Knesset elections reveal a rift between Israeli religious parties

Muhammad Mohsen Wad-Occupied Jerusalem

The campaigns of Jewish parties during the Knesset's propaganda campaign revealed the depth of the rift between them, the struggle for a “state identity” between secular and religious, and most contestants chose to hide the question of “the Land of Israel,” while highlighting other issues such as religion, state, religious coercion, and fighting corruption.

Israeli analysts see Tuesday's election as a "crossroads", with some likely to be "disastrous" if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a coalition government based on religious parties and the ultra-Orthodox.

"When Netanyahu makes statements about the essence of the state of Israel, he reiterates that he is a Jewish and democratic state, but he makes a mistake because there is a gap that cannot be bridged," said Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman, a member of the Haredim.

He explained that this gap separates "Netanyahu and the ruling Likud party from the viewpoint of religious parties, which can not form a stable government coalition without it."

Sparring
"The preservation of the sanctity of the Sabbath, and the consolidation of this for religious parties in the life of Israeli society, is very important for the ultra-Orthodox parties represented by Bashas, ​​the Judaism of Hathorah, the Jewish state of Agudat and even the coalition of right-wing parties."

He considered that those who believe that this is "a normal debate between the Haredim and secular Jewish parties such as Israel Beitenu and the Democratic Camp" and Kahul-Lavan; he lives in a double mistake, because the rabbis are preparing for the next step in turning the laws of the Torah into a pillar, before turning Israel into a state. Biblical law. "

To understand where Israel is heading, Kaufman says, "the term Jewishness of the state must be clarified in a way that understands the relationship between Judaism and the state of Israel, which states that the state is governed by Jewish law.

He also pointed out that the term "state law" is used by the leaders of the right and renewed religious Zionism and rabbis of various religious currents who believe in the slogan "the land of Israel to the people of Israel in accordance with the teachings of the Torah."

`` However, many in the national religious community claim that most secular issues are impractical, but with the increasing political power of the Orthodox and the ultra-orthodox, and the pressure and influence in the government and the Knesset, they believe that their cumulative power will enable them to recognize and bring about a religious revolution entrenched in their minds. ''

Limits of competition
Gershon HaCohen, a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said the election was crucial in the land of Israel.

He adds that many of the contenders "have created the necessary conditions to turn the central debate into religious and state matters, and the competition of small parties affiliated with the right-wing camp is likely to lead to the loss of power and power by the right."

He explained that the debate about "Jewishness of the state has always been present among the Israeli parties, and in negotiations with the Palestinian side," citing the discussion of the International Crisis Group, when Ron Bondak (architect of the Oslo process) was asked "what do you have to say to the Israelis who consider the concessions involved?" The peace process is an attempt to repeal and delegitimize the State of Israel? "

"Bondak's answer was not far from the ongoing debate between Israeli political parties; peace is not an end in itself; it is a means of transferring Israel from one age to another, by giving Israeli character to society rather than Judaism, flourishing Israeli culture, separating religion from the state, and full equality." To the Arab minority in Israel. "

"In this debate, the roots of the religious struggle lie in the struggle against saving the land of Israel and the failure to make new concessions and withdrawals. Bundak and his colleagues determined that clinging to the land and not withdrawing are an obstacle to the search for a secular Israeli normal life with all peoples in the world. "Israel's commitment to the roots of Jewish identity is an obstacle to winning the majority to support further withdrawals from the land of the fathers."