
Minister of Internal Affairs Ayelet Shaked responded Wednesday to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s call Tuesday to limit haredi political influence.
Speaking at The Jerusalem Post 10th Annual Conference Tuesday morning, Bennett said Israeli society is composed of three broad political forces or “vectors”, arguing that all three have important roles to play in the Jewish state.
“We need all three vectors,” said Bennett, delineating the groups as the national-Right, the humanist Left, and the traditionalist Orthodox segment of the population.
Bennett called for “real dialogue” between the three groups, but also argued that the traditionalist haredi Orthodox bloc has too much influence on Israeli politics, and should have its influence curtailed.
“There needs to be real dialogue. Not only talking but also a novel thing in Israel: listening.”
Speaking to the Knesset’s Finance Committee Wednesday afternoon, Shaked said:
“The haredi public is very important in the State of Israel. The haredim are an integral part of the State of Israel and they should also be part of the Zionist effort to settle the Negev. The potential for growth in the country will come from integrating the haredim into the labor force. My brother has a high-tech company, he employs a lot of haredim, and this practice can grow.”
Shaked also addressed the new protocol that may replace the law to prevent family reunification. “Unfortunately the law fell because the opposition voted against it. I am preparing a protocol that will replace the law. This protocol will also include individual security checks and when the protocol is published and begins to take effect then we will start checking the applications for family reunification. They are currently not reviewed because we are still waiting for the protocol.”
“After the budget passes, I intend to pass the Family Reunification Act in a version that passed 18 years ago and was a good law. The agreements with Meretz are not related to the law and I intend to pass it in the same wording as 18 years ago.” Shaked clarified in response to questions from MKs Rothman and Kish.
“There is no schedule for formulating the procedure, we are working on it, it could take several months.”
Shaked was also asked about the government’s intention to establish Bedouin sites in the Negev and said that this was a decision made by Netanyahu’s government. ” The previous government decision for three Bedouin areas in the Negev is the one that entered into the coalition agreement and is the one that will be brought to the government’s approval. The proposal will be inspected by the new government.” Shaked said.
Source: Arutz Sheva