(An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (L) stands near polling station staff members as they check his identity book at a polling station in Jerusalem January 22, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Powerful political players for years, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties must now reckon with a new force ushered in by voters bent on stripping them of perks they have relied on for decades.
Centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party came a surprise second in Tuesday’s parliamentary election, usurping ultra-Orthodox groups Shas and United Torah Judaism from their long-standing role of kingmakers in coalition negotiations.
Voted in by a frustrated middle-class, Yesh Atid promised to enact an “equal sharing of the burden” — code for curtailing both welfare benefits given to ultra-Orthodox families and an exemption from military service offered to their menfolk.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist Likud-Beitenu party led the field in the election, but he lost a quarter of his parliamentary seats in the process, making it almost impossible for him to ignore the clamor of the center.
