As Israel Slaps Tax on Plastic Disposables, Why is Ultra-Orthodox Community Fuming Over the Move?

Haredi families, which on average have seven children, have been reliant on plastic utensils, especially during Shabbat and religious holidays, when chores around the house are forbidden. New legislation is set to harm that ability and a local journalist says it was probably done to hurt the Ultra-Orthodox community.

On 1 November, Israel levied a tax on all plastic disposables almost doubling their price, with Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who initiated the measure, saying the move would dramatically improve the country's environment.

Ultra-Orthodox are Fuming

But Yanki Farber, a Haredi journalist from Bnei Brak, one of the strongholds of the Ultra-Orthodox community, says people are fuming.

Ultra-Orthodox families, which on average produce seven children, have been relying on disposables for years. This is especially true during Shabbat and religious holidays when practicing Jews refrain from washing dishes or performing any other chores around the house. And it is then when they opt for plastic utensils that can simply be thrown away.

Plastic cup

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The introduction of the tax is expected to damage the ability of Ultra-Orthodox families, who are traditionally in the low-income range, to purchase disposables. And Farber says the initiative was likely introduced to harm the Haredi parties that are currently at odds with Lieberman over what's perceived as his actions against the religious community.

"When Lieberman was in the government with the Haredis, he didn't care about the issue of plastic. Neither did he care about them not serving in the IDF. Now that relations between the two sides are rocky, he's implementing initiatives that are designed to harm them".

Out to Score Political Points?

Yet, a personal vendetta is far from being Lieberman's only motive, and the journalist believes that the finance minister is also out to score some political points.

"Lieberman realises that if Israel heads to the polls, his political future will be finished. So, he wanted to keep himself relevant and the way he decided to do that is by lashing out at the Haredis and introducing laws against them".

Taxation on plastic is not the only measure currently being promoted by Lieberman and the government he is in. In September, he promised to cut off the subsidies yeshiva students receive for childcare and a month later he signed a decree that increased prices on high-sugar drinks.

Attempts have also been made to revoke the monopoly of the rabbinical court on issues pertaining to kosher food and marriage.

Yet, core issues angering the secular Israeli public, such as Haredis' exemption from the IDF or the benefits they have been getting, were left untouched, and so was the budget for yeshivas, their religious schools and institutions.

Farber is certain that it was done intentionally, so as not to further aggravate the situation with the Haredis. But he also believes that that trick will not work with the Ultra-Orthodox public.

"Right now, people are angry with the actions of this coalition. Many would like to see it fall".

The catch is that so far the coalition of eight parties with different ideologies and agendas has been rather stable, and the chances that it will remain in power for four years are high.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past representations of the Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini flags projected onto a wall of Jerusalem's Old City, marking the day of a signing ceremony in Washington signifying the two Gulf nations' normalization of relations with Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.

© AP Photo / Maya Alleruzzo

If that is the case, the Ultra-Orthodox community can expect even more laws and policies directed against them, and to avoid them they could potentially be pushed into the arms of the current coalition. But Farber says he doubts that will ever happen.

"The Haredi public will starve but they will not let their parties enter this government. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is finished, and so are some other members of his coalition like Minister of Justice Gideon Saar or Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked. This coalition has no support and as such, it is extremely dangerous for Israel".