Israel votes to define new government, with religion at the center of debate

By Guilhem Delteil.

In April, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now looking to continue to lead the government of Israel, failed to form a coalition. The reason for his failure was the rejection of another right-wing politician, Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the Israeli Beiteinu list and opposes the greater weight of the Orthodox, after long years of religious participation in coalitions. official.

This time, relations between state and religion have become a campaign problem. And when the candidates in the parliamentary elections debate this issue, they discuss the implementation of public transport on the day of Shabbat (Weekly rest day in the Jewish religion) and establish a civil marriage. Who are left or right, parties attempt to challenge the status quo established during the creation of the country.

However, this rejection of religious rules could push believers to join forces, said Rananel Cohen, an ultra-Orthodox living in Tiberias in the north of the country. "I think every Jewish believer will vote for a match that looks like. Many practitioners have already voted for religious parties, but today this trend has increased, "he said.

Traditionally, ultra-Orthodox are more mobilized than other communities. The importance of religious issues in the current debate could increase their participation. Even if your matches they go back to the banks of the oppositionShuki Friedman, director of the "Nation, State and Religion" center of the Israel Institute for Democracy, could maintain their political weight.

"What we saw in 2013," Friedman said, "is that Netanyahu and the other parties were aware that they might need an ultra-Orthodox in a future government." Netanyahu preferred not to touch hot topics ". Since the beginning of the 80s, the ultra-Orthodox parties constituted the majority of Israeli governments.