Avishai Ben-Haim: Just two months ago, United Torah Judaism celebrated its victory and that of the entire bloc in the elections. "This is the day that God has made us a nation and we will rejoice in it," Goldknopf can be heard saying, in his own voice. And now, the battle that follows the great success, a success that requires processes of Zionization and Israelization, Gafni versus Goldknopf ("My long-time friend, Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf," said Gafni on the eve of the election victory). This is not just a battle, G against G, that threatens to break up the G party.
Sherry Roth: Wow, what a cockfight we have now...
Avishai: This is not just a personal battle. The stronger the Haredi community is in the government, and in this government they are the most dominant and powerful than ever, the weaker the Haredi ability to maintain the ideology that requires mental and practical distance from the Zionist State of Israel.
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Yaakov Rivlin: Remember, Avishai, that the Haredi starting point is that we recognize the state de facto and not de jure. So over the years this difference has blurred, but we still do not see ourselves ideologically as being able to take responsibility for what is happening in the state. And one more thing: There is also a moral aspect here: You cannot send soldiers to war when you yourself are not fighting.
Avishai: This is a record in the process of breaking down the Haredi boundaries. In the first decades of the state, it's worth remembering, the Haredi were careful not to be part of the government. In '77, they joined the coalition, and that was part of the enormous upheaval. Then they took on the role of deputy minister, but not minister, so as not to be real partners. Several years ago, Litzman already took on the role of minister, because the High Court of Justice forced him to. And now, Litzman's successor, Goldknopf, is also talking about membership in the political-security cabinet.
Rivlin: What Goldknopf has done right now is crossing the Rubicon. If you are a member of a political-security cabinet, you accept responsibility for whether to go to war, whether to take political steps of this or that kind, Degel Hatorah says: That's it. We are not willing to approve such a sharp ideological deviation.
Sherry: They are different types. It's true that at first Gafni really didn't want him as chairman in particular, as the first place, but very quickly, I think, when he insisted on Goldknopf's special, likable character, he began to accept it.
Avishai: Gafni's Lithuanian Torah Banner does not see itself only as responsible for the purity of the outlook, for the Haredi ideology, it sees itself as the hegemonic leader of the Haredi world.
MK Yaakov Asher: No, this is not a personal conflict. From our perspective, the ideological issues are very, very important. We are dealing with fateful decisions in a cabinet that is focused on issues of war and peace. We should not be part of this matter, and therefore we demand that the Likud sit down with us for renewed negotiations.
Avishai: The one who mobilized and succeeded in uniting the Lithuanians and Hasidim so that they would run together in the elections was Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu. The task of keeping them together after the elections and making peace between the Lithuanians and Hasidim will be more difficult than the main task assigned to him, making peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Sari: It's not impossible that they will split, that they won't come to the vote on Thursday. I, in the place of the observer Benjamin Netanyahu, would be very, very afraid that Thursday is not going to go well for you. Come on, Gafni, don't be a sucker.
