Bibi's new coalition is more like a shtibel
IF even a tenth of Binyamin Netanyahu’s agreements with his religious and chareidi partners are fulfilled, the incoming Israeli government will be the most Orthodox in the history of the Zionist state.
Halachic conversion, the military draft, Shabbos observance, chometz on Pesach, even the “shtreimel clause” (aimed at preventing animal rights legislation that could impact the shtreimel industry) — nothing went unmentioned in the coalition agreements.
The insistence on detail and deadlines shows that Netanyahu’s allies want their payments in cash. The more interesting clauses relate to the religious status quo, which the previous government undermined relentlessly. Unlike in Netanyahu’s previous governments, this time all his allies are chareidi or religious, and it shows in the coalition deals.
A series of High Court decisions affecting the status quo will be legislated away: chometz will be banned in hospitals on Pesach on orders of hospital directors; private and Reform conversions will no longer be recognized, and the law will stipulate that “conversions carried out in Israel will be recognized by law only if carried out through the state conversion system, which will be subject to the rulings of the chief rabbinate.”
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