Support for a national referendum on the disengagement issue is increasing. The latest to jump on the bandwagon are MKs Avraham Ravitz (Agudat Yisrael) and possibly Nissim Ze'ev (Shas).
The hareidi-religious parties have not been taken a strong position on the referendum, for fear that it might be used against them at a later date on the issue of draft deferrals for yeshiva students. Members of the Knesset Law Committee are considering adding a clause to the disengagement bill stipulating that a referendum be held – and that such referenda may only be held on issues of territorial exchange.
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains adamantly opposed to holding a referendum. He has said that the idea is merely a ploy by opponents of the plan to delay its implementation, but his allies have inadvertently admitted that he fears he could lose. Most recently, newly-appointed Minister of Tourism Avraham Hirschson implied as much in a television appearance this week.Support for a referendum is growing on other fronts as well. Ariel Sharon's chief ally and apologist over the past five decades, journalist Uri Dan, favors a referendum on the disengagement/expulsion plan, as he wrote in Maariv yesterday:
"Precisely because there is no chance at all of reaching peace with Abu Mazen and his gang; precisely because the smuggling via the tunnel city in Rafiach is getting stronger, including increasingly dangerous weapons; precisely because the Egyptians continue their hypocritical game of ignoring this situation – for these reasons the government must receive renewed support from the majority of Jews for the [disengagement]."Israel's largest daily, Yediot Acharonot, broke with its anti-referendum policy yesterday with an editorial stating that a plebiscite would "force Sharon to roll up his sleeves, leave the controlled atmosphere of the Cabinet, and go out to the citizens of Israel in order to address their questions, get rid of their doubts and convince them that his path is correct. Ariel Sharon will discover in his campaign that a considerable number of Likud supporters feel that he personally deceived them. They will demand an explanation for the dramatic change from his traditional positions and he will have to provide them." The paper states that Sharon can win the vote easily if he "applies himself."
In addition, a poll carried out by Shvakim Panorama for Israel Radio this week found that 53.5% of those questioned support holding a national referendum - and that an overwhelming 70.9% of Likud voters feel this way.
Rabbi Shabtai Sabato, head of Yeshivat Netivot Yosef in Mitzpeh Yericho, played a key role in placing the referendum issue on the national agenda. In October of 2004, he initiated a letter of rabbinical support for a demand that the National Religious Party resign from the government – but with an "escape clause" in the form of a referendum. The letter stated that the NRP could remain in the coalition on condition that Sharon agree to a referendum within two weeks. Several government ministers, including Netanyahu, Shalom, and Livnat, also went along with this condition, but in the end, only the NRP resigned, while the ministers did not.
Rabbi Sabato explained to Arutz-7 this week why a referendum is the right option at this time:
"There are three reasons: One is that there is seemingly no other way to stop this terrible decree, and the second is that it is very likely that with a great effort, we can convince most of the public to object to this plan... But the third point is the most important of all, and outshadows the other two. It is based on the fundamental approach that G-d created the world and mankind not so that He can force His will upon us, but rather that we should follow the right path of our own choice. This is a basic tenet of the Torah: it is given to our free choice, and we are not forced... It is G-d's will that we should decide; He doesn't want robots. We praise Him by choosing the right path, and not by behaving like robots..."