Coalition Negotiations Continue As Livni Rejects Unity Government

The negotiations for coalition partners took a definite turn today when Bibi's second meeting with Livni produced no results towards a unity government. Netanyahu will now need to shore up his natural partners on the right.

(The following discussion has been reported now to be incorrect information. It has been suggested that it was a rumor started by Kadima to thwart the coalition building being undertaken by Bibi Netanyahu. See my later post. I am leaving it in until we know what the correct story is, and if it turns out to be true that Kadima started this rumor for such a purpose, it will show an example of the lengths Livni will go to to unseat Netanyahu.)
What is worrisome today, however, is the announcement by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, a leading rabbi of the ashkenazi haredim, stating that there could be no compromise on civil marriages within Israel. The ashkenazi haredim are represented by UTJ (United Torah Judaism) and they hold 5 seats in the upcoming Knesset. This announcement could make it difficult for UTJ to sit with Yisrael Beiteinu, whose platform includes civil marriage. If they refuse to sit in the government then Bibi cannot form a majority and we would have to go to elections again.

It should be noted that the civil unions being discussed are NOT for Jews in Israel, but for non-Jews, who cannot get married according to Jewish law anyway. There are no civil unions of any kind allowed in Israel. Non-Jewish residents and citizens who are not part of a religious community must leave the country to get married, and it goes without saying that it is financially prohibitive to have family and friends accompany them for the ceremony.

It's a more complicated subject than I wish to cover in this post, but to make this a stumbling block to forming a government is simply unacceptable, in my opinion. Shas, which represents the sephardic haredim is not opposed to civil unions for non-Jews, and while Shas wields its own club on other matters, it at least is thinking a bit more clearly in this case.

Hopefully, because the rabbi who made this proclamation is not the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi (who is Yona Metzger), the UTJ may not be bound to obey. My understanding is that it is an opinion rather than a ruling. Rabbi Elayshiv is considered a great halachic authority by the haredim however, and they may have difficulty disregarding his opinion. Yisrael Beiteinu, for it's part, dropped the positioning of the civil union issue to the bottom of it's list. Perhaps they could drop it altogether as a condition for joining, but still work very hard to see it passed as a part of the next government.

In our precarious world situation, it behooves all parties to not be so dogmatic.

Next week will bring more coalition news and hopefully some progress.

Meanwhile we are all a little wiped out here in Israel. Sorry for the absence in posts this week...be back on Sunday after Shabbat ...or before.