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Apprehension in the Religious Public
The hareidi parties are embittered, and the religious public in general is very apprehensive, following the announcement of the ministerial portfolios to be granted to the ultra-secularist Shinui party. Shinui leader Tommy Lapid will be Justice Minister; Interior - Avraham Poraz; Infrastructures - Yosef Paritzky; Environment - Yehudit Naot; and Science - Modi Zandberg.
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef of Shas had very sharp words for both Ariel Sharon and the National Religious Party for their roles in bringing Shinui into the government. He predicted that the new government will not last long, but that until then every effort must be made to preserve Shas' educational network, El HaMa'yan. United Torah Judaism spokesmen had strong words for the NRP, calling party leader Effie Eitam "Minister of Destruction of Judaism." MK Yisrael Eichler (UTJ) said that the NRP banded together with "those who caused G-d to be hated" to take resources from those who study Torah and impoverished children.
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MK Elon Sees "Moral Problem" in Gov't with Shinui
MK Rabbi Benny Elon of National Union said that he sees a "moral problem" in having an avowedly anti-hareidi politician such as Tommy Lapid hold the Justice Portfolio. "A government without the hareidim makes me cringe somewhat, from an ethical standpoint," he told Arutz-7 today. "During the election campaign, Lapid and Paritzky spoke in a racist and ugly manner against the hareidi public, and it therefore does not seem fair to have only Shinui and not the hareidim." Elon also blamed Sharon for his "divide and conquer" method, causing some parties to be afraid to join a right-wing bloc for fear of losing their chance to join the coalition.
Coalition negotiations between the National Union and the Likud are continuing today, though prospects for their success have dimmed somewhat. The National Union is upset not only about Justice Minister-to-be Lapid, but also about the NRP's agreement to have Sharon's Herzliya speech - in which he expressed support for a Palestinian state - included as part of the government guidelines. If the National Union should join, it will receive two of the following three portfolios: Industry and Trade, Absorption, and Transportation.
The Likud's Ehud Olmert appears headed to replace Silvan Shalom as Finance Minister, who will probably not be a minister at all.
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What is the NRP's response to the charges? For the meanwhile they are reserving the right to remain silent, but Rabbi Yitzchak Levy did tell Arutz-7 last week that, "There is a very important goal here, and that is to rid Shinui of all its hatred for Torah and Judaism, and pull it away from its exaggerated demands, and to try to be a bridge between the religious and the secular." He also said that the NRP was "very very concerned about the possibility of a Likud-Labor-Shinui government," which would have been totally secular and largely anti-religious.
Rabbis identified with the NRP have so far refused to comment. It is not clear whether Rabbis Shapira, Druckman, Aviner, and Begun gave their blessing to the party's agreement with Shinui, and they do not wish to comment.