Speaking at the opening of the toeiva parade held in Yerushalayim on Thursday, Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid pledged Thursday that the next government would pass legislation recognizing toeiva marriage within its first 100 days.

Lapid, a longtime antagonist of frum Israelis, told the crowd that under the next government, all couples would be “equal before the law,” explicitly including toeiva pairs. “If this government has a problem” with the toeiva community, he declared, “then this government should go home.”

The pledge is a direct assault on the institution of marriage in Eretz Yisroel, where personal status matters have been governed by halacha through the Rabbanut since the founding of the state. There is currently no civil marriage in Israel, and the status quo on these matters has been a red line for the chareidi parties in every coalition negotiation for decades.

An estimated 10,000 people participated in the parade, which this year deliberately routed past the Supreme Court and the Knesset, with organizers stating openly that their goal is legislative change. The event was held during an election season, and organizers acknowledged the timing was meant to pressure politicians.

The threat is compounded by Lapid’s new political partnership. In April, he and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launched a joint party, and Bennett has stated that a government under his leadership would advance both toeiva marriage and civil marriage. The pairing of Lapid, who built his career on attacking lomdei Torah and the chareidi tzibbur, with Bennett, who previously partnered with him in the government that targeted yeshiva budgets and drafted gezeiros against bnei Torah, signals that the religious status quo would be under immediate attack should they come to power.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)