Back from a week of unproductive meetings on the peace
process in the U.S., Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will
make his plan to reform religious-secular ties the focus of
his efforts. Barak is pessimistic about chances for an
agreement with the Palestinians, which remains his preferred
goal, and chances are also slim for his forming any sort of
reasonable government.
At the same time, Barak faces mounting criticism from the
religious community and from many within his party as well
for his secularization plans. Other critics maintain that the
plans are more election campaign rhetoric than government
policy, since Barak's power base is so weak and the proposed
reforms so ambitious.
In response, Barak announced that he supports establishing a
"pact" that would be drawn up by various teams comprised of
secular and religious figures. "The prime minister is
determined to lead with the imperative steps to make Israel a
modern state in the 21st century, while preserving its Jewish
and Zionist character," said a statement released by the
Prime Minister's Office. "This is not a struggle between
religious and secular, this is not a revolution, but rather a
mix of moving forward, Judaism, and social sensitivity."
Forming a government with the Likud as a partner is one of
the options that is publicly debated. When asked what Barak
would do if Sharon demanded that he backtrack from what was
agreed upon at Camp David, a senior source said that Barak
does not feel this has to be a hurdle, since "he has not
given up anything. Nothing is in writing." However, Barak
would certainly wait to form such a government until it
becomes clear how the peace process is working out.
The fact that Meimad, the religious wing of One Israel, has
threatened to leave because of the civil reform plan, shows
clearly that so far little has been done to achieve any
consent from the religious. Meimad is known for its
willingness to compromise.
"Meimad represents the most advanced and moderate stream in
religious Zionism," said Opher Pines-Paz, One Israel Knesset
leader, "and the borders of civil progress must be borders
acceptable to Meimad. Otherwise, it will not be possible to
turn the nice words into actions in the field."
The following eight points are said by the Prime Minister's
Office to be Barak's official civil-social agenda.
El Al flights on Shabbos; Regulations allowing marriage
registration for those barred from marrying under halacha;
Operating buses on Shabbos; Completion of a constitution;
Removing the nationality clause from identity cards; Closing
the Ministry of Religious Affairs; Creating a unified,
compulsory educational curriculum; Imposing national service
on all.
