The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah and of Agudas
Yisroel have instructed the UTJ MKs to leave the coalition,
following the transfer of the third superheater turbine
component built by the Israel Military Industries in Ramat
Hasharon to the Ashkelon power station on last Friday night
parshas Nitzovim and Shabbos.
The previous week, on Thursday, the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
told the UTJ MKs to leave the coalition in the event that the
turbine part was transferred on Shabbos.
That Friday morning the Prime Minister's office announced
that the turbine would be transferred on Shabbos on a one-
time basis by non-Jews, and that from then on, no further
components would be transferred on Shabbos. Rather all would
be transported during the week, over several nights if
necessary.
Throughout last week, a Directors General Committee headed by
Minister Michael Melchior discussed the issue and they
approved a plan for the turbines to be transferred over of a
number of nights during the week, parking during the day at
two intermediary locations.
The director general of the Ministry of Internal Security and
other representatives agreed to this solution. However,
Commissioner Yehuda Wilk, head of the police, refused to
endorse this arrangement with only two interim storage
locations, demanding that an additional parking site be
prepared.
Last week, the Infrastructure Minister, Eliyahu Suissa,
informed the Minister Michael Melchior, that Maatz (the
public works company) completed the work on the two parking
lots agreed upon by the Committee of Directors General to
find a solution to the problem of transferring the heavy
turbines on weekdays. The general director of the Security
Ministry, Arye Ramot-Shiffman, who expressed his approval of
his Ministry for this proposal, also participated in this
meeting.
The parking lots which were completed are at the Ganot
interchange and the Ashdod junction. Minister Suissa said
that with the completion of the parking lots, the problem of
transferring the components on weekdays has been solved. The
Minister expressed his hope that in accordance with the
agreement made at the meeting of the general director's
meeting, the police will enable the remaining components to
be transferred on weekdays.
The traffic police objected that so far, only one parking lot
-- at the Ganot junction -- had been prepared. However, even
if the two parking lots were prepared, police said, the
distance between the two junctions is too great and the trip
will take more than the four hours that the turbine part is
permitted to travel each night. Therefore, the police said
that a third parking lot should be prepared between these two
junctions.
In the meantime, it became clear that police were preparing
for another transfer on Shabbos.
The UTJ MKs told Minister Melchior, who represented the Prime
Minister, that if the turbine were to be transferred on
Shabbos, they would leave the coalition immediately, as they
said the previous week.
MK Rabbi Meir Porush told Israel Radio that the United Torah
Judaism faction in the Knesset has no alternative but to
leave the current coalition.
MK Porush added that he felt that it was a mistake to enter
the coalition, which he described as too willing to distance
itself from Orthodox Jewry and to endear itself to the Arab
population.
Rabbi Porush added the repeated Sabbath desecration with the
Friday night transports of Israel Electric Company turbine
components, together with this past Sabbath's desecration
during the day to prepare for the Wye-2 signing ceremony on
motzei Shabbos, made it impossible for his party to
remain in the government.
Rabbi Porush concluded that in time, he was certain the other
Orthodox parties will have no alternative but to leave as
well in light of the government's stand on matters of
religion.
The UTJ MKs sent an official letter to Prime Minister Ehud
Barak, notifying him that they were leaving the coalition at
the instructions of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.
In the letter they wrote: "We hereby inform you that in line
with the directives of maranan verabonon, the Moetzes
Gedolei HaTorah shlita, the United Torah Jewry faction
in the Knesset is withdrawing from the coalition which you
head.
"Last week, the gedolei Yisroel instructed us to leave
the coalition if the turbine was transferred on Shabbos. The
following day, we received an official statement from your
office that the turbine would be transferred by non-Jews on a
one-time basis, and that on the ensuing Shabbosim no such
loads would be transferred. Instead they will be moved only
on weekday nights.
"The Directors General Committee which you appointed
recommended that the loads be transferred during the week,
over a few nights, with intermediate stopovers at two parking
sites. We were apprised of this by the Minister for Social
and Diaspora issues, Rabbi Melchior, and it was also
announced publicly by the director general of the Ministry of
Internal Security.
"Later on, the Inspector General of the Police, Commissioner
Yehuda Wilk announced that he wanted an additional parking
site, something which could have been prepared had they
waited and not transferred the turbine component last
Shabbos.
"In light of this our party informed Minister Melchior, who
acted as your representative, that if the turbine were
transferred once again on Shabbos night we would leave the
coalition immediately.
"On motzei Shabbos kodesh, after it became clear to us
that the turbine was, in spite all the above, transported on
Shabbos, maranan verabonon, the Moetzes Gedolei
HaTorah instructed us to effect our resignation notification
immediately.
"We must stress that the recurring Shabbos desecration
constitutes a serious slight to the sensitivities of the
hundreds of thousands of citizens who sanctify the Shabbos,
aside from the fact that it is also a breach of the coalition
agreement with our party in respect to honoring the Shabbos.
Therefore we announce our withdrawal from the coalition."
The letter was signed by UTJ's five MKs: Rabbi Meir Porush,
Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz, Rabbi Yaakov Litzman, Rabbi Moshe Gafni
and Rabbi Shmuel Halpert.
According to political observers United Torah Judaism's
departure from the coalition over the transport of the
turbine superheater on Shabbos may have a domino effect on
the two other religious parties in the coalition -- Shas with
17 seats and the National Religious Party with five. However
for now, Shas has announced that it will not leave the
government.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Michael Melchior has announced he
will continue to convene the committee trying to solve the
issue.
MK Rabbi Meir Porush told the Jerusalem Post: "What
pains me is that the government could have made preparations
for the turbine to be transported midweek and did not. This
government on the one hand is doing everything to bring the
Palestinians closer, while on the other hand pushing the
religious further away, and that's a great pity."
One Israel representatives said that contacts between the UTJ
and Cabinet Secretary Yitzhak Herzog had been held over the
weekend in an effort to prevent the party's departure but
that, in any case UTJ is a significant factor in the
coalition's stability, as long as Shas will not bolt the
coalition.
The UTJ decision reduces the number of coalition MKs to 70
which still gives them a comfortable margin of 10 votes. The
government also enjoys the outside support of the 10 Arab
party MKs and can rely on the support of the 6 Shinui MKs on
most matters including especially those of religion and
state.
At the moment, Barak has no plans to remove the two UTJ
members who sit on the Knesset Finance Committee, despite the
fact that the two are there under the allocation of members
for One Israel.
