Lieberman quits Foreign Ministry, won't join Netanyahu government

[geek tragedy]

http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/1.654896

Avigdor Lieberman announced Monday that he will be quitting his post as foreign minister, and that his Yisrael Beiteinu party will not be part of the next government.

Speaking at a press conference three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's deadline for forming a coalition, Lieberman said the government in the process of being formed "is the embodiment of opportunism."

"This coalition does not reflect the positions of the Zionist camp, and it is not to our taste, to say the least," Lieberman said, adding that there was plenty the party could do from the opposition benches.

He cited the controversial Jewish nation-state bill, which defines Jewishness as the default nature of the country whenever it clashes with Israel's democratic character. Lieberman complained the bill had fallen off the agenda for the current Knesset, which was voted in on March 17, and also said the government being formed has "no intention of overthrowing the Hamas regime."

Fun times ahead.

[eloydude]

1. Guarantees a ZU attempt to form it this week.

I'll bet they'll form it within a minute

[oberliner]

3. No it doesn't

Netanyahu's coalition is still enough without Lieberman (he has 61 exactly).

[karynnj]

4. Not to mention it now allows Netanyahu to give Bennett the foreign minister position

to make him happy --- unless Netanyahu REALLY wants to work for a two state solution.

What is as disturbing are all the concessions to the ultra Orthodox - essentially rolling back all reforms that Yesh Ativ had pushed.

Leaks from the coalition agreement signed last week between Likud and United Torah Judaism, which has yet to be officially publicized, attest to an unprecedented achievement by UTJ of recognition of the ultra-Orthodox education systems – both in budgetary and legal terms. In effect, UTJ demanded, and apparently received, complete equality between the Haredi and state education systems, although the Haredim do not teach the core curriculum and administer the mandatory exams, are not subject to supervision, offer no formal teacher training and, of course, discriminate between students. If Likud really did approve their demands, it means that a large percentage of Israel’s official educational requirements will be emptied of content.
<snip>
“Forget about the money,” said Piron. “The serious problem with the coalition agreement is bringing about a cultural change in the State of Israel by means of a political agreement – a change in conversion, burial, marriage, the status of the religious courts, the status of the Haredi schools. By means of a political situation they are changing the face of the nation. I think that in two to three years the Haredi community will realize the extent of the mistake it is now making: This is an exaggerated, almost swinish list of demands, which undermines the Jewish identity of the State of Israel and will therefore cause the secular community to rise up against it. What’s more, all the positive processes that have begun in the Haredi community will be nipped in the bud.”
<snip>
An additional demand that was accepted is to require local authorities to carry out construction in ultra-Orthodox schools at their expense (the “Nahari Law”) – once again this overturns the distinction between an official and an unofficial school. Another demand is to resume payment of a guaranteed income to yeshiva students, although the High Court of Justice ruled that this is discrimination since college and university students are not eligible for similar support.
<snip>
The agreement apparently also includes renewed funding for Haredim from abroad studying in Israeli yeshivas. Piron says this is absurd, because the Haredim have begun to bring yeshiva students from abroad to Israel, with full government financing, under the conditions of the Taglit-Birthright project. This amounts to an annual budget of 100 million shekels ($27.5 million), a third of which goes to one yeshiva, the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.654763

All this - which has a major impact on where money will be spent and on many cultural issues including the status of all non Orthodox Jews -- is done to get those 6 Knesset members -- now needed because they are part of the 61 needed.

Even though the electorate moved slightly to the left if you look at the size of the blocks, this will be a government where the ultra orthodox will hold the power to bring down the government. (Consider that the "centrists" included in this right wing coalition are a Likud splinter group!) Given that ANY group can bring down the government by leaving, this can't be all that stable - especially given some obvious controversy in agreements made. (Just reading this article, it is hard to see how any efforts on the economy can work with the huge give aways to the Haredim.

[oberliner]

5. Wow

That sounds pretty awful.

[Scootaloo]

2. Wait, so there's a Zionist Camp, along with the Zionist Union?

What next, a Zionist Front to go with the Zionist Putsch and a Zionist Coalition on the side?

It's like watching college socialists try to organize on multiple campuses.

[Little Tich]

6. I'm almost sad to see him go.

His antics are legendary, and I think that Israel will never have a worse Foreign Minister, even though I suspect they will keep on trying.