Shas in shock: Yahadut Hatorah wants to fight discrimination

Shas members of the Jerusalem Municipality rubbed their eyes Yesterday (Monday) in amazement: in their e-mail box landed a letter sent by Moshe Gora, a member of the Yahadut Hatorah faction, in which he called to fight ethnic discrimination in educational institutions.

"I consider it my duty to demand the heads of Yahadut Hatorah and Shas to hold meeting of factions soon to discuss the charged and sensitive matter of non-acceptance of students to seminaried," wrote Gora in his letter, whose contents reached B'Chadrei Charedim. "I get daily requests - and I believe that you receive - from parents to students going up to seminary, in great distress, with some still not received answers from the seminaries, and some received a negative response.

Gora reveals an interesting fact: "There are currently about 15 sisters who were not accepted to seminaries their sisters learn in." He also added that he sought the parties to hold a meeting on Sunday, and to call the relevant urban factors. "After the meeting a member's delegation, along with the rabbis' committee, will go out to Gedolei Yisrael, update them and receive instructions on how we should act."

Immediately after the meeting, Gora said, members of the Council "will be able to insist from seminary directors to accept those rules." He added that the activity must be "backed by all members" and explained, "it is not like pressure from one member, whatever it was, from pressure of all sides of members of Yahadut Hatorah and Shas."

Gora signed his letter with hope for cooperation with members of the factions: "Our commitment is to pained parents and students who cannot sleep, when suddenly in the middle of life trouble falls on them, and do not know why or how, to stand behind them during their time of distress, and to tell them - we did all we can, and say towards G-d - we have not shed this blood, and the sooner the better ".

"Seminary directors do as they please"

The letter of the council member landed at the Haredi representatives offices, two weeks after the Finance Committee of the Jerusalem Municipality restrained a budget of 10 million shekels designated for the construction of complex structure at Tamir Golda Meir Boulevard – which will be assigned in the future for the Mendelson seminary which allegedly discriminated Sephardic girls.

The letter of Gora dragged responses. Yaakov Halperin, chairman of Yahadut Hatorah faction, wrote to Gora: "Good that you picked up the gauntlet." Eli Simchayof of Shas wrote: "I agree with you and wish to coordinate with my office a meeting with great joy."

Other party Shas commented mixed feeling: "I am delighted that there are some at Yahadut Hatorah who understood that the issue of discrimination should be extracted from the root, it's a shame that it is only in this period when we are a few months prior to the local elections."

Asher Mishali, a council member from Shas, who initiated the budget restrain from the Mendelson seminary, in no hurry to get excited about the letter of Gora. He claims hundreds of girls have not yet found a suitable framework in the Orthodox seminaries, and this is in anticipation of closing the registration for the next school year. "The glove raised and hand is outstretched, but unfortunately, we saw how directors do as they please and even the rabbis committee doesn’t sign, nothing, air", he commented.

"I appreciate the open heart of the Yahadut Hatorah member who understands and knows now about the degradation of hundreds of parents of all the seminaries, but unfortunately there are directors of seminaries which seek only the excellence and not values, and I will add the beauty and not the nature, associated or not.

"At this point I would like to ask to back the move made in the last Finance Committee to stop the budget to a discriminatory institution, since it was backed and approved by two rabbis committees and by their decision. One rabbi even exceeded and assured me that if indeed this will be the result of pressure or another, there will be no more teeth and force to committees to determine and influence."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!