Rav Chaim Kanievsky, the rabbinic leader of the Yahadut Hatorah party, appears to have given a stamp of approval for the unprecedented possibility of a right-wing, religious government propped up by the Islamist Ra’am party, according to a Thursday TV report.
Rav Chaim, widely acknowledged as the preeminent gadol hador, was asked about such a scenario following last week’s inconclusive election, which kept the country’s two-year political deadlock intact.
He reportedly responded as follows: “As far as safeguarding Jewish tradition is concerned, it is better to go with the representatives of the Arab public, than with the representatives from the left.”
Channel 12 published the quote, but without a recording, leading some to speculate regarding the report’s veracity, as Rav Chaim rarely responds in more than a few words.
Nonetheless, the network said that Rav Chaim holds that Arab Israeli lawmakers are less likely to promote universalist ideas and “turn everyone chiloni” than left-wing lawmakers. Moreover, the gadol hador said that it would also be easier for Charedi MKs to cooperate with conservative Arab representatives on a variety of issues such as respect of religion and family values and on the issue of military conscription.
Read more at Times of Israel.
{Matzav.com}
He reportedly responded as follows:…
IOW anyone can make up whatever they want about he said.
Perhaps things have changed but the policy of the Moetzes Gedoley HaTorah in Eretz Yisroel has always been to avoid all comment on theoretical possibilities. So the only they would address a question like this would be if Raam has already committed to joining Netanyahu in the government. So far it hasn’t.
I have heard from reliable sources that Rabbi Kanievsky did not say this.
Okay thanx.