New battle in Shas? Lieberman and Bennett want the Ministry of Housing

As if Shas doesn’t have enough internal problems created by the tripartite leadership, as if they are not suffering enough from the minimally influential parties, Am Shalem and Koach Lehashpia, which may 'sting' a mandate or two recently, Naftali Bennett-leader of the Bayit Hayehudi, who is galloping in the polls, jumped on them too.


This week, in an interview with Channel 2, Bennett attacked Shas with harsh words: "There are parties that ask where the money is. We ask where the values are. "Bennett said, and made it clear who he meant:" Likud gave up on a lot of things, such as moving all religious services to the Israel Orthodox hands. It's a big tragedy. When I married my wife Gilat, 13 years ago, we arrived at the Rabbinate of Jerusalem, in those special forty minutes, one Shasnik tried to convince us to vote for Shas. It is blasphemy! It's a terrible thing! And who gives up on all these things? Likud."

Also on the housing department, the soul of Shas in general and Housing Minister Ariel Atias in particular, Bennett touched: "I believe it is possible in the immediate period of several months to decrease the housing prices. But! We must get the Ministry of Housing and Interior from the hands of Shas, not because they are bad people, but because they take care of their own sectors."


Bennett made his comments a week after his party's candidate, Ayelet Shaked, declared that Bayit Hayehudi will require the Housing file. "All systems in the country are in the hands of orthodox," said Bennett, "interior, housing, including the conversion system. Nowadays you can't convert in a reasonable fashion."


Bennett joined the race for a file which has suddenly become popular - Construction and Housing File.


Bennett is not the first outside of Shas who desires the file. Last week Forbes, and the new Ma'ariv refugees newspaper – Sof Shavua published articles about Lieberman's plan, to unite the Finance, Interior and Housing into one central file, which of course, will be controlled by his party.


Lieberman knows that if he can solve the housing crisis in Israel, he will register a huge accomplishment to his favor. He himself is convinced that he can do it in two years - providing he gets the keys to do so, including control of these three cases.

This is how the race after the housing ministry has turned into a trio, besides Ariel Atias of Shas who holds the file already, Lieberman and Bennett will try to get it.

Atias: "Do you know who our sector is? The nation"
Shas reacted to the words of Naftali Bennett. The one who commented is one of the party's eloquent communicators, Minister Ariel Atias. Yesterday, at a Chanukah party at the Culture Hall in Yehud, Atias spoke about the aspirations of the Bayit Hayehudi to receive the Housing Ministry.


Atias avoided mentioning the name of the party, but concretely addressed Bennett's words: "No one will tell us that we are sectored. You know who our sector is? The nation is our sector. Some people say they do not want the 'sectored' to manage the Ministry of Construction and Housing. They want their little sector to manage the ministry. We say that all the people are our sector, Yehud, Or Yehuda, Ramla, all the places that we work for, for those who do not have."

Atias specifically referred to urban renewal revolution passing on Yahud – whose model is an inspiration for the entire country. He said the accelerated process of evacuation - construction, passing over the city, is the origin of the poor from their situation.


"People with an old apartment of 60-70sqm will receive a new apartment of 150sqm," said Atias. "How can we help those who do not have? The land belongs to the state, not to anyone else, not to the government or the Ministry of Finance. The land is not intended to serve the profits; it is intended to serve the citizens.


"The way to serve the citizens is to give them the ability to grow and increase. The minute we strengthen the weak – the entire society is maintained. But if G-d forbids there are gaps, and the weak become even weaker, and the strong become even more powerful - this gap is intolerable."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!