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| Recently resigned Israeli Health Minister, Ya'acov Litzman |
By almost all accounts, UTJ MK, Rabbi Ya’acov Litzman has been one of the most effective Ministers of Health in recent memory. UTJ (United Torah Judaism) is the political arm of Charedi rabbinic leadership in Israel. If I am not mistaken Rabbi Litzman is the first member of any Charedi political party – past or present – to actually serve as a cabinet member of the ruling coalition. Rabbi Litzman has resigned form as Minster of Health. But his party will apparently remain in the ruling coalition. Why did he resign? From the Jerusalem Post:
Ya’acov Litzman told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office that he had no choice but to resign after Israel Railways continued to employ Jews on the Sabbath. He said he would remain in the coalition and he hopes his reforms in the Health Ministry continue… (This) has been done despite the coalition agreement and the status quo on matters of religion and state.” …(T)hat he did not succeed in preventing the repairs from taking place on Shabbat (was) a red line for him... he cannot accept collective responsibility for the breaking of Shabbat.
As an Orthodox Jew I am obviously a proponent of Shmiras Shabbos (Sabbath observance). It is one of the Mitzvos that has always been definitive of Orthodox Jewry. It is my sincere hope that all Jews will one day observe this Mitzvah - and all Mitzvos. That said, I am opposed to what I and many others call ‘shoving religion down the throats’ of Israelis. Forcing someone to observe Shabbos against their will won’t make them any more observant. It will only make them more resentful of religious Jews and the fact that they have become such a powerful force in government.
That said, there was a status quo agreement (between secular leadership and religious leadership created in the early years of the State) that requires the State to observe Shabbos and to keep private businesses to be closed on that day. If I understand correctly in places like Tel Aviv that is observed more in the breach than in its adherence.
In my view they should back off a bit and try convincing the secular public with good will 'honey' of the kind of Rabbi Litzman exuded as Health Minister rather than with the vinegar of legislative force. But when it comes to the government, I think the ‘Shmiras Shabbos’ part of the ‘Staus Quo’ agreement should be honored. So I understand why Rabbi Litzman resigned.
The Charedi leadership feels that they cannot justify being part of a ruling coalition that allows desecration of Shabbos. The question then becomes, how can they then remain a part of the coalition as well? Granted a cabinet member is more directly involved, but that doesn’t mean that members of the ruling coalition are not. By remaining in a coalition they are in essence giving their imprimatur for Chilul Shabbos.
It is not clear whether the Charedi parties will stay in the coalition. But what does seem clear is - if they quit, the government will fall and new elections will take place. The hated (by Charedim) Centrist party, Yesh Atid, stands to gain the most from that. Polls have recently shown that they will end up with a lot more Knesset seats than they had in the last government.
There is a reason that Yesh Atid is so hated. They were part of the last ruling coalition (which did not include any of the Charedi parties). As such they were able to pass legislation that would have forced all but a select few Charedi youth(determined by quota) to serve in the IDF or in some other way do national service. They also required that a core curriculum of secular studies be implemented in Charedi Yeshivos if they were to receive any kind of government subsidies. To the Charedi leadership, that was seen as a near declaration of war against the Torah!
(I agreed in large part with Yesh Atid on those issues. But my reasons for that are beyond the scope of this post. Been there and done that here numerous times.)
By the grace of God, the last governing coalition fell apart shortly after that and was replaced by the current one that includes the Charedi parties and longer includes a weakened Yesh Atid. They have managed to more or less return to the previous status quo by changing that lesgilation enough to make it acceptable to all but Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach’s Jerusalem faction party (Peleg).
So they have quite the dilemma. Do they stay and keep things as they are despite the Chilul Shabbos that - as part of the governing coalition - they are in part responsible for? Or do they quit and almost surely return Yesh Atid to power and once again endanger the near automatic exemptions from army service? This is clearly a lose/lose situation for them.
I can’t say that I could blame them for remaining in the current government based on the likely alternative if they don’t. But then one has to ask what was gained by Rabbi Liztman’s resignation? As part of that coalition he (and his party) are still responsible for the Chilul Shabbos over which he resigned as Health Minister.
He might answer that as a member of the cabinet, his responsibility for that is greater than it is as only member of the ruling coalition. But that like being a little bit pregnant. Either you are or you aren’t.
If you are good at your job and have succeeded in convincing the very people that in the past has accused you of caring only about your own (Charedim) that you care about them - resiging your post could overturn all the good will you have built up during your tenure. And one has to question what is ultimately gained by that?
He will have taken one step forward in public relations and two steps back – without gaining a thing! If on the other hand the Charedi parties resign from the coalition on principle – they could be in for situation that is much worse than the was the case with the previous government. It will be interesting to see how this develops.