This has been a very difficult year for the ultra-Orthodox public and especially for Haredi lawmakers.
The coronavirus pandemic hit the sector mercilessly. Lockdown stuck large families in small houses, yeshiva students roamed the streets aimlessly and some have strayed from the righteous path. And if that was not enough, animosity toward the ultra-Orthodox public reached new heights over its constant flouting of public health directives.
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Lockdown policies affected religious practices, the Haredim were livid, and the ultra-Orthodox MKs were in the eye of the storm but were helpless to defend themselves as constituents' rage grew.
When Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich stepped in as the alternative he dragged the ultra-Orthodox parties into the election campaign battered and bruised. Haredi voters were angry and election-weary angry and the danger of losing seats to the Religious Zionist Party was very real.
Then came Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman.
Lieberman mounted the most egregious anti-Haredi campaign ever seen in Israel. He claimed the ultra-Orthodox were extortionists, parasites and that they were making a mockery of Netanyahu, and he promised to deprive them of budgets. He even went the extra mile by saying that Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox should be heaped together – in the trash.
Lieberman kept going on Election Day, warning voters that the Haredim were rushing to the polls "in drove" – and this all took place in the Jewish state. Were he be doing this in Europe, his outrageous remarks would earn nothing but condemnation; but in Israel, he maintained his power, winning six seats.
Lieberman may have fanned the flames tearing secular and Orthodox Israelis apart, but he inadvertently saved the ultra-Orthodox parties' campaigns. If nothing else, Haredi voters rallied around their leaders to ward off a common enemy.
Shas and United Torah Judaism made it clear to their supporters that not voting on March 23 was akin to voting for Lieberman. Add to that the High Court of Justice's ruling ordering the state to recognize non-Orthodox conversions, and a few anti-Haredi remarks by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and you have the answer to the question of how the ultra-Orthodox parties kept their power in parliament.
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