Netanyahu Bypass Law
This Knesset session began with an amendment to the
Government Foundation Law, when Prime Minister Ehud Barak
hurriedly passed legislation to change the law and increase
the number of ministers and deputy ministers he is able to
appoint, and now the session will also end with an amendment
to this same law in order to allow Binyamin Netanyahu to run
in the special elections for the office of prime minister
despite the fact that he is not a Knesset member.
The champions of democracy always maintained that the
Foundation Laws are a matter of utmost importance, but now
it appears otherwise. And if it needs to be changed for one
individual, the change can be made not just once, but twice:
once for Barak and once for Netanyahu. The truth is that the
more Foundation Laws there are, the better. Every week
another clause is added to a Foundation Law, which leads
everyone to believe that all of these Foundation Laws are
insincere, ephemeral and inconsequential. Gornischt.
Another law on the books.
The most ridiculous aspect of the Foundation Law is that the
person the amendment is named after, Netanyahu, has no
interest in it. The law should not be called the "Netanyahu
law" but the "Netanyahu Bypass Law." In exchange for this
law Shas and the Labor Party, both of which do not want
Knesset elections, made a deal to allow Netanyahu to run for
office in prime ministerial elections, while preventing
general elections.
The truth is that from a political standpoint, Netanyahu is
right in his demand to hold general Knesset elections as
well, because if elected, how would he assemble a coalition
in the present Knesset?
According to all of the surveys, if general elections are
held for the Knesset as well, the right wing would have a
chance of increasing and breaking the current tie against
the left. (And the Labor Party, according to some surveys,
could even fall below 20 mandates.) This appeals to
Netanyahu and this is exactly the reason why the left and
the Labor Party, headed by Ehud Barak, don't want Knesset
elections just now.
The problem is Shas. Internal Shas surveys predict a
significant decrease in the party's strength. While the
right wing is expected to grow as a whole, Shas is not.
On the other hand Shas cannot afford for Netanyahu not to
run. They are sorely in need of a right-wing government in
order to fix the uprising created among voter ranks when the
party granted Barak the safety net, affording him a
lifeline. Thus the Netanyahu law came about, which is
essentially a Netanyahu bypass law.
Achitofels and Partners
Two weeks ago motzei Shabbos, in his resignation
speech, Ehud Barak announced his intention to bring the
secular revolution back into his working plan, particularly
before the coming elections. Following the announcement,
Meimad Chairman Michael Melchior warned Barak against
"Achitofel counselors" who "might induce him to increase the
polarization of the people. We must all remember that there
is a day after," said Melchior. That was on the day after
Barak's announcement.
Then last Monday in the Knesset, when Barak derailed the
vote on the bill to institute a temporary measure to delay
the induction of yeshiva students, it was proven that given
the choice to listen to Melchior or the other advisers, the
Achitofels come first. And he has been going along with them
since well before the election campaign began. It was very
gracious on Melchior's part to ask Barak to avoid increasing
polarization, but he did not specify what he would do if
Barak elects for incitement and increasing hatred between
the two camps, as he demonstrated in the Knesset last
Monday. If so, would Melchior depart from Barak's debased
ways, or would the partnership continue in spite of it
all?
During the previous election, Barak did not stop inciting
and making pronouncements against the religious and chareidi
public, and particularly against the Torah and yeshiva
world. For some reason this didn't seem to bother Melchior
and Meimad. Or perhaps it did bother him, but for some
reason he did not say anything.
Will things be different this time? Will Meimad avoid a
partnership with One Israel this time if it includes the
secular revolution and the persecution of the Torah world on
its agenda? If there is no change, why wouldn't Barak listen
to the Achitofels?
What Delays Induction
On the same day the Knesset was forced to defer the vote on
the issue of deferred induction of yeshiva students, Rabbi
Moshe Gafni tried unsuccessfully to submit an interesting
question. Even if he failed in his attempt to bring the
information to the attention of MKs in the Knesset plenum,
it is important that at least the public know about it.
According to Rabbi Gafni's information, the IDF defers army
service for members of the J. Witnesses. The requirements
for the deferment are not too complicated. A deferment
applicant must bring confirmation that his membership in the
cult has been approved for another year, confirmation that
he is a full-fledged member of the cult, and that's it. With
this the cult member merely reports to the right room and
receives his deferment. No law, no High Court and no
trashing in the media. Just bring a letter and go home. Not
complicated at all.
The information, by the way, is reliable and not merely
speculative, and is based on a letter signed by Captain
Dafna Boim, head of the Placement Department at the
Recruitment Center in Haifa.
In his question Rabbi Gafni wanted to know what legal
authority the IDF bases its deferment of military service on
for members of the J. Witnesses, how many people have
received such deferments, how many times each of them has
received a deferment, and for members of which other cults
and missionary groups does the IDF defer military
service.
These questions should indeed be posed to the Defense
Minister, in his capacity as defense minister. But since the
current defense minister is also the prime minister, it is
recommended to inquire why he conducted a campaign of
incitement on the issue of recruitment against the Torah and
yeshiva world alone, and not against members of cults and
missionary groups. Don't they have to carry their share of
the load? And in the coming elections does he intend to
initiate a campaign of incitement against the cults and
missionaries, as well, or just against the Torah and yeshiva
world once again? Does the slogan, "One People, one
recruitment"--which I fear we will soon see in the streets
again, or else something similar--apply to this group, as
well, or in his opinion, does their case require
consideration, understanding and an automatic signature, no
questions asked?
