an inclusive coalition meant to heal, not exacerbate, the

“This government will not mistreat or harm anyone,” Bennett said in an interview with N12, the most popular television news looked. “This is not a ” anti “government. We are not against the settlers, against the secular public, against the Arabs or against the Haredim.

Source : The New York Times