As if the coalition instability weren't enough, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has to do battle with some of his most loyal coalition partners, the Haredi factions.
In the past day or so, Haredi MKs have been speaking angrily about Netanyahu in closed talks. The past two weeks have seen them moving closer to Blue and White leader and Prime Minister-designate Benny Gantz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and Justice Minister Avi Nissenkoren. The Haredi parties feel that Netanyahu is not behaving transparently toward Blue and White, and putting the stability of the government at risk.
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On Wednesday, the Haredi parties' anger reached a new peak after the Likud decided to vote in favor of a proposal from MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) to establish a committee to probe conflicts of interests involving judges, while ignoring Blue and White's objection.
"There is a positive new axis with Benn Gantz," officials in United Torah Judaism said.
"Things are working. It started with meetings about the budget and is continuing with agreement and backing on issues like [the operation of] yeshivas and synagogues during the corona crisis."
Representatives of UTJ said that the Ministerial Committee on Legislation had approved bills from a number of Haredi lawmakers, including Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni.
The UTJ officials said that Gafni and Shas leader Arye Deri had recently been speaking about Gantz with warmth they had not expressed about Netanyahu "in the past 10 years."
"All of a sudden, you hear things like, 'He's lost it.' The Haredi public is in serious trouble. As much as everyone is suffering from the coronavirus crisis, the Haredim are suffering even more. There is a feeling that Netanyahu's conduct isn't stabilizing the government -- the opposite," the UTJ officials said.
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