According to an article in Bechadrei, quoting an unnamed Haredi MK from UTJ, the Haredim are upset with the president, Ruby Rivlin, for his participation in the hanukkah reception and lighting ceremony at the White House.
They are upset because he participated in an event that included a Reform Rabbi, thus giving them legitimacy.
As I've said before, with the Haredi parties, the attitude is either you are with us or against us. There is no middle ground. The President of Israel is everybody's president, and not just the President of the Orthodox. He is President of the State that is for all the Jewish people, not just the Orthodox. Yet the attitude is he either thinks like us or he is against us. Either he act in the way we want, according to our worldview, or he is against us. They do not recognize the fact that he might have a different opinion, that he himself is not religious (he is traditional), that he is Preisent and has responsibilities. Either you are with us or against us.
This unnamed MK says they knew from the start that Rivlin would be trouble for the Haredim, which is why they initially supported Dalia Itzik and not Rivlin. In the second round they chose Rivlin because the other guy was worse by explicitly giving support to the Reform. And, of course, they take credit for Rivlin's victory, saying he only won because of them, as if that means he owes them, though in truth he won only because of each and every vote he got - not just the votes from one party - i.e. he won only because of the votes from the Likud as much as he only won from the votes of UTJ, and only won from the votes of Habayit Hayehudi and only won from the votes of Shas.
Personally I think there is something else that happened at the ceremony that should anger them more... let's go to the video..
it looks to me like Rivlin lit the menora backwards.
Now that should embarrass us all.
I am happy the Reform rabbi made the brachot and not Rivlin, considering the ceremony was during the day and not at actual lighting time. Interestingly the rabbi modified the bracha and said "שעשה ניסים לאבותינו ולאימותינו" - He performed miracles for our fathers and our mothers in those days...
Unfortunately they do not show us the Maccabeats performance...
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