Want to save Jews? Do not give the Interior Ministry to the haredim - opinion

An opinion piece argues against giving Israel's Interior Ministry to haredi parties in a future coalition, claiming Shas and United Torah Judaism have used strict religious criteria to deny citizenship to non-Orthodox Jews under the Law of Return. The author warns that rising antisemitism in the US makes it urgent to welcome Diaspora Jews.

In this opinion piece, Cookie Schwaeber-Issan argues that Israel's next government must not give the Interior Ministry to haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties. She contends that Shas, which has managed the ministry for over 20 years, has used stringent religious criteria to deny citizenship to secular, intermarried, or non-Orthodox Jews, contradicting the 1950 secular Law of Return. The author warns that rising antisemitism in the US, including threats to Jewish-owned businesses, makes it urgent for Israel to welcome Diaspora Jews. She calls the haredi approach 'antithetical' to attracting assimilated Jews and says leaving the ministry in their hands would be 'gross malpractice' by a centrist government. The piece frames the issue as a matter of saving Jews by returning to an inclusive policy.