MK Rabbi Yisroel Eichler called it the Great Revolt. Last
Wednesday chareidi MKs simply stood up during a plenum,
walked to the front of the hall and brought the Knesset to a
halt. No more business as usual until the religious council
workers get paid.
It's best that such incidents are a rarity, but in this case
it was a necessity.
The current government was built on a foundation of
cooperation between Shinui and the National Religious Party,
which have different and slightly conflicting goals.
Shinui's main objective was to erase every achievement the
religious public has made over the years, to rid the State of
any trace of Jewish character; to destroy the chareidi
education system and choke the yeshivas--and if possible to
close down as many as possible; to raze religious services by
dismantling the Religious Affairs Ministry; to bring the
chareidi public and families of avreichim to the point
of hunger based on the ridiculous pretense, dripping with
venom and hatred, of demanding they go to work.
The NRP's aim was to usurp Shas' throne, and that end
justified any means. For years the NRP watched with envy as
Shas took over all of the NRP's historical holdings: the
Interior Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry, the
religious councils, high-level posts at various local
authorities, etc. The NRP realized its only hope of
recovering its former positions was to distance Shas from the
seats of power, meaning to keep it outside the government.
Following the last elections, when a golden opportunity
knocked courtesy of the Sharon-led Likud, they grabbed it
knowing there would be a high price to pay. When the overall
yeshiva budget is slashed so drastically, their yeshivas and
institutions also suffered and will continue to suffer. And
when Children's Allowances are cut, the bank accounts of the
national-religious, who often have large families, shrink as
well.
When the government was set up, they were convinced that the
Religious Affairs Ministry would not close and they intended
to gain control over it. Their plan was to have it like it
used to be. They could make appointments, hand out jobs,
appoint rabbonim, fire Shas-affiliated functionaries -- in
short, have a grand ol' time at Shas' expense.
But this is not what happened. Shinui overpowered them and
the ministry was closed. Not only did it close, but all of
the functions fed through this pipeline closed as well. No
religious councils and appointments, no money to hand out and
not even any rabbonim to appoint.
Yet none of this troubles Zevulun Orlev much. What interests
him is retaining his seat of power and his perks, fighting
his war against Effi Eitam and advancing his goal of taking
over the NRP chairmanship from the Housing Minister. For this
he is prepared to sell everything he has along with his
constituency: the country's Jewish character, religious
services and all of the Jewish issues the religious parties
toiled to achieve over the years.
Unfortunately, the bridge between these two issues is the
Likud. If that party held a referendum, a large majority of
Likud voters--traditional Jews with an appreciation for
religion--would vote in favor of having the State of Israel
retain its Jewish character, in favor of proper religious
services, in favor of maintaining the religious and chareidi
education systems and in favor of religious and chareidi
representation without Shinui. Yet such a referendum will not
be held. Therefore Sharon can keep this government, which is
bad for Am Yisroel and bad for Torah life.
It's a shame what the chareidi MKs did last week did not
happen months ago. Perhaps then the religious council workers
would not face the hardships they face today. Perhaps then
the plotting against the chareidi education system would not
have reached new heights. Perhaps then the allocations the
yeshivas are entitled to would have been transferred without
a six-month delay. Perhaps then the present government would
not have reached an all-time low in scheming against anything
with the slightest trace of Judaism.
