Ultra-Orthodox parties prefer Netanyahu but won’t mind new political map
The declaration of Yamina leader MK Naftali Bennett that he wishes to replace Netanyahu as prime minister further fractured Netanyahu’s bloc.
By JEREMY SHARONA haredi man stares at a Likud ad with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The realignment of the political map in recent weeks since new elections became inevitable has created a new set of challenges for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing, religious bloc.The defection of former Likud MK and Netanyahu rival Gideon Sa’ar to form a new party, taking with him several other Likud MKs, has severely weakened what was the prime minister’s political firewall.And the declaration of Yamina leader MK Naftali Bennett that he wishes to replace Netanyahu as prime minister further fractured Netanyahu’s bloc.But what of the prime minister’s most stalwart allies, the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties of Shas and United Torah Judaism, who have been the pillar on which he has built his governing coalitions over the last decade?In the last three elections, both Shas and UTJ committed during the election campaigns to Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and said they would recommend only him to form the next government when asked by the president.That situation has now changed.Such a public declaration of loyalty is now not a given, and “times have changed” in terms of the current political map, an official in UTJ said.Sa’ar’s emergence and the open hostility of Bennett toward Netanyahu means that what remains of the right-wing, religious bloc, including the haredim, will likely not be able to gain a majority in the Knesset after the next election.“We need to take care of ourselves,” the UTJ official said. “We are not automatically with anyone. We are an independent party and need to act independently.”The party could certainly join a coalition led by Sa’ar, if such a coalition “is good for us” and is feasible, he said. “We’re not ruling out anyone.”UTJ MK Uri Maklev last week said the party would support Netanyahu “as long as he has an option to form a coalition,” adding that he was his party’s first choice.UTJ MK Yitzhak Pindrus made it even clearer that Netanyahu is not the party’s only option. If Netanyahu cannot form a government and Sa’ar has a chance, “we will, of course, do the relevant calculations,” he told Kol Barama Radio.This attitude reflects the flexibility and pragmatism of the haredi parties, which have been part of left-wing and centrist coalitions in the past.Being a sectarian party that lobbies determinedly for the specific needs of its constituents, UTJ mainly seeks to preserve its core values and advance the interests of its voters.It should therefore not come as a surprise that the party is willing to contemplate finding a new political partner should Netanyahu find himself without the ability to form a government.Shas and its leader, Interior Minister Arye Deri, have publicly been more devoted to Netanyahu and the right-wing religious bloc than his peers in UTJ.The alliance with Netanyahu is continuing, Shas remains committed to the bloc, and it will recommend to the president that he form the next government, Deri has said. He repeated this message last week at a party faction meeting, launching the party’s election campaign.But Shas is vulnerable to erosion of support from its non-haredi but religiously traditional and working-class voters who could easily switch to the Likud if they believe the party is in electoral trouble.Although Sa’ar might not be his first choice, Deri’s commitment to Netanyahu might also wane should the electoral map swing decisively away from the premier come March.
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