United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni has indicated that he may recommend Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister following the upcoming election, signaling what could be a dramatic break from years of Chareidi political alignment with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli right.
Speaking to activists at a closed gathering, Gafni suggested that working with Eisenkot and the political left could ultimately prove easier for the Chareidi parties than continuing their partnership with the right, according to a report Tuesday by Channel 12.
“יכול להיות ששם יהיה לנו יותר קל” — “It could be that things will be easier for us there,” Gafni said when discussing Eisenkot.
The remarks come roughly two months before the election and appear to go considerably further than previous warnings Gafni and other Chareidi politicians have directed at Netanyahu over the years.
Gafni was reportedly asked whether, in light of his experience with Netanyahu, he would recommend to the Gedolei HaTorah that the party join forces with Eisenkot. He declined to answer the question directly but said that he had already reached a decision.
Associates of Gafni told Channel 12 that the decision he was referring to was, in fact, to support Eisenkot.
Gafni explained his frustration by arguing that the right-wing bloc had proven itself even worse than the left on certain matters affecting the Chareidi community.
“הימין כולו הוכיח את עצמו שיש שמה דברים שהם יותר גרועים מהשמאל כלפינו,” Gafni said. “הגענו למסקנה במה שקרה בקדנציה הזאת שאנחנו איתם לא נוכל לעשות דברים, במה שנוגע לילדים שלנו”.
“The entire right has proven that there are things there that are worse for us than the left,” Gafni said. “We reached the conclusion, based on what happened during this term, that we will not be able to accomplish things with them when it comes to our children.”
Gafni then raised the possibility that left-wing parties, motivated by their desire to form a government, could be more accommodating to Chareidi demands, including on the explosive issue of the military draft.
“אצל השמאל הם מוכנים למכור את המדינה בשביל שלטון. אותנו הם לא ימכרו? מה, לא ייתנו לנו גיוס?”
“On the left, they are prepared to sell the country for power. They won’t sell it to us? What, they won’t give us [a solution on] the draft?” he said.
Gafni nevertheless acknowledged that such a fundamental political shift would raise broader questions extending beyond immediate political calculations.
“השאלה אם מותר לנו, אסור לנו, השאלה מה הכיוון – זאת שאלה לדורות”.
“The question is whether we are permitted to do it or not, what direction we should take — that is a question for generations,” he said.
Although Chareidi politicians have repeatedly warned Netanyahu that they have political alternatives, the latest comments come amid an increasingly serious rupture between Degel HaTorah and the prime minister, particularly over the failure to resolve the status of bnei yeshivos and military conscription.
That breakdown became particularly public in May, when Degel HaTorah leader Rav Dov Landau delivered an unusually sharp message to the party’s representatives in the Knesset, declaring that there was “no more trust in Netanyahu” and calling for elections to be held as soon as possible.
In a letter that concluded with the words “in pain and anxiety,” Rav Landau wrote:
“לכבוד חברי הכנסת החרדים של דגל התורה שליט”א. אתם עשיתם מעל ומעבר את שליחותכם נאמנה. ואין לנו אמון בראש הממשלה איננו מרגישים שותפים שלו יותר. איננו מחויבים לו. ואנחנו נעשה מכאן ואילך רק מה שאנחנו חושבים שטוב ליהדות החרדית ולדעתנו צריך בחירות בהקדם היותר מהר. כל מיני דיבורים על גוש אינם קיימים יותר”.
“To the Chareidi members of Knesset of Degel HaTorah, shlita: You have gone above and beyond in faithfully carrying out your mission. We no longer have confidence in the prime minister. We no longer feel that we are his partners. We are not obligated to him. From this point forward, we will do only what we believe is good for Chareidi Jewry, and in our opinion elections must be held as soon as possible. All talk about a political bloc no longer exists.”
{Matzav.com}
