ZE'EV CHAFETS
Israel Correspondent
T
his week, thousands of
pilgrims gathered in
the Negev town of
Netivot to pay homage to the
memory of the venerated
Moroccan rabbi, the Baba
Sall. Among them were
many Israeli senior leaders
of the Labor party, including
deputy prime minister Yit-
zhak Navon. But Likud chief
Yitzhak Shamir, who has at-
tended the annual ceremony
in the past, was conspicuous-
ly absent.
Shamir stayed away after
Baruch Abu Hatzira, the son
and heir of the Baba Sali,
declared his willingness to
negotiate with the PLO.
"Shamir had said that he
would talk to the devil in
order to make peace," said
Abu Hatzira. "If that's so,
we should certainly be
prepared to talk to the PLO.
It's time we began dealing
with the subject of making
peace seriously."
Rabbi Abu Hatzira, whose
cousin, Ahron, is a Likud
member of Knesset, claims
that his call for peace talks
with the PLO was motivated
by religious, not political,
considerations. But in Israel,
where the line between state
and synagogue is non-
existent, Abu Hatzira's
declaration is being seen as
another sign that Israel's
Orthodox leadership, allied
with the Likud since the
mid-seventies, is moving in a
dovish direction.
The trend became
noticeable last summer
when Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,
spiritual leader of the Shas
Party, met with Egypt's
President Husni Mubarak
and declared that he would
be willing to return occupied
territory in exchange for
peace. Rabbi Yosef based his
position on the concept of
pikuach nefesh, the talmudic
term for the preservation of
life. Rabbi Yosef's stand was
buttressed by Rabbi Eliazer
Shach, leader of the Degel
HaTorah Party, who joined
in calling for compromise.
Shas, which has six mem-
bers in the 120 member
Knesset, is currently a ju-
nior partner in Israel's
Government of National
Unity. Degal HaTorah, with
two Members of Knesset, is
not a member of the ruling
coalition.
Another religious party,
the Orthodox Agudat
Yisrael, recently left the
Peres's finance ministry has generously supported Orthodox parties.
Peres Is Seen Wooin
Orthodox Leaders
The Labor Party leader appears to be working on
a narrow, Labor-led coalition with several
religious parties.
government amid charges
that Shamir has failed to
keep promises made follow-
ing the 1988 election, in-
cluding a commitment to act
on the Who is a Jew issue.
Following the election,
Shamir told Agudat Yisrael
that he would support a
change in the definition of
Jewishness that would ex-
clude non-Orthodox conver-
sions, but backed away from
the pledge because of stiff
pressure from American
Jewish leaders.
The defection of Aguda,
coupled with the dovish
tendencies of the rabbinical
leaders of Shas and Degal
HaTorah, has opened the
way for speculation that
Shimon Peres might be able
to set up a Labor-led coali-
tion with the Orthodox. "As
things stand now, Peres has
an assured 55 votes," said a
Likud member of Knesset.
"If he can get Shas and
Degel Hatorah, that will
give him 63." Sixty one
votes in the Knesset are
necessary to establish a
government.
Labor has been working
hard to court its potential
Orthodox partners. During
his recent visit to Egypt,
Peres raised the issue of
the Cairo Jewish cemetery
with President Mubarak.
The cemetery, threatened
because of a construction
project, is a special concern
of Rabbi Yosef, the former
Sephardic Chief Rabbi.
The Finance Ministry,
Smith also believes
that some Shas
voters, normally
considered
hawkish, are now
moving away from
the Likud.
headed by Peres, has also
been generous in its support
of the Orthodox parties. The
Ministry has proposed an
allotment of $50 million
dollars to schools and in-
stitutions affiliated with
ultra-Orthodox parties; last
year, those parties received
about $30 million dollars. In
a television interview,
Peres' deputy, Yossi Beillen,
defended this policy, saying
that Orthodox institutions
have not been receiving a
fair share of government fi-
nancial aid.
Labor leaders have made a
special effort to woo Interior
Minister Arye De'eri, a
leader of the Shas Party.
De'eri, who is a dove on
security matters, recently
told an interviewer that "it
is obvious that we are closer
to the Labor Party than to
the Likud." There has been
widespread speculation that
De'eri, who has won plaudits
for his handling of the
Interior Ministry, might be
given the job of Finance
Minister in a Labor-led
government.
Not all Orthodox politi-
cians are enthusiastic about
leaving the present
Government of National
Unity. The hawkish Nation-
al Religious Party, which
has five members in the
Knesset, would be unlikely
to join a Labor government.
And this week, Rabbi Yit-
zhak Peretz of Shas, a rival
of De'eri's, said that he
favored maintaining the sta-
tus quo. Peretz also noted,
however, that the ultimate
decision regarding the par-
ty's future would be made by
its rabbinical leadership,
particularly Ovadia Yosef.
Degal HaTorah and Agudat
Yisrael are similarly bound
by the decisions of their rab-
binical authorities.
Should the rabbis con-
template a Labor-Orthodox
coalition, it will be made
easier by the virtual disap-
pearance of the Who Is a Jew
issue which, in the past, has
been a major point of conten-
tion. The religious parties
are still committed to a
change in the law, but they
are no longer actively pursu-
ing it. "I would never say
this publicly," said an Or-
thodox politician, "but the
truth is, right now we des-
perately need American
Jewish money to settle the
Soviet immigrants. And as
long as we do, it's unrealistic
to talk about changing the
law."
Another stumbling block
for a Labor-Orthodox coali-
tion has traditionally been
the hawkish outlook of the
religious grass roots voters.
There are, however, indica-
tions that this may be
changing. "The rabbis have
been ahead of the people on
this," says political analyst
and pollster Chanoch Smith.
"Among ultra-Orthodox
voters of the Degal HaTorah-
Agudat Yisrael type, there
still isn't much enthusiasm
for Labor, but there is less
support for the Likud. They
are moving in the direction
of neutrality." Smith also
believes that some Shas
voters, normally considered
hawkish, are now moving
away from the Likud.
Paradoxically, this left-
ward trend may, in the short
term, strengthen Yitzhak
Shamir. The Prime Minister
is facing a challenge in his
own party from rivals Ariel
Sharon and David Levy, who
claim that his peace plan
threatens Israeli control
over Judea and Samaria.
Shamir argues that any at-
tempt to derail the plan
could cause Labor to leave
the present government and
establish a coalition with the
left-leaning rabbis.
The Orthodox parties and
leaders are clearly aware of
the power they have to make
or break governments. An
indication of the new mood
of confidence came when
Rabbi Baruch Hatzira
learned that Prime Minister
Shamir would boycott the
ceremony in Netivot. "The
loss," said the rabbi, "will be
entirely his." ❑
THE DFTROILIFWISH NFINR 39