'Hope is a political choice': MK Gilad Kariv on the fight for democracy and Reform Judaism in Netanyahu’s wartime Israel

Religious extremism and intolerance of liberal Judaism has spread from the ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalist parties into the mainstream of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, MK Gilad Kariv said on the Haaretz Podcast.

“This is not the Likud that we knew 10 or 20 years ago,” he said. “Any attempt to differentiate the Likud from the Israeli extreme religious right is a false attempt.”

Kariv, a rabbi and former leader of Israel’s Reform movement, is a member of the Democrats Party. He spoke to podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer shortly after he was ejected from a Knesset committee when he dared to mention that his daughter prays with tefillin –  the leather scrolls and straps that Jews wrap around themselves in prayer.

Galit Distel Atbaryan, the Likud member presiding over the session told Kariv, “If you conduct a bar mitzvah for a dog, I will come and celebrate.” She then ordered that the “Reform man” be removed because “The Jews here want to continue.”

Kariv also discussed growing concerns that Israel’s next election may not be fully democratic, pointing to calls in Netanyahu’s camp to disqualify Arab parties and weaken judicial oversight. 

“We have real reasons to suspect that they may not cancel the elections or physically prevent people from voting, but they have many other tools. The only solution to this danger is to make sure that our political camp is extremely proactive in preventing the use of these tactics.”

Kariv rejected the idea that it was Netanyahu’s political skills that had helped him stave off threats by the ultra-Orthodox parties – namely, that they would dissolve his coalition if Netanyahu did not pass legislation exempting them from military service. 

“If you don't have principles and you're willing to do whatever it takes in order to survive, it doesn't demand political wisdom.”

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