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19 Adar II 5765 - March 30, 2005 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Parliamentary Efforts Fail to Stop Disengagement — What Next?

by M. Plaut and Yated Ne'eman Staff

MK Rabbi Gafni: "We say this to you now, with an aching heart, with a sense of common destiny and as brothers. . . . Don't focus on the referendum. Focus on the real issue, which is the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish state."

On Monday the Knesset turned down a proposal to institute a referendum about the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip and northern Shomron. The final vote was 72 against a Basic Law for a referendum and only 39 in favor. The budget is expected to pass Tuesday night.

After the defeat of the referendum bill in the Knesset and the previously announced deal with Shinui to vote for the state budget, it appears that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cannot be put out of office for more than half a year, and will be prime minister for at least close to a year.

The reason for this is the fact that in the immediate future, a majority of 61 MKs who support disengagement have declared that they will oppose any no-confidence motions or proposals to disperse the Knesset whatsoever, until the Gaza Strip withdrawal is completed. That is scheduled for July. By the time the disengagement is complete, the Knesset will be in recess for August, September and October, for summer vacation and the Jewish holy days. Thus, the first chance to topple the government would be when the Knesset returns in November. Even if successful that could result in elections no sooner than 90 days later. Of course, as any observer of Israeli politics knows, things can change.

At this time, there is no one who has a specific reason to topple Sharon in November either.

What will happen in the Likud is difficult to predict. The struggles of the past few months have taken place within the party, and none of the bitterest opponents have spoken seriously of splitting the party. Now that the parliamentary maneuvering is over, Sharon has also made moves to try to bring about a reconciliation within the Likud, scheduling meetings with the various factions. Sharon's associates called each of the rebels following Monday's vote and asked for a truce that could repair the split in the Likud. There is even a meeting scheduled for Sharon with Netanyahu, after there was intense squabbling among followers of Sharon and Netanyahu.

Disappointed by the results of Monday's vote, disengagement opponents declared an end to their parliamentary battle and announced that their efforts to stop the plan would shift to the streets, with mass demonstrations planned in Gush Katif.

"We will continue searching until we find a way to stop this horrible plan," said MK Uzi Landau, the leader of the so- called Likud rebels. "We lost the battle but we will continue fighting with full force against the dangers disengagement poses to democracy and to Jerusalem."

Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his regret over the death of the referendum bill, but said he would respect the vote. Asked whether there was any chance of Netanyahu supporting dispersing the Knesset, an associate said the question was "not relevant."

"I am a democrat who honors Knesset decisions," Netanyahu said. "But a historic chance to prevent a rift in the nation has been wasted and now it will be harder to heal the rift."

Netanyahu's associates rejected accusations from Sharon's office that he did nothing to pass the budget. They said that Netanyahu single-handedly ensured the budget's passage in Knesset committees and could have passed it in the plenum without giving Shinui NIS 700 million, as Sharon did on Saturday night.

Likud central committee members vowed to take revenge against the 13 Sharon loyalists who voted against the referendum bill. Likud activists began gathering signatures on Monday to prevent MKs who voted against the referendum bill from running for reelection in the party. Sharon will probably quash any such move.

In the vote on the referendum, three MKs were present for the vote and abstained: Rabbi Moshe Gafni (Degel Hatorah), Rabbi Yaakov Litzman (Agudas Yisroel), and Rabbi Meir Porush (Agudas Yisroel). Six MKs were absent: Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz (Degel Hatorah), Rabbi Shmuel Halpert (Agudas Yisroel), Eliezer Zandberg and Chemi Doron (Shinui), Yair Peretz (Shas) and David Tal (Am Echad).

Shas waited until the last minute to vote against the referendum. They went out for the first vote and then came in and voted against it. HaRav Ovadiah Yosef said that he would not tell Shas to support the referendum unless it was clear that its votes would guarantee its passage. However once it was clear that it was far short of this, even with the Shas votes, they voted against it.

The final vote against the referendum included 13 from Likud, 19 from Labor, 12 Shinui, 10 Shas, 6 Yachad, 8 Arab parties' votes, 2 Am Echad, Paritzki, and Nudelman.

Voting for a referendum were 27 Likud, including ministers Netanyahu, Shalom, Livnat, Hanegbi, Naveh, Katz, and several senior MKs. Also 6 Ichud Leumi, 4 Mafdal, 2 Hischabrus.

MK Rabbi Gafni said in the debate that the residents of Gush Katif should join the chareidi community in their struggle for the daled amos of Halochoh — on the image of character of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. "The Jewish people existed even when there was no state at all, when we were in exile. The Jewish people persisted because it kept the common platform that we have: Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod. . . . Join us. We said this in the past and you did not join us. We say this to you now, with an aching heart, with a sense of common destiny and as brothers. You know what keeping Torah and mitzvos is all about. Don't focus on the referendum. Focus on the real issue, which is the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. This is the truth and it is high time that you admit it to us. The chareidi parties have been saying this for years."

 

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