Gafni: attempt to revive the PAI will fail • 'Tov': Should do some soul-searching instead of incite

After repeated delays, and fateful election impending in the background, a special meeting took place last Thursday of a senior group of haredi employees with the chairman of the Degel HaTorah, MK Moshe Gafni.


At the meeting, held at the 'Degel' home in Bnei Brak, also participated the municipal department head Menachem Shapira, Rabbi Mordechai Levy, the deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh Shmuel Greenberg, real estate entrepreneur Yaki Raisner, educator Yisrael Raisner, Attorney Moshe Morgenstern, media advisor Benny Granot and representatives of various communities across the country.

Representatives at the meeting raised a number of doubts facing the Bnei Torah public working for a living in their everyday life, especially in education and public recognition of them. During the meeting, Gafni surveyed the knowledge of it, and said that he felt their deep loyalty and obedience to Torah sages and Daas Torah.


After the meeting it was decided to establish a special dedicated staff activity among workers for the elections law, and editing home classes with MK Gafni and Maklev.


MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said that the meeting was "Regardless of the election", though it's clear that his precious time in times like these would not have been given to this issue which is not important in the election, even if not exclusively.

"The attempt to revive the PAI will not work"


Later on Gafni spread out his teachings about: "This is a subject to be discussed anyway. The world is going through a significant change in recent years; this is an isolation process taking place in the Israeli society and the ultra-Orthodox society. Among the Hasidim it is easier to create communal segregation, but in the Lithuanian public the detachment was also created."


"People live for themselves. Look what happened in the religious Zionism; they established national religious public complexes. It never was they all lived together. Our approach at Degel is one that everyone belongs, this ship can sail better or worse, but it must sail."


"PAI is a prominent example of the failure of those who are not with the Gedolei Yisrael, and the attempt to revive it will not work. It was a party that worked well, till there was someone who said, 'I know Petach Tikva better then the Chazon Ish, there was a breaking point. Incidentally, the Chazon Ish knew Petach Tikva better.

Although he did not explicitly mention the movement of 'Tov', it seems that the implication was clear.


"The mission of Degel is to unite everyone under the umbrella of the Degel HaTorah. Those against Daas Torah and declares that - his place is outside. This is an ideological framework; votes at the polls just give her the strength to have an effect."


"If Degel Hatorah will include chassiduses, distributions, I will not represent her. Degel Hatorah has one leader of Gedolei Torah and whoever accepts its authority, belongs to Degel HaTorah. The ultra-Orthodox Bnei Torah employees are an integral part of Degel Hatorah. They will have representatives at the mechanisms of the party. More and more people come to the point that they are required to make a living. We should not let them fall, they are part of Degel HaTorah ", Proceedings of Gafni.

Tov: Degel Hatorah and Gafni should do some soul searching

Chairman of Tov Rabbi Chanoch Werdyger responded:


"I do not understand why MK Rabbi Gafni chose to attack a movement that is not facing the elections and is not specified with conflict - unless there is real panic in Degel HaTorah, that they feel that haredi employees really are abandoning them.


"Tov decided not to run in the elections out of a feeling of responsibility not to harm the Haredi strength despite the professional surveys which have determined that it gains much support.

"The Degel HaTorah and MK Gafni must also take responsibility and evaluate the situation, which probably is prevented them due to their inability to say that the Haredi workers are a legitimate and respectable group of the Haredi public and relating to them must be equal in every field and on every issue.


"This loss of control proves that Rabbi Gafni believes that Tov is the natural home movement of the Haredi employees: indeed this is the case. Tov has made it their goal to work for haredi employees initially - before the elections and after, as we proved today wherever we operate.

"These days many members join the movement, and I urge anyone who is tired from the attempt to reach the Haredi workers only because of the upcoming elections, join today thousands who have already joined and expressed their identification with 'Tov', which puts the Haredi workers on the agenda of the Haredi population, again proven in the attack of Rabbi Gafni ".

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!