In the past half year alone, Avigdor Lieberman has called the ultra-Orthodox extortionists, swindlers and extremists; he has accused them of trying to institute halachic country run by Jewish law; he has labeled their demands "complete madness;" and has compared them to Hamas and the rabbinate to the Inquisition. On Saturday night he also vowed to keep them out of the next coalition. The haredim also admit that Lieberman has replaced Yair Lapid as the residential "boogeyman," inciting, slandering, undermining and causing them unprecedented public harm.
When it comes to Lapid, however, we've seen a barrage of harsh commentary, warnings, mocking caricatures, comparisons to Haman, Pharaoh and Ahmadinejad; but with Lieberman the attacks are much softer. Why? Because of the haredi Catch-22.
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For several long months until the Knesset was dissolved, the haredim claimed, mostly behind closed doors, that although Lieberman was verbally assailing them he would stand by their side in the moment of truth. He had sat with them in the previous government, which was beneficial for them, they argued; his people on the various Knesset committees had voted in favor of increased budgets for the haredim; and in the Jerusalem mayoral race, for example, both sides even operated a joint headquarters to help ensure Moshe Lion's victory.
The haredim's attitude toward Lieberman changed once the Knesset dissolved. They are angrier, mostly disappointed, and aren't sparing harsh criticism; but also know that any attack against Lieberman will first and foremost help and strengthen him among his constituency. And secondly, they still aren't sure that they can say definitively "we won't sit with him in the next government." They can't afford to completely burn bridges.
The emerging plan, Israel Hayom is the first to report, which includes embracing and giving thanks and acknowledgement to Lieberman for his work alongside the haredim over the years, can be quite damaging to Lieberman. This does more than burst the balloon of the person "fighting the haredim." It also exposes the lies and zig-zagging and undermines the public image that Lieberman is trying to foster.
Not incidentally, Lieberman is doing everything that is off-putting and bad about politics. He is inflaming hatred and polarization among the people. In a normal country, a person vowing to "handle" a minority of the population would be spewed and banished from public service.
Take Lieberman's comments, replace "haredim" with "Ethiopians," and think what Lieberman would deserve – more mandates or an investigation over incitement.
