End of the 'Natural Partnership': Is the Alliance Between Netanyahu, the Right, and the Haredim on the Verge of Collapse?
The historic alliance between the Haredi parties and Netanyahu and the right, the 'natural partnership', is facing an unprecedented test over the issue of drafting yeshiva students. Moti Babchik, a powerful figure in Agudat Yisrael, tells of his son who avoided conscription and makes clear that automatic loyalty to the bloc no longer exists. Meanwhile, from Netanyahu's office, tough quotes are leaked: 'Either the army or prison.' The article reviews the history of the alliance, from Rabbi Shach's 'rabbits' speech in 1990 to the current conscription crisis, and analyzes the options facing the Haredim.
The alliance between the Haredi parties and Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing camp, known as the 'natural partnership', is facing an unprecedented test over the issue of drafting yeshiva students and the tension surrounding the status of Torah scholars. The cracks are reflected in the words of key figures: Moti Babchik, the strongman of Agudat Yisrael, tells that his son avoided arrest by a military police vehicle in Meron, and clarifies that 'there is no such thing as the bloc' and 'we are not committed to anything.' He notes that the disappointment with Netanyahu comes after years of loyalty, and that they demand he fulfill his promises. On the other hand, tough quotes are leaked from Netanyahu's office: 'Either the army or prison.' The article reviews the history of the alliance, from the Haredim's departure from the Mapai government in 1952, through their inclusion in Begin's government in 1977, to Rabbi Shach's 'rabbits' speech in 1990 that sealed the partnership with the left. Also mentioned is a failed attempt by Tzipi Livni and Haim Ramon in 2008-2009 to recruit Shas and United Torah Judaism. Babchik says that ideology leads them to the right, but the conscription crisis is the central consideration, and the decision will be made after the elections on October 27.