The split in Agudat Israel: During the vote in the Knesset committee on the recommendation to appoint MK Boaz Bismuth as chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, replacing MK Yuli Edelstein, who was ousted - MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, a member of Gur's 'central faction', refrained from supporting the decision, while MK Meir Porush, chairman of the 'Shlomi Emunim' faction, supported and voted in favor of the appointment.
Political commentator Yaakov Rivlin from 'Bekhila' tweeted on his X network account: "Want to know why Goldknoff abstained? Here's an explanation for the well-wishers.
""The ultimate goal of most of the ultra-Orthodox factions is a conscription law. The ultimate goal of the 'central faction' is to overthrow the government. Their rationale is the one that guided them in the 'stinking exercise' in 1990: It is better to go with the left than with the right.".
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To Bri Rivlin, "Over the years they have been forced to drag themselves behind the flag of Degel and Shas and stick to the right. Now they see an opportunity to realize the old thesis.".
""Therefore, don't be surprised if and when Bismuth introduces a draft law - they will try to thwart it by claiming that it is too strict for the ultra-Orthodox. With the left, they believe, it will be possible to accept more.".
As you may recall, the 'stinking exercise' 35 years ago, which was concocted between Shimon Peres and Agudat Israel, ultimately collapsed - after the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the Gramm Shach opposed the move and thwarted it - and later Yitzhak Shamir formed a narrow government.
Will the 'central faction's' move collapse this time too?
