A leading figure in the Ashkenazi haredi political world, the grand rabbi of the Slonim Hasidic movement, said on Saturday, “The Evil Spirit has taken over Bennett.”

Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) wrote Saturday night on his Facebook page: “We are getting close to the unveiling of the new members of this government. You succeeded in bringing about the reality you have prayed for, but not one haredi will stand beside you to take pictures in the President’s Residence garden. But on the day after, once the victory bells of those whom the prime minister allowed to take him hostage to fulfill their personal whims stop sounding, the 2013 elections will emerge as the day when an entire population, traditional and haredi, was cast out solely due to its beliefs and views.”

According to Yishai, “Kind words will not sweeten the break nor heal the rift that has been created now, but will be remembered for many years to come.”

Yishai continued to attack Habayit Hayehudi head Naftali Bennett, saying, “Enough using the pathetic word ‘brother’ that he [Bennett] tries to shove in at any opportunity. He apparently does not know what it means.”

Yishai also suggested that Bennett’s alliance with Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid could one day turn against him.

“If haredim were boycotted in a European parliament somewhere, the new duo [Lapid and Bennett] would cry out, ‘A Jew does not kick out a fellow Jew,’ only it turns out that a Jew boycotting a Jew is legitimate. When Lapid moves on to his next objective, in the form of harming the settlers and settlements in Judea and Samaria, our settler brothers, you will not have to come knocking on our doors for help, we will be at the ready and will not need calling.”

Meanwhile, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) stated that his party planned on “working to take down this [new] government, which was formed out of the sin of hate, incitement and boycott against an entire population in Israel. A government like this will not be able to hold on and we will be here to ensure that happens. Israeli citizens want a united coalition and cooperation, not a government formed by alliances, threats and boycotts.”

Gafni voiced his doubts on Lapid and Bennett, saying he was “worried that those two rich guys will not look after the middle class.”

Deputy Health Minister MK Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) echoed his fellow party member’s criticism.

“The boycotting of an entire population is despicable and revolting behavior, and is a mark of shame on the Habayit Hayehudi leadership,” Litzman said.

He also warned that Bennett and Lapid’s alliance did not bode well for the ultra-Orthodox population.

“There is no doubt that the current alliance between Bennett and Lapid spells danger for the Torah-studying world and low- income families, and will be disastrous for both the settlements and the political future of Habayit Hayehud and Yesh Atid as one,” he said.

Haredi news outlets attacked the Bennett-Lapid alliance over the weekend. Hamodiya newspaper published an article headed, “The new Bennett-National Religious Party partners, the boycotters of the haredim reveal their intentions: civil marriages, transportation on Shabbat and law instead of Halachah.”

Another outlet, Yated Ne’eman, stated that “even religious people can go along with the religion haters and be sent to remove the Torah and put all of Israel in danger.”

View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=7851