IDI's Yair Sheleg on the Coalition Agreement

"They are abandoning issues that are central to our lives in Israel," says Yair Sheleg, head of IDI's Religion and State program.

Israel Democracy Institute scholar Yair Sheleg says that the decision by Yisrael Beiteinu to concede on its demands related to issues of religion and state in order to join the coalition reflects a problematic reality.

"They are abandoning issues that are central to our lives in Israel," says Sheleg, head of IDI's Religion and State program.

"Yisrael Beiteinu's concessions further prove the problematic situation in which ultra-Orthodox parties have been given complete veto power in the religious realm," adds Sheleg. "This is a grave and problematic situation from a democratic perspective.

"When it comes to other important issues that could impact the public, there is a dialogue among coalition partners and decisions are made by balancing different viewpoints. Only on religious issues, veto power has been given to the ultra-Orthodox perspective, which represents a fringe viewpoint of a small minority in society.

"One of the challenges Israeli politicians must deal with is how to allow all Jews to exercise and express their religious viewpoints by making appropriate arrangements for conversions, civil unions, kashrut and other issues that impact their religious and everyday lives."