Several Orthodox MKs have vowed to boycott Reform Rabbi Gilad Kariv if, as appears likely, he enters the Knesset with the center-left Labor party in next month’s general election.
The religious lawmakers ruled out any coalition with Labor because of Kariv, branding his stream of Judaism a dangerous cult, and some said he will not be considered as part of a minyan in the Knesset synagogue.
Representatives from Shas, United Torah Judaism and the Religious Zionist party told Zman Yisrael, that Kariv follows a distorted religion that seeks to destroy the foundations of Judaism. They said cooperation with Kariv, who is the director of the Israeli Reform Movement, is forbidden and that any contact with him is dangerous.
“Torah Judaism can’t tolerate all sorts of cults and faiths that aren’t connected to the pure Judaism of Shulchan Aruch,” Shas MK Moshe Abutbul said.
He added: “There are all kinds of clownish religions from abroad and now the Labor Party decided to bring them here. We won’t cooperate with these type of people who are destroying traditional Judaism.”
Fellow Shas MK Michael Malchieli said the party won’t be part of a coalition with Kariv.
“If he wants to sit with us [in a coalition] he must agree to our platform, which is based on connection to the tradition that we have been maintaining for 3,000 years,” Malchieli said.
If elected — as appears likely as he is fourth on Labor’s electoral slate — Kariv will be the first Reform rabbi to serve in the Knesset, a prospect that has triggered fierce emotions.
“For us he is even worse than Yair Lapid, [Avigdor] Liberman or Amir Ohana, who we had a problem with,” the senior UTJ MK said.
Other religious politicians have also recently come out against Reform Judaism, including Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionist slate.
“We need to make sure that we do not give formal recognition to all kinds of streams that are not part of Judaism, one can love, one can embrace, one can feel responsibility for all the people of Israel. In the State of Israel, we cannot give a foothold to the distortions of Judaism.” he said.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who heads Shas, said last week at the B’Sheva Jerusalem Conference that, because of Kariv, right-wing party chiefs Gideon Sa’ar and Naftali Bennett must rule out forming a “blocking bloc” with Labor to prevent Netanyahu’s right-wing religious alliance from building a majority coalition.
“Labor has become worse than Meretz. It put a Reform rabbi there as number four. Unfortunately, the rabbi is pursuing everything connected to traditional Judaism and the status quo. Will they make a single bloc with [Labor] to block Netanyahu?” Deri said.
The Shas leader also vowed a right-wing government that includes Sa’ar’s New Hope would be formed after the elections. Sa’ar, a former Likud minister, has said he plans to replace Netanyahu and has ruled out joining a coalition with him.
Kariv, who recently called for a “new deal” with Israel’s Haredi community, said the comments by the Orthodox lawmakers hostile to Reform Judaism and to him underlined the importance of his likely election to the Knesset. Kariv also predicted efforts to shun him wouldn’t last long.
“In light of the fact that Shas representatives and recently also representatives of Ashkenazi Charedi Judaism sat shoulder to shoulder with me on the board of the World Zionist Organization, and the fact that Deri and [UTJ MK Moshe] Gafni were full partners in the negotiations on the matter of the Western Wall, I have no doubt that slowly they’ll learn to argue with me instead of boycotting me,” he said.
