Despite a stiff protest by Degel HaTorah representatives
Welfare Deputy Minister MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and MK Rabbi
Moshe Gafni, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice
Committee decided that the next Knesset would continue talks
on formulating a "Constitution for Israel" (Chukah
LeYisrael) even without unanimous agreement on the
issue.
The Constitution Committee has held dozens of meetings on the
issue during the three years of the 16th Knesset, but the
prevailing understanding was that a constitution would not be
accepted without the accord of every strata of Israeli
society, including the religious and chareidi sectors.
Rabbi Ravitz, Degel HaTorah's representative on the
committee, even discussed the matter with PM Ariel Sharon,
telling him that it would not be enough for the proposal to
receive broad, general support of 70 percent, for example,
but that such a cardinal issue must have the support of every
segment of the population. Rabbi Ravitz says Sharon
concurred.
Last week's Constitution Committee meeting issued a
declaration stating the committee under the 16th Knesset
authorizes the committee under the 17th Knesset to discuss
and formulate a "Constitution for Israel."
When MK Rabbi Ravitz demanded that Committee Chairman Michael
Eitan (Likud) draft a written decision to prevent disputes in
the upcoming Knesset, Eitan presented a decision reading,
"The next Knesset will legislate the constitution with broad
agreement."
At this point Rabbi Ravitz and Rabbi Gafni immediately
demanded that the wording be changed to read "with agreement"
rather than "broad agreement."
Following pressure by MK Ophir Pines (Labor), MK Eitan denied
Degel HaTorah's demand, saying that he indeed intended that
"broad agreement" would be sufficient.
"The cat is out of the bag," responded MK Gafni. "Now it is
clear that your intention is to institute a constitution even
without the agreement of chareidi and religious
representatives, even if it is the type [of constitution] we
deem harmful."
Rabbi Gafni recalled how 13 years ago, when the Knesset
legislated the Basic Laws, it was explicitly stated there was
no intention to harm religious issues. But it was discovered
later that the laws impinged sharply on religious issues,
and, for example, a law against the import of pork had to be
legislated to stop the breach the High Court created on the
issue. Then it was made clear the Basic Laws would be
legislated only with full agreement, said Rabbi Gafni, yet
now, "You want to do so without full agreement? This is
unconscionable."
Following a vote called by Degel HaTorah, MKs Rabbi Ravitz,
Nissim Zeev (Shas), Yitzchak Levy (Religious Zionism) and
Zahava Galon (Meretz) voted in favor of a requirement of full
agreement and three committee members abstained. But the
majority backed the draft calling for "broad agreement."
"You won the vote today, but you lost the constitution,"
Rabbi Ravitz called out to MK Eitan following the vote.
