A heated debate took place in the Knesset plenum this evening (Monday), following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to transfer the chairmanship of the Committee for the Appointment of Judges to Shas.
MK Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized the decision and attacked the Prime Minister: "Netanyahu has such contempt for the worldview and religious Zionism. The Prime Minister says that religious Zionism is important to him. What has he done to its representatives in his party? Netanyahu has contempt for religious Zionism - its way, its people, its Torah.".
MK Ayelet Shaked addressed Minister Tzipi Hotovely in the plenary - and said: "How many times during the election campaign did I speak to religious Zionism and explain that if Yamina does not have political power, Netanyahu will take what is important to us and give it to the Haredim. And Minister Hotovely, as a representative of the public, you are deceiving the religious Zionist public because you told them, 'Don't worry, I will take care of religious Zionism.'".
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""How do you let the chairmanship of the committee for appointing judges pass into the hands of the ultra-Orthodox? How do you do this? Shame! I have no other word.".
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Shaked added: "If religious Zionism didn't have 6 mandates, we wouldn't have let this happen. We in the coalition wouldn't have let something like this happen, we fought a bloody war over it.".
""Netanyahu said - you will go to the opposition, be content with the fragments, and I will give the committee for appointing judges to the haredim. This is a disgrace! I very much hope that religious Zionism will be wise next time and see how Netanyahu misled them and how you misled them.".
She addressed the Likud members and said: "The public will not forgive you!""
Shaked confronted MKs Moshe Aboutbol and Yinon Azoulay of Shas, who were outraged by her remarks.
Azoulay exclaimed: "You have the audacity to come here and talk about the Haredim? You know how fair we are to you, we are the ones who care about you.".
At the end of the discussion, by a majority of 59 in favor and 28 against, the position of chairman of the committee for appointing judges passed to the Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Yaakov Avitan.
This broke the status quo that had existed for the past five years, according to which the committee was in the hands of the Likud as a neutral representation - and the committee was chaired by Minister Yuval Steinitz.
