While readers in the Diaspora don’t participate directly in the Israeli electoral process, many are keenly interested in getting a clear account of current political events in Israel’s chareidi camp, especially in light of the fact that there has been a flood of self-serving disinformation on this topic. Permit me, therefore, to shed some light on the current political scene from the vantage point of mainstream chareidi Jewry in Eretz Yisrael.

I’m sure most readers in chutz l’Aretz heard or read something about the municipal elections that took place two months ago in Eretz Yisrael, amid tough rivalry within the chareidi camp. After failing to achieve unity, Agudas Yisrael and Degel HaTorah ran on two separate tickets and fought tooth and nail for every vote. In the heat of the campaign, one leader proclaimed, “Oy va’avoy if we don’t win,” as if the opposing faction’s victory would be a disaster for Eretz Yisrael’s frum communities. Sad to say, there was much bad blood between the two parties — baruch Hashem we’re now past that.

But many of us were worried about what would happen when it came time for the next Knesset elections. Would the chareidi camp remain split in two, and would the fighting, lashon hara, and mudslinging continue? To increase the worry, there was much talk and speculation about the government calling for early elections, and to the surprise of many, early elections have in fact been scheduled for April, sooner than expected. After so much open hostility, how would the two sides ever make peace in time for the next campaign?

But the miracle happened. Galvanized by the pressure of time, the two sides were forced to discuss their common agenda and try to reach a mutual decision, either to run separately once again, with all the spiritual and political risks entailed by machlokes, or to put aside resentment, overcome their differences, and move forward together, which was the baseline wish of the chareidi public. And in contrast to what happened in the previous elections when the two parties managed to hammer out an agreement at the last minute before presenting their lists of candidates, which did nothing to improve the image of the chareidi community or its political representatives, this time they came to an agreement quietly, behind the scenes, without the accompanying leakage of unpleasant stories. We woke up one morning last week to the good news that Agudah and Degel had signed an agreement. Mazel tov.

We don’t know, of course, how many Knesset seats will be won. The polls indicate an increase in representation for United Torah Judaism, but we know that the immediate gain is cleaner air, free of flying debris, and we can certainly hope that working together, with mutual respect and commitment to a shared victory, will bring more success than we’ve seen in the past.

But unfortunately, it’s not that simple. A fierce propaganda campaign against participating in the elections is underway. The propagandists are magnifying the problems faced by the chareidi community to extreme, unrealistic proportions, making it sound like the situation for Torah Jews today is as bad as during the days of the cantonists or the Inquisition. This camp is working aggressively to dissuade people from voting, and instead of strengthening chareidi representation in the government they are seeking to shrink it, perhaps even out of existence.

They deflect the question of the mainstream frum community: “What’s your alternative? To lie down on the roads, obstructing traffic and preventing people from getting home? You’ll achieve nothing that way, except for a few more so-called bnei Torah in jail and a seudas hodayah when they’re released.”

Do they want to go back to the days when Yair Lapid was treasury minister? The damage he caused to chareidi Jewry on all levels was enormous. Most of those wrongs were corrected under the last government, which has just dismantled itself, and the broader chareidi community is incalculably better off now. Can we say everything is perfect? Far from it. But there is no comparison to what the chareidi community suffered while Lapid held the reins.

The stronger our representation in the government, the greater its ability to maneuver. Successes are achievable, as we see from our current chareidi representatives who are ending their term as coalition partners with a sense of satisfaction. True, the question of the draft law is still hanging in the air unresolved, but resolved it will be, with no one dedicated to Torah learning to be forcibly conscripted — because we have the eternally enduring promise that Torah will not be forgotten. The politicians can legislate whatever they want, but they can’t stop Jews from learning Torah.

Regarding the importance of voting, permit me to share the following: Back in the 1980s when Yated Ne’eman was in its first years and I was its editor, we were grappling with the question of how to relate to the Shabbos demonstrations on the Ramot Road led by Neturei Karta. As a chareidi paper, how should we respond to what was going on there, including the rock-throwing at passing vehicles? We went to Rav Shach ztz”l for guidance, and in a sudden burst of emotion, he said, “Zei zennen di emesdiger mechallelei Shabbos! — They are the real Shabbos desecrators!”referring to the demonstrators who were showing the Shabbos Queen to the public in an extremely negative light. Astonished, I asked the Rosh Yeshivah what he meant.

“They could have voted and increased chareidi representation in the city council,” he said, “and this chillul Shabbos might have been prevented.”

In other words, in Rav Shach’s opinion, not voting was tantamount to bearing a share of the responsibility for the chillul Shabbos. The same line of thought clearly applies to the Knesset elections. Failing to vote means indirectly taking part in all the sins that could have been prevented had there been more frum representatives among the lawmakers. One survey indicated that the number of people boycotting the elections is nearly equivalent to two mandates. That means that the chareidi public loses two potential Knesset members because of the boycotters. Imagine nine UTJ representatives in the Knesset — that would mean a significant chareidi presence that could have a real chance at achieving change.

To clarify, the “boycotters” I’m referring to are not the followers of the Satmar Rebbe ztz”l, who prohibited participating in the elections altogether. Today’s election opposers grew up in mainstream circles and are aware of the position of their rabbanim regarding elections. Still, somehow they’re overcome by the yetzer of divisiveness, for which we all pay the price. As for their attempt to attribute their stance to gedolei Yisrael such as the Chazon Ish ztz”l, this is spurious. Back in the days when there were many small chareidi parties, the Chazon Ish told those who came to ask him that it didn’t matter which party they voted for, as long as it stood for Torah and mitzvos. The important thing, he said, was that when all the votes were counted up, everyone would see for themselves how many Jews in Eretz Yisrael wanted life run according to the Shulchan Aruch, and that was why every vote mattered.

This is just a brief outline, geared to correct a surge of anti-election propaganda that has reached the shores of chutz l’Aretz, for the benefit of those who really want to know where our gedolim, past and present, have stood.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 746)