Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers have never been shy about using the term "incitement" in response to statements by those trying to undermine their political power.
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Take for instance a remark by Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who in March said that he would not cooperate with Haredi MKs, as they should be relegated "to the nearest dumpster."
The statement sparked a political firestorm, with United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler saying that Lieberman "has crossed the line from mere racism to making an actual, life-threatening statement," and then-UTJ leader Yakov Litzman saying Lieberman had "lost his mind."
This righteous indignation did little to stop current United Torah Judaism leader Moshe Gafni from calling Prime Minister Naftali Bennett "a killer" on Wednesday, during a discussion on the government's handling of the coronavirus resurgence.
"Those who are now dying from the coronavirus – that's Naftali Bennett's doing, he's killing them. People are dying because of him," Gafni lashed out. Ironically, it was Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi, who chaired the session, who made Gafni tone down the rhetoric. If that's no a sign that things have crossed a red line I'm not sure what is.
This joined other verbal gems by Gafni, who also called the Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana "Antiochus" and accused him of "destroying Judaism" over his plans to strip the Chief Rabbinate of its monopoly on kashrut supervision.
Kahana's proposed reform may be controversial but it hardly lands him on the same level as Antiochus, the Hellenistic king who captured Jerusalem in 167 BCE and desecrated the Temple by sacrificing a pig on an altar to Zeus. Unless, of course, you're a UTJ lawmaker who sees them as one and the same.
It seems ultra-Orthodox MKs have fallen in love with the role in the opposition and are competing over who will lambaste the coalition the harshest to generate headlines.
Gafni, of course, is only one example. Shas MK Yinon Azulai stated that Kahana's impending kashrut reform is "something even the greatest religion-haters haven't dared to pursue." Really? Isn't that taking things a tad far?
Naturally, not every statement by a Haredi MK is inflammatory or even exaggerated, and it is certainly legitimate and appropriate for the opposition to be belligerent. Such rhetoric is part of the political game and it's good that Haredi MKs decry what they see as unjust.
However, some MKs – and chiefly Gafni – have proven that they are willing to sink to new lows to attack the government. Exaggerations are part of the political game but castigations the likes of which United Torah Judaism's leader hurled at the prime minister even made some Haredi lawmakers uncomfortable.
Dear ultra-Orthodox MKs - have you gone mad? Criticize, get angry, but keep things in proportions. Bennett is not "a killer" nor is Kahana akin to Antiochus. Your criticism of the coalition shouldn't be turning Lieberman's harsh words into something that barely registers as an insult. You can fight your perceived without wheeling our most basic values to the nearest dumpster.
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