Representatives of Agudas Yisroel’s four factions held a highly charged meeting in Yerushalayim on Tuesday, their first such gathering since the bitter municipal elections nearly three years ago, with Shlomei Emunim and Belz leveling serious accusations against representatives of Ger and Vizhnitz.
The meeting, held at Agudas Yisroel’s offices on Peres Street in Yerushalayim, brought together representatives of Ger, Shlomei Emunim, Vizhnitz and Belz in an attempt to address longstanding internal disputes that have continued to divide the party.
Relations between the factions deteriorated sharply during the last municipal elections, when Ger and Vizhnitz representatives worked against Agudas Yisroel-backed candidates in several municipalities. The most prominent confrontation took place in Elad, where they supported Yehuda Butbul for mayor instead of Yisrael Porush.
According to sources, representatives of Shlomei Emunim and Belz used Tuesday’s meeting to air deep grievances over what they described as a recurring pattern of Ger and Vizhnitz acting against their Agudas Yisroel partners. They charged that ahead of elections, the two factions seek reconciliation and ask that previous disputes be put aside, only to once again turn against their partners after Election Day.
One Shlomei Emunim representative confronted them directly, saying, “You want us to forget everything? How do you expect the communities in Elad to forget? They suffer every day because of you. What has been done cannot be undone. This is damage to the Chassidish community for generations.”
The discussion reportedly became heated, with shouting and angry exchanges between participants. Another major source of contention was control over Agudas Yisroel’s finances, with Shlomei Emunim and Belz accusing Ger of exercising control over party funds without properly taking the other factions into account.
Representatives of Shlomei Emunim and Belz told the meeting that unless what they called the “theft” involving the bank account holding the party’s funds comes to an end, “there is no point in talking at all.”
A senior Agudas Yisroel official said that Ger had transferred Agudas Yisroel’s party funding into a new bank account for which only Ger representatives have signing authority. According to the official, the arrangement runs contrary to an arbitration ruling that had been conducted at the direction of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.
“Even if they promise to stop doing this, who guarantees us that it won’t happen again?” the senior official asked.
The timing of the meeting comes as Agudas Yisroel faces another consequential political battle ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections. According to the report, Ger initiated the outreach to Shlomei Emunim and Belz because it wants their assistance in negotiations with Degel HaTorah.
At issue is the composition of the joint Chareidi electoral slate and, specifically, an effort to prevent Vizhnitz from losing its position on the combined list. The request for cooperation has now forced the factions back to the negotiating table, even as the bitter disputes stemming from the municipal elections and the battle over party finances remain unresolved.
{Matzav.com}
