The government will convene on Monday afternoon, in an unusual manner, to discuss the appeal filed by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir against the Urban Rabbis Law. Behind the scenes, it seems that the battle between him and Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri is escalating, and the meeting taking place today in an unusual manner is the result of Minister Deri's demand to withdraw the appeal and promote the law of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Behind the scenes, the juicy details of the battle between the two are revealed, which began last week and escalated on Sunday. Israel Hayom has learned that Ben-Gvir sought to use his veto power to block the law to postpone the elections for the Chief Rabbinate in the Ministerial Committee on Legislation last Sunday, but since it was the government that approved the law, Ben-Gvir had to recalculate his route.
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The minister filed an appeal to the government against another law passed by the Shas Ministerial Committee on Legislation – the Urban Rabbis Law. That is, law against law. The government was supposed to discuss Ben-Gvir's appeal at its weekly meeting yesterday, but he miraculously disappeared. He attended a meeting of coalition leaders before and a ministerial committee that convened afterward, but was absent from the cabinet meeting. The possible outcome was that the appeal would continue to stall Shas probably until next week. Deri was furious, called Netanyahu and demanded that he drop this appeal as soon as possible.
This is how a cabinet meeting was born on Monday as well – fearing that Ben-Gvir would do the same absence, Minister Smotrich filed the same appeal as Ben-Gvir, and it will also be discussed by the government today. So even if Ben-Gvir does not arrive today, the government will consider Smotrich's appeal alternatively and remove it from the agenda. In this way, the traffic jam that Ben-Gvir put on the Shas Rabbinic Law will be released, which was intended to cause Deri a headache and came to Zion Goel.
Another political battle? (Archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
At the cabinet meeting, if Ben-Gvir finally arrives, another political battle is likely to be expected over Deri's decision to postpone the elections for the Chief Rabbinate, despite the opposition of Minister Ben-Gvir, who has become an interested party in recent weeks. Apart from the two appeals and the battle between the two party leaders, the government will also approve the appointment of the director general of Minister Regev Moshe Ben-Zaken's office, which received the approval of the Commission yesterday.
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