Elections 5787

As we enter the year 5787, it is time to make a reckoning of the year 5786. Even if we don’t make a full accounting of our actions and derive lessons for the future, we should at least remind ourselves of everything that we experienced over the past year. Many miracles have been performed for us; we need only remember the times we spent in our bomb shelters and safe rooms, listening to the wailing sirens and hearing the sounds of impacts and explosions. The Israeli offensives against Iran resulted in no fatalities, which the experts asserted was completely miraculous. And there is more: President Trump defied many of his advisers and public relations strategists to help Israel in its battle against Iran’s nuclear program. There was certainly nothing natural about that. Looking further back into the past, the success of Israel’s beeper operation against Hezbollah could never have been predicted or explained by rational means. This was an extremely sophisticated ploy that entailed significant risk, but it succeeded. And the Israeli army has also succeeded in taking out many mass murderers.

We all know that the Ramban teaches us that we must recognize the miracles within nature. But let us not forget to recognize the miracles that are openly miraculous as well.

With so many enemies facing this country across its borders, and with many of them actively scheming to cause harm to us, one would have to be blind to fail to recognize that we are constantly being Divinely spared from tragedy. The parsha of bikkurim illustrates the degree to which a person must show gratitude to the Master of the Universe. And I am not referring to the kindnesses that Hashem performs for every person on an individual basis; I am referring instead to the things that occur on a national level.

Here is one example: Just before Rosh Hashanah, the Shin Bet reported on a serious security threat that it was investigating together with the division of the police force in Yehuda and Shomron. According to the reports, about 12 suspects had been arrested on suspicion of working to establish terror infrastructures and to plan massive terror attacks in several places around the country. In addition to the arrests, substantial quantities of weapons and other destructive materials were seized. It is believed that the suspects were planning to carry out broad-scale terror attacks in several locations and that the security forces managed to prevent a major slaughter. The investigation is still in its early stages, and a gag order has been imposed on most of the details, although the media reported that additional arrests are expected.

Let’s just emphasize the most salient part of that report: It appears that a huge massacre was averted. It is no secret that terrorists often plot to carry out their attacks specifically during or before Jewish holidays, but Hashem saves us from their schemes.

The year 5787 will begin with an election, and we hope that the outcome will be good. It is only natural that elections lead to division and strife, and this comes specifically at a time when we are in need of unity and cohesion. The arba minim, as we know, symbolize the unity of Klal Yisroel. Let us hope that our people will absorb the blessings and kedusha of the sukkah and the accompanying Yom Tov. In fact, the Yom Tov of Sukkos often leads to a display of the hidden virtues of Klal Yisroel, as it demonstrates the degree to which the people thirst for Yiddishkeit. Sukkos appear on porches and in yards throughout the country even in areas that aren’t known for their religious character, attesting to the latent yearning for mitzvos that resides even within our estranged brethren. Let us keep in mind our plea during davening for Hashem to spread His “sukkah of peace” over us and envelop us in His blessings.

5786: A Year of Judicial Persecution

The year 5786 will be remembered as the year when the judicial system declared war on Torah learners. What I find both incredible and tragic is the fact that a man who wears a yarmulke such as Noam Sohlberg added his signature to the court’s deplorable decisions, and sometimes even led the initiatives while others joined him, perpetually tightening the noose around the collective neck of the country’s lomdei Torah. The judges took aim specifically at kollel families, those in which the wife works hard for a living while the husband spends his days toiling in the bais medrash.

To be honest, Sohlberg isn’t the first of his kind. That tragic precedent was already set by Elyokim Rubinstein, who likewise wore a yarmulke. Sometimes, it seems that these people are eager to prove that they are on the “right” side of the hegemony; they forget that at the end of the day (a phrase that seems to be especially popular with judges), the “enlightened” public and its “reasonable” individuals will reject them just as they reject anyone else who wears a yarmulke of any kind.

The chareidi community’s suffering this year at the hands of the Supreme Court judges far exceeded anything that anyone might ever have imagined; however, it seems that there is no limit to their cruelty and callousness. I once encountered Sohlberg in an elevator and I remarked to him, “Did you know that our community considers you an enemy?”

“It saddens me to hear that,” he replied.

In recent days, I have had many more opportunities to see Sohlberg and speak with him. As the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, which operates in the Knesset building, Sohlberg is often present in the building and regularly davens Mincha and Maariv with us in the Knesset shul. At a recent toast to the Central Elections Committee workers in honor of Rosh Hashanah, Sohlberg delivered a speech that would have suited any rov or mashgiach. It is hard for me to understand how a person who can be so compassionate, pleasant, and modest can become like a bulldozer and brutally oppress an entire sector of society without the slightest compassion.

Another major factor in this conflict is the attorney general and her staff, whose function is to serve as the government’s legal advisors but who seem to have no qualms about acting as an opposition within the government. It might have been possible to defend their behavior in certain cases on the grounds that they feel bound by their legal interpretation of the truth. However, their actions become utterly indefensible when 100 percent of their decisions are against the government. That cannot possibly be the product of impartial reasoning; it reeks of bias and hostility. And then there is their unfathomable persecution of lomdei Torah. At the very end of the year 5786, the attorney general and her staff came up with yet another edict directed against the Torah world—a requirement for yeshivos and kollelim to report to the state if there are any “draft evaders” in their institutions. This is utterly insane! And at the very end of the year, they added yet another decree: Even if a chareidi man and his wife are both employed (i.e., the husband does not learn in kollel), they must be denied subsidized day care if the father has the status of a draft evader. Who told the legal department that they should be even crueler than the judges and expand the economic sanctions more and more? There is no question that they are driven by the ancient hatred that came into the world when the Torah was given to Bnei Yisroel at Har Sinai.

Netanyahu Fills Reserved Slots; Eisenkot Compiles a Drab List

Then there is the latest election news: As I told you last week, at 10:00 on Tuesday night, all doubts were removed and all lingering questions were resolved. We now know exactly which parties will be vying for the public’s trust in the election for the 26th Knesset, which will be held on 16 Cheshvan/October 27, 2026. This election, incidentally, is being held on its intended date, unlike the previous elections, which took place early due to the early dissolution of the Knesset.

Let’s begin with a simple statistic: As of now, there are 38 parties competing in the upcoming election. Only about one third of those parties (13 or 14) will pass the electoral threshold, and it is highly likely that some of the parties will withdraw from the race before we go to the polls. At this time, we also know the identity of every candidate in every spot on each party’s list. The electoral threshold stands today at 3.25 percent of the total vote, which works out to about four mandates; there was a time when it was much lower, but then Avigdor Lieberman led the initiative to raise the threshold, hoping that the ploy would succeed in knocking the Arab parties out of the running. Contrary to his expectations, though, the higher threshold turned out to benefit the Arabs, since it forced them to unite and thus to earn more seats in the Knesset.

Let’s move on to some more statistics. There isn’t much that has changed in the Likud party; after their primaries, we already knew exactly which party members would be chosen for realistic spots on the slate. The latest changes primarily involved the reserved spots that were given to Netanyahu, who revealed his choices for those spots at the last possible minute. This, in fact, is typical of Netanyahu, who tends to do everything at the last minute. The first reserved slot was given to Talik Gvili, the mother of Ran Gvili, the slain police officer who was the last deceased hostage to be retrained from Gaza. (You may recall that I informed you a while ago that Netanyahu planned to pick her for one of his spots on the Likud list.) The next reserved slot went to Yaakov Berdugo, the journalist who is closest to the prime minister. Another interesting piece of news from the Likud party is that MK Tally Gottliv transferred to Otzma Yehudit, Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party, with Netanyahu’s encouragement. Many believe that everyone will benefit from this switch: The Likud has been relieved of the presence of Gottliv, a staunch right-wing activist, and her absence might enable the party to earn an additional two or three mandates by attracting more moderate right-wing voters. Meanwhile, her presence in Ben-Gvir’s party might boost his performance in the polls and earn him another mandate or two that might otherwise have been won by Lieberman or Bennett. And those mandates might be the critical ones that tip the scale between a left-wing or right-wing government.

Meanwhile, Gadi Eizenkot’s party, Yashar, surprised everyone with the simple fact that it included no surprises. His list is drab and unexciting; the candidates in realistic positions on the list are Orit Farkash Hakohen, Matan Kahna, Chili Tropper, and Elazar Stern, all of them politicians with fairly mediocre records. Eizenkot has also recruited Yoram Cohen, a former head of the Shin Bet, and Shaul Meridor, who was once a senior figure in the Treasury. Everyone agrees that it isn’t exactly an attractive list, but it is also the only party in the race that seems to pose a threat to the Likud.

Naftoli Bennett’s party, B’Yachad, is even less impressive: It is a union of Bennett, Lapid, and their respective running mates, although most of Yesh Atid’s former members have already jumped ship. There is nothing noteworthy to write about it, except perhaps the fact that Noam Tivon, formerly of Yesh Atid, and Eitan Ginzburg, formerly of Blue and White, have joined the list. Bennett also included a 23-year-old young man on the list who “happens” to be the son of his business partner.

Lieberman, on the other hand, managed to surprise by placing two people from the Moroccan community directly below himself on his party’s list, while he has previously been courting the Russian vote. Another interesting candidate running with Yisroel Beiteinu is Sharon Sharabi, a man who wears a yarmulke and is the brother of former hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were murdered by Hamas, and Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in captivity. The tenth spot on the party’s list is occupied by Dan Illouz, the Knesset member who fought against the draft law while in the Likud party and then defected to Lieberman’s party. Let us hope that he will not be elected and we will be rid of him.

There is also nothing to report about the Democrats, which is a band of leftists (Labor and Meretz party members and Kaplan protestors), most of whom are hostile to Torah and troublemakers for the Jewish people. At first, Yair Golan, the chairman of the Democrats party, promised to include Einav Zangkauer on his list. Zangkauer is the mother of Matan Zangkauer, a hostage in Gaza who returned from captivity alive and well. Golan ultimately reneged on his promise, which cost him a good deal of public approval. For the chareidi community, however, this might be a good thing, since Zangkauer occasionally spoke with great animosity toward religion.

I will not report much about the Arab parties, since their internal affairs are not of much interest to our community. I will mention only that there has been an unprecedented development: Yoav Segalowitz, a former official in the police force who investigated Avigdor Lieberman and Bibi Netanyahu, defected from Yesh Atid and joined the Arab party Raam, where he now occupies the spot directly below party chairman Mansour Abbas on the party’s list.

There are two other parties that bear mentioning, although it is doubtful if they will cross the electoral threshold. One is the Reservists party, which is headed by Yoaz Handel and economist Yaron Zelicha. Chili Tropper was on their slate until the last minute, when he suddenly switched to Eizenkot’s party. The other party that bears mentioning is Blue and White, which is headed by Benny Gantz. The other top positions on the party’s list are occupied by MK Penina Tamano-Shata, who appeals to the Ethiopian community, and former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch.

Eichler Exits; New Blood in Degel HaTorah

Let us now turn our attention to the right. Of course, we will begin with United Torah Judaism (UTJ), the union of two chareidi factions: Degel HaTorah, representing the Litvish community, and Agudas Yisroel, which represents the chassidim. The candidates on the UTJ list, in order, are Yaakov Asher, Yitzchok Goldknopf, Yitzchok Pindrus, Meir Porush, Moshe Rosenthal, Elyokim Stark (representing Belz), Yehuda Weisfish, Yaakov Tessler (of Vizhnitz), Dovid Zaltz, Dovid Ochana, Moishe Roth (of Sanz), and Eliyohu Bruchi. You may have noticed that the spots alternate between Agudah and Degel, with the exception of Zaltz and Ochana, both of whom are from Degel HaTorah. Yaakov Asher occupies the top spot on the list on account of a longstanding rotation agreement: Agudas Yisroel gets the first spot on the list while Degel HaTorah gets first pick of a government position after an election, and then the arrangement is reversed for the following election.

Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev, the two longstanding party veterans, will not be running this time. The newcomers on the Degel list are Rosenthal, Weisfish, and Zaltz (a former aide to Yaakov Asher). Yisroel Eichler is exiting the Knesset to make way for Elyokim Stark. Within Agudas Yisroel, Shlomei Emunim (led by Meir Porush) and Belz (represented by Stark) announced that they had decided to form a separate faction within Agudas Yisroel. Regardless of its composition, we must hope that the party list will be successful.

In the Shas party, there have been no major changes or shocks. The party is expected to receive 10 or 11 mandates, and the candidates of interest are therefore those in the first 11 places on the party’s list. Then again, if and when a right-wing government is established and the Norwegian Law is implemented, the occupants of the next five spots will likewise be able to enter the Knesset. At this point, two of Shas’s previous Knesset members have already announced their departure (Moshe Arbel and Yaakov Margi), which has made it possible for two new names to be placed on the list. The sixth spot is now held by Dror Amos, chairman of the Haifa religious council and an officer in the IDF reserves. There is clearly a reason for this choice: The Shas party fears that its militant battle to defend the rights of Torah learners will cost it votes in the traditional sector. The party’s election propaganda has also stressed the point that there is no contradiction between fighting on behalf of Torah learners and showing appreciation for soldiers in the army. Meanwhile, Yinon Azulai, who did excellent work on the Knesset Finance Committee, has been catapulted into the second spot on the party’s list, directly below Aryeh Deri. Below him are the party’s well-known Knesset members and ministers: Malchieli, Ben-Tzur, Bitton, Amos (whom I’ve already mentioned), Abutbul, Bosso, Taieb, and Mashriki. The next spot on the list is occupied by another new figure: Yosef Elnatov, a member of the Bucharian community, who is followed by current MK Erez Malul, the party’s representative on the Central Elections Committee.

Smotrich-Feiglin Merger Impacts the Polls

In other news on the right, Betzalel Smotrich’s party, Religious Zionism, merged with Moshe Feiglin’s party, Zehut. According to the polls, this union seems to be proving itself. Although Religious Zionism was hovering in the area of the electoral threshold at first, it now seems to be poised to cross the threshold. The joint party is headed by Smotrich, followed by Feiglin in the second spot. The next two spots are occupied by two current members of the Knesset, Orit Strook and Simcha Rothman, who are followed by Tzvika Mor (father of former hostage Eitan Mor and chairman of the Tikva Forum), then a highly regarded religious IDF officer named Itamar Eitam (who was photographed in Gaza in a pose reminiscent of Herzl on the balcony in Vienna) and then MK Tzvi Sukkot. If the joint party receives eight seats in the Knesset, the next seat will be occupied by Yitzchok Zaga of Zehut.

The right-wing party, Otzma Yehudit, is expecting to perform very well in the election. It boasts a diverse slate headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is followed by Tally Gottliv. (As I mentioned, Gottliv transferred to Otzma Yehudit from the Likud party and is believed to be worth much more than one mandate to the party.) Next on the list are the currently serving ministers Wasserlauf and Eliyahu (the latter being the son of former Rishon Letzion Rav Mordechai Eliyahu) and current MKs Limor Son Har-Melech (who lost her husband in a terror attack years ago) and Yitzchok Kreuzer. They are followed by some new names: Chanamel Dorfman and Tzachi Eliyahu, both members of Ben-Gvir’s inner circle, and then Yossi Goldberger, a Lubavitcher chosid. It is unlikely that Otzma Yehudit will receive nine seats in the Knesset and thus earn places for all these candidates, but it would certainly be a welcome development if they did, especially since it would likely be at the expense of Lieberman’s party.

I should also mention Amcha Yisroel, the party led by Ofer Winter. The polls are currently predicting that the party will cross the electoral threshold. If that happens, it will likely be a significant boost to Netanyahu’s bloc, since Winter would receive votes that would otherwise have gone to Lieberman and Bennett. If Winter fails to cross the threshold, it would be a disaster because many thousands of right wing votes would be wasted and that might cause the entire right-wing bloc to lose power. The names on his list are not especially familiar to anyone.

There are other parties on the right as well, such as Avi Maoz’s party, although their likelihood of passing the threshold is nil. The best possible scenario is that these parties will bow out before the election.

In truth, the most logical move for Avi Maoz is ostensibly to join the Religious Zionism list. As a representative of the talmidim of Rav Tzvi Tau, Maoz can probably win more than enough votes for one mandate. However, some believe that Smotrich consulted with Netanyahu and the prime minister nixed the idea of including Maoz on his list. There is some speculation that Netanyahu has a personal score to settle with Maoz, who behaved like the opposition during the previous Knesset term. While you may recall that I wrote in the past about the special bond between Netanyahu and Maoz, it appears that politics trumps every friendship.

It is unfortunate that Maoz will not be part of the Knesset, since he has always been a powerful voice defending the values of Judaism. On the other hand, since he does not stand a chance of crossing the electoral threshold on his own, we can only hope that he will be wise enough to drop out of the race before he is defeated. In the meantime, Maoz has announced that his campaign will focus on issues of Jewish identity, reinforcing family values, fighting the progressive influences of the state and the educational system, and bolstering the Jewish character of the State of Israel.

Yair Golan’s Hypocrisy

Elections seem to bring out the worst in some people. When political rivalries are let loose, all red lines seem to vanish, and the boundaries of decency are regularly crossed. For instance, take Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, who has been spouting so much vile hatred that the right-wing members of the anti-Netanyahu bloc begged him to keep his mouth shut at least until the election. Before they intervened, Golan announced that if he is in the next government, he will close the Eli premilitary academy. This statement ignited a wave of outrage; the academy in Eli produces numerous soldiers and officers in the IDF, and dozens of its former students have lost their lives in the military over the past two years. Golan’s interviewer asked him the reason for his antipathy toward the school, and he withdrew a list from his pocket containing a litany of “extremist” statements made by rabbonim affiliated with the right.

The entire political right was furious with Golan for their own reasons, but I had a different reason to be indignant: If there is a single politician in Israel who is guilty of making crass and intolerable statements, it is Yair Golan. Golan once commented about the war in Gaza that “a sane state does not kill babies as a hobby.” As deputy chief of staff of the IDF, he once announced on Yom Hashoah, the day of commemoration for the Holocaust, “If there is one thing that frightens me when I remember the Holocaust, it is the fact that I can identify the same appalling processes that took place in Europe and Germany occurring in our midst today.” As a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Meretz party, he referred to Israeli settlers as “subhuman.” How could he, of all people, dare to announce that he would prefer to close the Eli academy on account of statements made by right-wing rabbonim, when nothing rivals the vitriol produced by his own tongue? In any event, the left always trumpets the causes of democracy and freedom of expression, until those values would benefit others rather than themselves.

There was another recent incident prompted by the election: Before Yom Tov, Haaretz published a headline in large print asserting that Netanyahu was warned ten days in advance of the events of October 7, 2023. That is, they claimed that the prime minister was warned about the impending massacre and chose to ignore the warning, which was unimaginably negligent on his part. According to Haaretz, the warning came from Mohammed bin Zayed, president of the United Arab Emirates, who still refuses to confirm that the conversation took place. The claims are vehemently denied by Netanyahu and his staff. (Another rumor has it that certain close confidants of Trump warned other Israeli officials about the imminent calamity; these claims are likewise denied by the individuals who were supposedly warned.) Before long, it was revealed that Haaretz received its information from Mohammed Dahlan, a well-known terrorist whose goal was to harm Netanyahu’s public standing.

On that note, even Abu Mazen does not hide the fact that the Palestinians will rejoice if Netanyahu loses the election.

The Media Singles Out Netanyahu for Scorn

It has become in vogue to bash Netanyahu. Lapid recently said to an interviewer, “How did I know before October 7 that something terrible was going to happen? From Netanyahu!” On another occasion, he said, “I have often been asked how I knew about it in advance, and the answer is that I knew from Netanyahu. About a month before the massacre, I was present for a security briefing as leader of the opposition. They showed me some materials, and I was aghast.” Let’s put aside the fact that I do not believe a single word spoken by this man, who has built his career on demeaning others and inciting conflict. If he is telling the truth, I would have a very compelling question for him: Why did he remain silent? Why didn’t he move heaven and earth in an effort to avert the impending catastrophe? What did he do after the meeting that supposedly left him terrified?

There is something sickening about the obsessive persecution and vilification of Prime Minister Netanyahu, which includes his wife as well. In the very same newspaper on the same day, an entire page was dedicated to the expenditures on cosmetics and haircuts in the households of every prime minister. Of course, the focus was on the Netanyahus, whose spending in these areas was contrasted with the seemingly more modest expenditures of Bennett and Lapid. But let me make a couple of pertinent observations. For one thing, I would humbly submit that it would not be correct to contrast Netanyahu’s spending on haircuts with that of Naftoli Bennett, given the former’s bountiful hair and the latter’s smooth head. Second, I cannot imagine why the state should be required to pay for a prime minister’s haircuts and cosmetic expenses. And finally, if we read the report carefully, it becomes clear that Netanyahu did not spend more in this area than his two colleagues.

According to the report, in 2021, when Netanyahu was prime minister from January through June and Bennett held the office from June through December, the total expenditure in this area amounted to 111,469 shekels. In 2022, when Bennett was prime minister from January through June and Lapid was prime minister from July through December, the cosmetic and haircut budget of the prime minister’s residence reached the sum of 84,337 shekels. The difference between these two figures is very small. Why, then, does the media choose to label Netanyahu a hedonist and spendthrift on account of these expenditures?

The only answer, as Yitzchok Shamir once put it, is: “Why? Because!”

The Netanyahu Trial: When the Police Broke the Law

The trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu is continuing to take place as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The country sometimes seems to forget that it is actually one of the most odious offenses of the leftist elite in the State of Israel. Almost every hearing in the trial leads to yet another revelation of horrific misconduct and corruption on the part of the police and prosecution. It sometimes seems as if we have become inured to it. In any normal country, these revelations would shake the foundations of society. The individuals who crossed every red line and used the most unlawful and immoral acts to achieve their ends would be shunned, shamed, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But even if there is nothing that the average citizen can do about it, no one should allow themselves to become accustomed to this.

In the last court session before Rosh Hashanah, the court heard testimony from Shmuel Sharvit, the former deputy commander of the National Fraud Investigations Unit. Sharvit was asked about the secret wiretaps used to eavesdrop on Natan Eshel, who formerly served as Netanyahu’s chief of staff. Netanyahu’s lawyer presented a document to the court that claimed that the purpose of the wiretaps, according to a police memo, was “to gather evidence against the main suspect.” Of course, that “main suspect” was Netanyahu himself. Amit Chadad, Netanyahu’s attorney, then presented to Sharvit the official pretext that the police had given to a judge to secure a warrant for the wiretaps: “The chance of gathering evidence is substantial and significant, and there are more indications of the fact that Eshel is in contact with the main suspect.” Or, to put it plainly, the police eavesdropped on Eshel, who had many conversations with his boss, for the purpose of digging up something that would incriminate Netanyahu. Sharvit confirmed that the wiretaps took place. This may be fine (or perhaps not; after all, there is a limit to how far one may go and how many resources may be invested in the hunt for evidence against anyone), but the problem is that according to the law, in order to conduct wiretaps for the purpose of investigating the prime minister, it is necessary to secure permission from the attorney general. In fact, this is the case whenever the target is a member of the Knesset.

Did the police receive the attorney general’s permission to use wiretaps to gather evidence against Netanyahu? As it turns out, they did not. The police simply broke the law by conducting unauthorized wiretapping. Sharvit admitted on the stand that it was possible that conversations between Eshel and Netanyahu had been recorded, and he confirmed that the wiretapping station was removed after one month, when he realized that the attorney general hadn’t authorized it. Chadad asked how long the secret wiretapping had taken place and why it was suddenly halted, and Sharvit revealed that he had received a direct order from his superior at the time, Koresh Barnur, commander of the National Fraud Investigations Unit. “Koresh told me after a month to take down the wiretapping station since there were some problems with it,” he said. When he was asked about the nature of those problems, Sharvit said, “I understood that the attorney general hadn’t approved it.”

This was exactly what Netanyahu’s defense team was looking for. They had proven that the police and prosecution had acted without authorization and in violation of the law, which shows that the investigation was one-sided and biased. Moreover, it disqualifies some of the “evidence” gathered against the prime minister.

But this leads to another compelling observation. Any ordinary citizen of the state would be punished for breaking the law. No one can get away with claiming that he violated the law only for a month and therefore should evade prosecution. Why, then, is no one prosecuting the officials who arrogantly ignored the provisions of the law to satisfy their desire for incriminating evidence against the prime minister?

It’s Official: The Majority of Israel Is Religious or Traditional

The Central Bureau of Statistics has released the results of its annual study once again: On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5787, the institute found that the Israeli population is approximately 10.305 million, of which 7.828 million (78.3 percent) are Jewish or “other” (i.e., people with one Jewish parent or people of uncertain Jewish status). There are about 2.173 million Arabs in the country (21.7 percent of the total Israeli population) and about 304,000 foreigners. Since last Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli population has increased by about 124,000, with a growth rate of 1.2 percent. Over the past year, about 182,000 babies have been born in Israel and about 50,000 people have died. The immigration balance has been negative, and the Israeli population has suffered a net loss of about 8000 people due to migration. About 24,000 new immigrants came to the country, as well as about 4000 people who entered the country under family reunification programs. About 21,000 Israelis who had previously emigrated returned to the country, and about 57,000 Israelis left for other countries. These figures, which were cited by the bureau, were quoted by many media outlets.

However, I chose to examine the full report and to learn more about the details, and I discovered that the statistics show something that the media did not choose to highlight: that the country is leaning heavily toward religion and away from secularism. The Jewish respondents aged 20 and above were asked to identify their respective religious affiliations, with the following results: “Irreligious or secular—39.6 percent. Traditional but not very religious—21.8 percent. Traditional-religious—14.0 percent. Religious—12.4 percent. Chareidi—11.5 percent.” Add the two categories of traditional Israelis to the religious and chareidi respondents, and you will find that 59.7 percent of the Jewish population falls somewhere within that range. That is a solid majority, and I can personally tell you that the actual number is really much higher. But even according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the majority of the State of Israel is on the right side of the Jewish map!

And that wasn’t the only interesting finding. Reviewing the report on “public position and sentiment,” I discovered that 92.2 percent of Israelis are happy with their lives (92.6 percent of Jews and 90.6 percent of Arabs) and that 70.2 percent are satisfied with their economic situation, while 29.4 percent are dissatisfied and 7.8 percent are not satisfied at all. I also learned that 53.8 percent of Israelis predict that their economic situation will improve in the coming years, 29.2 percent estimate that it will not improve, and 9.8 percent believe that it will worsen. This is reasonable, but then the institute questioned the respondents about the sense that financial restrictions had forced them to give up certain things in recent years: 5.7 percent felt that they were poor over the past year (3.9 percent of Jews and 12.8 percent of Arab respondents), and 23.4 percent of the population (or about 1.5 million people) struggled to cover their monthly household expenses, while 4.8 percent were completely unable to cover all their monthly expenses. The poll also found that 6.8 percent of the populace was forced to go without food at times over the past year due to economic hardship (11 percent of the Arabs and 9.5 percent of chareidim) and 4.8 percent of the population had to manage without a hot meal at least once every two days. And it gets worse: 10 percent of the people in need of medical treatments were forced to forgo them, 6.7 precent of the people were forced to go without necessary prescription medications, and 24 percent had to skip necessary dental treatments. Let us daven that the coming year will be a good year even for the poor among us. I wish you all a gut Yom Tov and a gut kvittel.