Rafi Peretz: I'm not prepared to compromise on our Jewish identity
Peretz also rejected accusations that his recent unity deal with the far-right Otzma Yehudi party, was designed to preserve his leadership of the religious-Zionist political camp
By JEREMY SHARONEducation Minister Rafi Peretz speaks at The Jerusalem Post-Maariv Group Conference, December 25, 2019 (photo credit: ALONI MOR)
Bayit Yehudi leader and Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz denounced on Wednesday what he described as the conflation of Hannuka and Christmas in Israel, saying that he was for multiculturalism but that this required preserving ones own identity.Speaking at a conference of the Maariv newspaper, Peretz also rejected accusations that his recent unity deal with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, was designed to preserve his leadership of the religious-Zionist political camp, saying that such agreements were necessary to maximise the right-wing vote.Speaking about Jewish identity in Israel, Peretz said that he had seen a text message from the national inspector for kindergartens in which she had said that because Hanukkah and the Christmas season coincided this year she was wishing people “a happy holiday of holidays,” instead of Happy Hanukkah.“Of late I feel that we are not celebrating Hanukkah but Hanu-Christmas, or a holiday of holidays, as I learned today,” said Peretz.“This phenomenon is a symptom of a broader problem. I am the education minister of all Israeli children, Jews, Arabs, Christians, and I respect everyone and give space to all, but I am not prepared to compromise on our identity, I will not compromise on a Jewish and democratic state,” he continued.“The [Hanukkah] miracle of the oil is our identity. The victory of the Hasmoneans is our identity. An identity that differentiates us from the Hellenistic culture of those times. Hanukkah and Independence Day are our holidays of Jewish sovereignty, national days of identity.”The minister said that he was in favor of multiculturalism but that “multiculturalism needs to know to preserve your culture and not turn it into folklore.”Turning to the upcoming elections, and the criticism he has faced of late regarding the unity deal he signed with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, Peretz insisted that he was acting out of concern not to “waste” right-wing votes as had happened in the two previous elections.Opponents of the Bayit-Yehudi deal with Otzma accused Peretz of having signed the hastily agreed deal without any input from the party and in order to ward off a challenge for the leadership of a joint-ticket by National Union leader and Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich.He pointed out that he had given up leadership of the joint Bayit Yehudi, National Union, and New Right union, known as Yamina, in the September elections “out of concern for the future of religious-Zionism,” and said that he had “never hesitated for a moment to pay a personal price for the good of the national camp,” and that “I will continue to do so.”
Continued Peretz in defense of his agreement with Otzma, which ran by itself in the last election but failed to pass the electoral threshold, “Unity in the right-wing camp is necessary in order to save the right-wing government and the right-wing block in its entirety. We cannot throw right-wing votes into the bin once again. Only maximizing right-wing votes will being about a decisive result in the coming elections.”
