Netanyahu warns Haredi parties against supporting Eisenkot’s bloc — Jerusalem Post
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to prevent ultra-Orthodox parties from joining the bloc of Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, who is negotiating to form a government. According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu is personally speaking with rabbis, sending envoys to the Haredi community leadership and seeking to establish contacts with rabbis outside the circle of the highest religious leaders.
Warning for Haredi parties
Netanyahu and his associates are convincing ultra-Orthodox factions that an Eisenkot government could use their support to form a government and, after passing its first budget, rely on Arab parties. According to Likud sources, in that case the Haredim would lose leverage over government policy, particularly regarding the military conscription law and issues of religion and state.
The message Likud is conveying to Haredi parties states that even if the “change bloc” promises them the conscription law they need, such promises should not be trusted. Representatives of Netanyahu’s party also say that, with outside support from the Ra’am and Joint List parties, a government could operate even after the possible withdrawal of ultra-Orthodox factions from the coalition.
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Conditions for a possible coalition
The United Torah Judaism party is concerned about the prospect of joining a coalition without Shas and remaining the only ultra-Orthodox partner among secular and liberal parties. The party considers Shas’s participation important for blocking decisions that contradict Haredi requirements. According to a source familiar with the course of the negotiations, resistance is growing within United Torah Judaism to joining a government that would rely on Arab parties without Shas in the coalition.
Ultra-Orthodox political figures are also negotiating with Eisenkot’s bloc. In particular, influential Agudat Israel representative Moti Babchik is promoting the possibility of joining such a government provided that guarantees are given to protect Haredi interests. Other figures in this party, including Knesset member Meir Porush, insist on concrete results and believe that passing the military conscription law in full or in part must be a condition of the coalition agreement.
Eisenkot seeks first to bring in United Torah Judaism, allowing for Ra’am to abstain during the vote to establish the government, and to invite Shas later. Shas leader Aryeh Deri has not yet made a decision. At the same time, ultra-Orthodox parties, taking Netanyahu’s warnings into account, are demanding that he explain what alternative to an Eisenkot government he can offer without holding new elections. There are currently no signs that Eisenkot is prepared to support a national unity government led by Netanyahu.
