Hareidi religious Jew builds outpost
Hareidi religious Jew builds outpostIsrael news photo: Flash 90

An anti-building freeze movement in the hareidi religious community is gathering signatures on a petition that calls on their Knesset Members to bolt the coalition if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu extends the temporary building freeze that expires September 26.

The freeze has become the focal point of the Palestinian Authority's strategy to blame Israel for failure in the American efforts to revive direct talks with Israel for the establishment of a PA state in the same areas where the freeze is in effect.

Rabbi David Stern, spokesman for the "Hareidim For Judea and Samaria" organization, told Arutz 7 that if the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party's six MKs make it clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu they will not tolerate an extension of the freeze, the message “will be clear to Obama.”

The Jewish Home, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas parties, as well as several MKs from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s own Likud party, have dug in their heels in favor of renewal of construction for Jews in Judea and Samaria. The Prime Minister, if faced without any allies except for the 13-member Labor party, would be forced to ask the center-left Kadima party to join the government, a prospect that would likely leave him unpopular on both sides of the political fence.

“If the government freezes even one community, we will present the petition to the MKs, some of whom already back us,” said Rabbi Stern.

The hareidi religious community traditionally has not been actively involved in Judea and Samaria, but Rabbi Stern said his organization began three years ago to bring yeshiva students, including married adults, to visit Jewish towns in the area.

Projects initially were confined to touring Judea and Samaria during the few weeks a year when there is a break from organized yeshiva Torah studies. He said that the hareidi religious community knows northern Israel thoroughly because it is a popular region during vacations. “The community does not know the heritage and Biblical history of Judea and Samaria,” he added.

“Reaching the communities in Judea and Samaria has helped hareidi religious Jews identify with them,” according to Rabbi Stern. “Their opinions have changed following their visits, and now they are against surrendering land for terrorists.”

He said a key towards gathering support for Judea and Samaria was the recent establishment of an outpost community near the hareidi religious community of Kiryat Sefer, located near Modi’in between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Shas Sephardic religious party MK Nissim Ze’ev said that support for the outpost resulted in new projects for the hareidi religious community in Judea and Samaria, according to Rabbi Stern. He noted that more than 5,000 couples from the community marry every year, creating a demand for new housing.

The UTJ has not taken an official position on the freeze, but Rabbi Stern said opposition to the extension is backed by party MKs Moshe Gafni, Meir Porush and Menachem Moses.

On the economic front, the hareidi religious community was warmly praised by Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer (pictured) in a speech at an economic conference Monday. “We are in the Land of Israel because of the efforts of the hareidi and religious” communities, he said in remarks that helped tone down criticism he expressed at last week’s World Jewish Congress convention.

He told the Congress that not enough hareidi Jews are joining the ranks of the employed, and he called on the Israeli community at large to find a common denominator with the hareidim.

In his speech on Monday, Fischer called on the Israeli society to “find a common denominator” with religious communities.