What kind of 'effort' is being made by Rivlin and why did he abandon it? • Political column

June 8, 2014   

  On Monday a week ago, I met one of the senior Labor Party officials at the MKs' cafeteria. Over a plate of soup, occasionally wiping his mouth, he tried to understand: "Why don't the Haredim support Fuad? That could have been a winning move against Netanyahu. Fuad wouldn't have let him form the next government." At this point, he explained to me how President Haim Herzog was the one who led to Shimon Peres being appointed prime minister in 1984. I tried to ask him about Fuad's health. Just a few minutes earlier, I had looked at him for a long time, during a Labor faction meeting, and he did not seem, to put it mildly, to be in the best of health. "And your rabbis are young?" he replied. "And anyway, Fuad was 'burned out' by Yesh Atid just because he didn't support the conscription law, so how is it possible that the Haredim would support him?" There was a lot of logic behind his words. A Haredi-led coalition could give the Haredi parties a kind of power. But when MK Yaakov Litzman signs (on his own and his own will) with MK Rubi Rivlin, and MK Meir Porush leaves the country on his way to a wedding in Monsey (on the advice of the local and public opinion), you will build a union in the Haredi parties. Either way, from then until today, a lot of water has flowed in the Knesset cafeteria tap, and Fuad - no longer. That Monday I entered Rubi Rivlin's room. I found a commotion there befitting an election eve. Even the devoted husband of the office manager, Rivka Ravitz, Beitar Illit Deputy Mayor Yitzhak Ravitz – was there in action. We talked, tried to sketch scenarios, and in between I tried to capture them with my cellphone camera lens. They weren't really enthusiastic, but Zvi Dolinsky, the political advisor, managed to slip in a sentence or two. How was the pressure a week before? I was interested. He, as always, replied with a smile. "What pressure? Everything was decided on the first of Tishrei, you just have to make an effort..." [youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bFmX8wjbPg" width="600" height="400" responsive="yes" autoplay="no"] A little more detail about this effort - I asked. "Well, I'm trying to do everything so that Rivka Ravitz becomes the office manager of the President's House..." - he replied. The Haredi MKs used to say about her that she was the other MK of United Torah Judaism. Today, before the vote, those who are part of the 'Degel' are debating. Representative Shlomi Emunim got up and left the country. Only the Hasidim (who have a Rebbe) were left for him to escape.   On Thursday, the Shas faction met at the party headquarters in Har Hotzvim. Officially, to hear the members' opinions on who to support, and to forward the recommendations to the Council of Torah Scholars. In practice, as one of the members later said, without naming him, of course, who cares what we think... and perhaps this is why party chairman Aryeh Deri's tendency is to allow freedom of voting. Why impose factional discipline and later discover that there are those who violated it? Logic dictates that it is better not to say anything that is unheard of. Tonight, the president of the 'Council', Hacham Shalom Cohen, will hold a consultation with the other members of the Council of Torah Sages, who will come to the wedding of Aryeh Deri's daughter, but the expectation is that the chairman's recommendation: freedom of voting will be maintained. There is a legend floating around that between the first and second rounds, a blanket order will be given on who to vote for. Party sources claim that this is nonsense. And let's assume that after the first round, everyone will see who has the better chances - what's the point of giving an order to vote for him? Just to register Shas's support for the incumbent president in the registry? What do you think: If it's a president that Shas didn't really support the entire way (Rivlin, for example), he's not stupid and will remember this, even if she 'rides the wave' ahead of the second round. But even if she supports him - there will always be a few MKs who are friends with another candidate, and will not abandon him even when his chances of winning are not promising. Taking a risk by having a Shas MK say, "I voted against the boss's orders," is not worth it. It's certainly not wise.   The MKs themselves have full bellies and petty calculations - which affects their votes. One of them told me how, during Rubi Rivlin's tenure as chairman, he used to insult him on various occasions. Maybe you didn't behave properly in the plenum? - I tried to ask. "And if I didn't behave according to the rules here and there, is this how you behave? No respect?" he replied with a question, like a good Jew. Right or wrong, a belly full of anger will not let him vote for Rivlin - whatever the order. MK Yaakov Margi, on the other hand (the only one who does not hide behind his vote), gave his word to Dalia Itzik, and it is unlikely that he will break it due to one or another instruction. The big question is what will happen if the Council of Sages issues a directive before the second vote (which is unlikely to happen). It is no secret that some members of the faction have complaints about the manner in which the rabbi David Yosef was added to the 'council' (by mistake, they claim), so they will probably claim that the majority in the 'council' is not a real majority (if the late Rabbi Yosef had wanted his son David to be part of the 'council' - he would have done so in his lifetime, they claim). So for anyone who thought that only United Torah Judaism is unable to unite behind a candidate - the situation with the older sister is not much more exciting either.   The background to MK Meir Porush's abstention from voting in the presidential election is, among other things, the weakness of the President's House. How did the 'herald' define it in the weekend newspaper? So "the South Korean energy minister comes to visit... or the Venezuelan postal minister... oppressed children from Metula and Bat Yam come to pick roses in the President's orchard." And I just asked. Did Porush himself, accompanied by his longtime friend Yaakov Litzman, bother to appear before such an irrelevant institution on the eve of the draft law, to plead for the souls of the Haredi public? And another question. If the institution lacks influence, why did Porush bother to vote for the previous candidate? Isn't it a waste of time and trouble?! Relevant or not, a lot of damage can fall upon us from the direction of the President's Office. Here is just an example from the last few days: Did you know that the President of the State is celebrating the end of his term in office today at the Vatican, where he is participating in a call for peace event, which is taking place in the Vatican Gardens, with the papacy and Abu Mazen also participating in the event. At the event, verses of peace are read from the Bible, Christians read verses of peace from the New Testament, and Muslims read verses of peace from the Quran. To the glory of the State of Israel. To the President's credit, it should be noted that he complied with the request of the Chief Rabbi Yosef regarding the nature of the visit: Rabbi Yosef asked him to try not to stand inside the Vatican, but that the event would take place outside it, in the Vatican Gardens, in a place that does not contain religious motifs.   Things have happened before, and presidents have had influence in the State of Israel. It was when Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proposed sending a battalion of the Givati ​​Brigade to intervene in the war in Korea. The Americans pressed, Ben-Gurion supported, but the government decided to meet with then-President Chaim Weizmann – which led to the rejection of the initiative. This was the case when President Yitzhak Navon forced the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin to establish a state investigation committee to investigate the Sabra and Shatila events, and threatened that if it was not established – he would resign. In retrospect, it was this committee that put an end to Begin's rule. Wasn't it President Shimon Peres who stopped and is stopping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from attacking Iran? Many believe that this is indeed the case.   What is interesting this time is that the vote crosses parties and left-right. Dalia Itzik, for example, comes from the left camp (Labor, and later 'Forward'), but her voters also include Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman and the powerful woman in his faction, MK Faina Kirshenbaum. Or Ruben Rivlin, for whom MKs from the Arab parties will vote, on the one hand, but also members of the 'Jewish Home' faction, on the other. Journalist Ari Shavit from Haaretz made it clear that "Rivlin will be the candidate of the Land of Israel" and not the candidate of the State of Israel, because he will protect the settlement enterprise in which he believes, and that it is a "recipe for disaster." "The very election of a complete man from the Land of Israel as president will cause Israel heavy political damage," states Shavit. So how does this fit in with the vote of MKs from the Arab factions? For the 2014 presidential elections, the solutions.   Less than two days until the election, and the feeling is that nothing is finalized until the last minute. While the candidates are rushing to publish declarations of wealth (don't feel sorry for them, none of them need donations), many have the feeling that somewhere in the next few hours, until the moment the name of the winning candidate is known, Lahav Unit 443 can still have its say. But there is another possibility, which not many think about. If and when, during the next two days, the identity of the person who informed on his fellow candidates becomes clear, there is a possibility that the members of Knesset will punish him behind the curtain. So it is true that each of them will click their tongues and talk loudly about how important it is to eradicate corruption from the country, but secretly, a large part of them prefer that dirty laundry be washed inside and away from the eyes of the public, the media, and Lahav. The name of the leaker, if it gets out into the world, could become a name that will be remembered in infamy. Don't be surprised if this is what will decide the election for us for better (or worse).