Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir announced yesterday that his party would support postponing the municipal elections to February. In doing so, he joined the stubborn struggle of Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich to postpone the elections because of the war.
This position was joined – some would say surprisingly – also by members of Torah Judaism. While Ben-Gvir has candidates in the reserves, and Smotrich has more than 60 percent of the officials in the local authorities who are in the reserves, with Torah Judaism, almost no one serves in the reserves. But the story is different: throughout the country, representatives of the two factions – the Ashkenazim of Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah – are contending against each other. The last thing party representatives want in wartime is a situation in which haredim attack haredim as if there is no Gaza.
If there will be consensus. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Yesterday, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri also announced that if there is a majority in the Interior Committee, Shas will also support postponing the elections. Despite all this, it is not certain that the elections will be postponed. According to the law, an ordinary majority in the Interior Committee is not enough, but a two-thirds majority. Most of the opposition factions have not yet announced their position, and although this is a matter of principle, of democracy and the value of recruitment to the IDF, the State Camp, Yesh Atid, the Labor Party, Yisrael Beiteinu and all the others prefer to fill their mouths with water.
Not only that, but no agreement was reached in the coalition either. The Likud, under pressure from the incumbent mayors, is not interested in postponing the elections. With the exception of a handful of MKs such as Moshe Saada and Tali Gottlieb, the rest do not speak out on the matter. The new date being promoted is February 27 – a one-month delay from the date set by the interior minister. According to the Justice Department's directive, a delay beyond February must lead to the reopening of candidate lists, which means for mayors a shuffle of cards.
At the same time as what appears to be a softening of the position of the ultra-Orthodox factions regarding the date of the elections, the Ministry of Finance is announcing the cancellation of the planned tax on sugary drinks. Which immediately led to speculation that this was an ultra-Orthodox-Religious Zionism deal.
But this is not the case. At the outset, Aryeh Deri announced that the issue of sugary drinks should be examined in light of Health Ministry data, which indicate that the medical damage to the ultra-Orthodox sector is the greatest. In Deri's opinion, taxation on non-diet or zero drinks could be considered.
At the same time, Smotrich says there was no intention to impose this tax in the first place. These are work plans by the Ministry of Finance for the 2024 budget, which are currently being worked on, but this has not been approved by the minister or in any other forum in the ministry.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Photo: Haim Goldberg/Flash90
After all this – the tax cut, Deri's clarification in favor of postponing the elections, and the rumors of a deal between the sides – Minister Arbel came and poured cold water on everyone's heads. He is not willing to move the elections, and is not willing to support any government legislation that would regulate this. An official statement was issued today with an unequivocal statement: "The elections will be held on January 30."
It seems that the only one who can change the date is the Prime Minister. Netanyahu, at least for now, has not spoken out or said anything on the subject. Smotrich intends to demand a discussion at the upcoming meeting of coalition leaders and make a decision. Despite the opposition of the interior minister and others, the arguments in favor of the postponement are significant and weighty, and it is hard to believe that a different decision can be made, even though at the moment the political data show a completely different result.
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