What effect will the rally have on the future of the legislation?
“Elevation of the spirit after moments of despair, excitement that brought tears — even from dry Ashkenazi eyes — when Rabbi Elbaz opened his mouth. But above all, there was the feeling that we are not alone, that we are part of a public of hundreds of thousands giving us their backing.” This was the sentiment expressed in conversations with yeshivah bochurim and avreichim who attended the protest rally on Thursday.
It was an event that combined tefillos and tears, and their impact should not be underestimated. The last time hundreds of thousands gathered to daven in the streets of Jerusalem — back in 5774 — it led to the toppling of the hostile Bennett-Lapid government.
On an emunah level, the rally achieved its goal and encouraged the tzibbur of lomdei Torah. On the public level, it felt like the ball was being moved from the political field to the communal one. Unlike the 2014 rally, when the chareidim were in the opposition, last week’s rally was a cry from within the coalition, after three years of a full right-wing government, whose election had led to hubris and euphoria.
But in this column, let’s focus on politics alone, where promises are meaningless and only results matter. The question of the day after the rally is not metaphorical but real, given that the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee was supposed to convene to discuss the proposed draft law on the day of the rally, last Thursday — a discussion that was postponed, and then postponed again.
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