Ashkenazi And Sefardi Haredim To Form United Negotiating Bloc

Leaders of the Sefrardi haredi Shas and the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) political parties told Israeli media today that they would band together into a negotiating bloc to try to blunt the influence of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, which won 19 seats in Tuesday’s Knesset elections. Yesh Atid wants haredim to serve in the military and work for a living rather than living off of welfare payments and government subsidies while studying for decades in yeshiva.

 

Ashkenazi And Sefardi Haredim To Form United Negotiating Bloc
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Leaders of the Sefrardi haredi Shas and the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) political parties told Israeli media today that they would band together into a negotiating bloc to try to blunt the influence of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, which won 19 seats in Tuesday’s Knesset elections. Yesh Atid wants haredim to serve in the military and work for a living rather than living off of welfare payments and government subsidies while studying for decades in yeshiva.

Yesh Atid is expected to join with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu faction which won 32 seats to form the next governing coalition.

But the parties need a majority of the Knesset’s 120 seats to govern, and that means they will need other parties to join them. To get to 61 seats, Netanyahu would have to join with the united haredi bloc which has 18 seats or a right wing Zionist Orthodox party, HaBayit HaYehudi, which won 12 seats.

"We intend to unite into one negotiating team," Shas founder and spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef told Shas members.

UTJ’s Rabbi Moshe Gafne was quoted as saying that UTJ and Shas “intend to forge a common bloc.”

Veteran observers of Israeli politics tend to believe that even though Netanyahu can reach 61 seats without including haredim in his coalition, he will likely try to form a government that includes haredim and either HaBayit HaYehudi or Yesh Atid – or both – because the larger Netanyahu’s coalition is, the freer hand he will have in foreign policy and security issues.

The secular Labor Party, which won 17 seats, and the secular left wing Meretz Party, which won 6, have already said that they will not join any coalition Netanyahu forms.

Related articles

Haredim Object To IDF Testicle Exams As "Not In Accord With Haredi Lifestyle"

At Haredi Hi Tech Conference, Most Politicians Pander For Haredi Votes While Haredi Pol Blames High Haredi Unemployment On The Secular Government

As Shas Steps Up Its Attacks On Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak's Breakaway Party, Ashkenazi Haredi Leader Denies - On Tape - Giving Yitzhak His Support

Shas Caught Intentionally Violating Election Law Again, Is Fined

Through Their Mouthpieces, Haredi Parties Threaten To Join Center-Left Government In Order To Retain Power As Netanyhu Appeals To Rightists For Votes

Comments

[Daliarose]

I am very happy Yesh Atid won so many seats and I hope they blunt the impact the Charedim have in Israeli politics.

[Maskil]

Likud has 31 and labor has 15. Who wrote this? (I mean, who told this over to Reuters?)

[Moshe Aron kestenbaum, Williamsbug]

Into the army that's the bottom line,nothing else will solve the problem. After serving the in the army like other Israelis they will be able to work and have jobs like real mentchen

[Steven W]

More than anything, Bibi wants to be Prime Minister.

More than anything, the Haredim want a seat at the table to be guarantee money to their communities and blunt the draft issue. They will play pure power politics and possibly give up some short term issues for long-term participation in policy-making.

Bibi will form a government with the Haredim and probably the right wing because they are his insurance policy against Yesh Atid leaving a coalition and forcing new elections. Yesh Atid may join the coalition hoping to have some influence but it will be limited by the Haredim and the right wing and the inability to force elections.