Election Daze
The Knesset has approved dissolution, and, one way or the other, it seems that Israel will be heading to the polls on March 28.
According to yesterday’s Jerusalem Post (yes, I regret not posting this yesterday, because now I cannot find the article on JPost.com), the only parties that objected to the date of March 28, in meetings with PM Ariel Sharon, were the two factions that comprise United Torah Judaism, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah. They believed that the new elections should be after Passover.
After Passover?
Obviously they know exactly what they are doing. Perhaps they feel that the charedi public will be too busy doing Pesach cleaning to go to the polls. But March 28 is two weeks before Pesach, which seems like enough time in advance that people won’t neglect to vote. The campaign workers have to make Pesach too — and I remember volunteers putting in incredible amounts of time to get people to the polls.
There is a slight chance that UTJ will poll six seats this time around, but more realistically they will still have five. I hope everyone will manage to find a moment to drop their shmattas (dishrags) and go vote — but this way everyone will be able to go through Pesach without worrying about the election. We might even have a government by then.
The post takes it for granted that the Torah-observant should vote UTJ, but perhaps this assumption should be rethought after UTJ enabled Sharon to destroy flourishing yeshivos, shuls, and Jewish homes and farms in Eretz Israel, in exchange for a few hundred million shkalim for good causes.
The UTJ is not the only party to function according to daas Torah; there are others as well. Furthermore, it is unclear that even the UTJ acts according to daas Torah. Considering the substantial number of gedolim on its moetzes who believed that it was completely forbidden to offer any support to Sharon’s plot, it would have been appropriate for the party to play it safe and not participate.
I second the motion that it may be time to rethink the blind support given to UTJ. There are plenty of other parties with Torah scholars guiding them that see things slightly differently. As we all know, there are many ways to interpert the Torah, as long as we remain within boundaries.
Maybe it’s time to rejuvinate Poale Agudas Yisroel as an alternative to UTJ?
I third the motion first UTJ at this point is still running separately and who knows if they will make it in and this is the reason Poali Agudah doesnt run because they do not know if they will pass the threshold but I agree they would be a good alternative. Rabbi Menken make aliyah and you can campaign.
May all the religious Parties run as one block!
Sincerely,
Joshua