An editorial in the haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman has continued its sharp criticism of right-wing parties over the proposed military draft legislation, declaring that the haredi public belongs neither to the right-wing bloc nor to the opposition's "change bloc."
The editorial marks another step in preparing haredi readers for the possibility of a political realignment that could include figures such as Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Liberman, Naftali Bennett and Yair Golan.
Published under the headline "We are not looking for a political home. Our only home is the study hall!", the article delivers an unequivocal rejection of the haredi community's traditional identification with the political right.
"At a moment of truth, the right, too, agreed to harm the Torah world for the sake of remaining in power. The time has come to state things as they are, without embellishment or hesitation: We are not right-wing! Neither right nor left! The right is not part of our household, and the left is not excluded! The haredi public has decided to go its own way - does the right feel it? When did we agree to let a secular political bloc appropriate the Torah world for its political needs? The right is no better than the left in any respect, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood," they write.
"We are neither a right-wing bloc nor a left-wing bloc. We have no such concepts as a 'right-wing bloc' or a 'change bloc'. There is only one bloc: the Torah bloc. The haredi public and its representatives do not belong to any secular political camp. So do not threaten us, do not lecture us, and we owe you no explanation or answer. Do not try to present yourselves as the masters and patrons of the community of Torah students. We owe you no explanations about our loyalty, because our loyalty was never yours to begin with, and you had no loyalty to us," the editorial states.
"The leading Torah sages are handling the current issue to save the Torah world and ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people, guided by their Torah judgment - a struggle in which you played no part," the authors write.