Almost two-thirds of Israeli Jews are upset with the concessions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made to the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) to get the party to join his new narrow coalition government.
Above: Benjamin Netanyahu
Almost 2/3 Of Jewish Israelis Upset, Think Netanyahu Gave Haredim Too Much To Join His New Government
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Almost two-thirds of Israeli Jews are upset with the concessions Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made to the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) to get the party to join his new narrow coalition government, Arutz Sheva reported.
The Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute found that 64% of Jewish Israelis believe Netanyahu was wrong to cancel almost all reforms made in the previous Knesset meant to get haredim to carry their share of the national burden, among them drafting haredim and reducing government child stipends that heavily benefit the haredi community and prolong joblessness in it. Netanyahu also promised UTJ his new government would roll back a series of reforms that had weakened haredi control over the state's official religious apparatus.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents believe Netanyahu was wrong to appoint UTJ Member of Knesset Rabbi Yaakov Litzman as Deputy Minister of Health but fail to appoint a full Health Minister. This legal fiction allows Litzman to run the Ministry of Health as he sees fit while evading his responsibility to vote on important cabinet issues related to national defense and similar issues that his party’s rabbis have banned all UTJ politicians from voting on.
The Peace Index survey was reportedly published today by Walla! News.