The disconnection in the coalition negotiations continues. This is the second day in a row that there have been no negotiation meetings between the Likud and its partners for the future coalition: “Religious Zionism”, Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit. Given that Friday is a short day for the heads of the religious parties, the continuation of the contacts will be postponed until next week. And there will be another delay in the swearing in of the government.
Apart from Shas, which is in the last line, these are the main points of disagreement with the rest of the partnership:
At the center of the dispute between Otzma Yehudit and Shas is the case of the Negev, the Galilee and the Periphery. A proposal to resolve the dispute that began as a troll on Twitter, to divide the Negev into one and the Galilee into another, became a reality when Likud offered to divide the case between Deri and Laban Gabir, but the latter refused. Earlier Deri had intended With Yariv Levin trying to solve the crisis.
Senior officials in Torah Judaism are outraged at the Likud’s behavior and attitude towards them, against the background of the fact that no meetings have been held between the negotiation teams in recent days, and claim that even before that, the Likud did not reach conclusions with them on the principles on matters of religion and state and budgets for the ultra-Orthodox public, as well as on the issue of the distribution of cases. They demand the Jerusalem file for Meir Parosh, the social equality file for Uri Makleb and other deputy minister positions.
For example, in religious Zionism they asked for the position of Deputy Minister of Education in order to receive the responsibility, among other things, for state-religious education, in Likud they also refused this and said that it was reserved for Torah Judaism, apparently MK Tesler or MK Pindros, but in Torah Judaism they claimed Because the position is generally reserved for Shas. In the past there were two deputy ministers of education, both in the 28th and 29th governments. Once on behalf of Shas and the PDFL and once Shas and Degal HaTorah. A similar attempt was made in the establishment of the Netanyahu-Ganz government, but it did not come to fruition.
However, in contrast to the disconnection that prevails with “Religious Zionism”, whose reports are confirmed by the Likud, sources familiar with the negotiations between the Likud and Torah Judaism claim that there is no significant delay, and that this is a technical matter of waiting for answers on budgetary issues, and the goal is to reach agreements in the coming days.
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And what is happening in the negotiations with “religious Zionism”? Everything is stuck. Smotrich’s party claims that Likud has withdrawn from all agreements. In other words, they will be forced to recalculate a course regarding the distribution of portfolios and positions. According to the current proposal, Smotrich will serve as the first finance minister in rotation With Deri, even though he opposed it at first and agreed after pressure and understanding the political and coalitional constraints. Also included in the proposal are the settlement portfolio designated for Orit Strock, and the immigration and absorption portfolio designated for Ofir Sofer.
But the main dispute revolves around the powers that the party will receive in exchange for giving up the education and religious portfolios. Among them – a decision regarding the control of the Hamad system, which we mentioned above, the introduction of the Jewish Identity Directorate into the settlement file, the regulation of rabbinical appointments, control of the conversion system and more.
Last time the person who mediated between Netanyahu and Smotrich was a rival of Levin, but this time it seems that all parties are waiting for another mediator, who will bring about the alignment of the generations between the parties and the continuation of the contacts, which are currently frozen.