There have never been so many religious MKs in the history of the State. Yet with all the yarmulkes gracing the heads of parliamentarians, there has also never been as great a threat looming over the Torah world in Eretz Yisrael as there is today. And that’s the ultimate irony of Elections 2013
My Israeli friends in New York have been asking me to voice an opinion on the recent elections as if my opinion could somehow have an effect or even change the results. I suppose it’s natural that as Israeli expatriates they still feel a keen interest in local affairs in Eretz Yisrael. And I imagine that they are especially interested in the coalition talks and the ramifications for the battle for Torah study in Israel. They want to know: what will be with the yeshivah draft? Is it true that the yeshivos will empty out and that thousands of bochurim will be shipped off to the draft office?
Well I don’t know what to tell them. And I’ll tell you a little secret: nobody knows what’s going to be once negotiations are over not even Bibi Netanyahu who now faces the uneviable task of assembling a new government.
What I can write about are the numerous ironies and paradoxes that have arisen from the elections not all of which spell doom.
To date we do not know what sort of government the weakened Bibi Netanyahu will manage to cobble together. Of course the Torah community is deeply concerned over the future of the yeshivos but these worries are preventing many of us from seeing a broader most ironic and even positive picture. In many ways the recent elections have changed the face of Israeli society some say for the better and some say otherwise. Is the cup half-full or half-empty?
Create a free account to keep reading.
