Barak and the Arab Vote
Barak has made clear signs that although he has
unequivocally supported direct prime ministerial elections
for years, he is now beginning to lean in favor of doing
away with them. Barak used to say that without direct
elections he would have had no chance of being elected prime
minister, since voters would have voted according to party
lines as in the past, resulting in the traditional tie in
the Knesset with a slight tilt to the right, which would
have given the office of prime minister to Binyamin
Netanyahu.
Now something has changed: this something is the Arab vote.
If, in the previous elections, the Arabs supported him by a
tremendous majority of 96%, thereby allowing him to reach an
overwhelming overall majority of 56%, this time the signs
indicate that the rules of the game in the Arab sector will
be entirely different. The Arabs will not all vote for Barak
and he cannot win without them.
In the new political situation, therefore, the old system
could be a lot better for the Prime Minister. If and when,
after elections as in the past, they are asked to make their
recommendation to the President of their candidate to head
the government, the Arab MKs will certainly not recommend
Netanyahu or any other Likud figure, but almost certainly
will choose Barak, depending, of course, on what they
receive in return.
Labor activists working hardest to repeal the Direct
Elections Law are among Barak's closest associates: Minister
Daliya Itzik, coalition chairman Ofir Pinnes, and above all
Shiri Weizman, the man who doesn't get out of bed in the
morning without receiving permission from Barak first. Their
activities are proof that everything is carried out with the
knowledge and quiet support of Ehud Barak.
In the Likud, which way the party will vote has yet to be
decided. Those close to Netanyahu say that for precisely the
same reason that Barak believes that a repeal of the present
system will help him, Netanyahu would be well advised to
support the present system; without Arab votes his chances
of victory on election day would increase significantly
since his majority in the Jewish sector is clear. Current
party leader Ariel Sharon however, is one of the most
prominent supporters of a return to the previous system.
Boundless Hatred
The mind of Shinui MKs, filled to the brim with anti-
religious hostility, does not rest for a moment. They wrack
their brains for any idea to harm the chareidi public, and
the more damage the initiatives cause, the better they are --
from their perspective. True enmity that knows no bounds.
One month ago, in a final reading, the Knesset plenum passed
a bill by Rabbi Shmuel Halpert (UTJ) according to which
child stipends would be significantly increased starting
with the fifth child. The bill, which really only restores
some of the value of the stipends that has been eaten away
by inflation, is supposed to go into effect in 2001.
But this law is a thorn in the side of Shinui activists.
They view the chareidi public through glasses tinted with
hostility, and it makes no difference whatsoever that tens
and hundreds of thousands of other people, residents of
development towns and neighborhoods in distress, will also
benefit from the law. The moment the chareidi public has a
chance of benefiting, the law is bound to be the object of
fierce opposition from Shinui. Come what may.
Right after the bill was approved, Shinui MK's launched a
barrage against the chareidi public, and issued a call to
repeal the law. This week Shinui showed that it was not
enough for them to try to repeal the law; they sought other
ways to strike at the chareidi public. The entire corps of
Shinui MKs tabled a bill aimed at preventing the Interior
Minister and the Local Authorities Minister from granting
reductions on municipal taxes for families blessed with many
children. According to Shinui's proposal, the number of
people in one home would not be a cause or a requirement for
granting a reduction on municipal taxes, neither as a
condition in and of itself, nor in combination with other
requirements.
In their explication of the law, Shinui MK's make no effort
to conceal their goal or their impetus, writing, "An
amendment recently instituted into the Natural Insurance Law
significantly increases child stipends for the fifth child,
the sixth child, etc. In light of this law, it would be
inappropriate to grant further reductions on municipal taxes
based on the number of family members living in a given
residence, and therefore it has been proposed that the
Minister of the Interior not be allowed to allot reductions
based on this requirement."
In other words, after an auspicious step was finally taken
to assist families blessed with many children, Shinui MKs
come charging back in an effort to impose punishment on
them. This is a disgrace. It is simply a disgrace that in
the State of Israel such members sit in the national
parliament, when their activities and behavior fit better
with various dark periods and regimes from the past.
Different Hats
At the initiative of Rabbi Shmuel Halpert, the Knesset
Committee for Immigration and Absorption is discussing the
plague of non-Jewish immigration to Israel. Since the wave
of immigration from the former Soviet Union began, there
have been large numbers of non-Jews among those arriving,
but recently the numbers have increased dramatically and
have reached alarming proportions.
Michael Melchior, Minister of Diaspora Affairs, stated
before the committee that 60% of these immigrants are not
Jews. Representatives from the Vaad HaRabbonim Haolami
LeInyonei Giyur headed by HaRav Chaim Kreiswirth maintain
that the numbers are much higher, up to 85%-90%. In any
case, even the figure of 60% is clearly troubling and
intolerable for any nation that wants to survive without
losing its identity within a few years.
And what is the solution? A very simple one, seemingly. To
stop the continued immigration of non-Jews to Israel through
every possible means. Simply to close the gates, and if
necessary, a legislative amendment--as soon as possible. As
for those who have already arrived, everything should be
done (short of harming them) to make their lives here
difficult until they leave of their own volition; and those
who don't leave should definitely not be given the same
rights as other citizens.
But what is obvious to any sensible person is not
necessarily obvious to Melchior. He had another solution for
the problem, and he even presented it to the committee
members. "Steps have already been taken to include the
Jewish Agency in bringing the immigrants now in Israel
closer to Judaism and to reinforce their desire to
convert."
Instead of taking care of the root of the problem, people
want to patch up problems. Instead of doing everything
possible to place obstacles before those who have already
arrived, and to prevent further aliyah of non-Jews,
they are trying to transform them into Jews through
fictitious means which have no place in halacha.
Recently a delegation from the Vaad met with Minister
Melchior and asked him that since he considers himself an
Orthodox rabbi, how can he justify his plan based on
fictitious conversions which are obviously against
halacha.
"I wear two hats," Minister Melchior answered. "As a rabbi I
only advocate proper conversion which will guarantee
complete Torah observance from the convert. However as a
politician I don my MK hat and advocate what is in the
national interest of the country."
