Degel HaTorah’s official newspaper, Yated Ne’eman, addressed for the first time Monday the dramatic decision to remove longtime Knesset members Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev from the United Torah Judaism slate for the next election, insisting that the move should not be interpreted as a loss of confidence in the veteran lawmakers.
The newspaper stressed that Gafni and Maklev had acted throughout their years in public office in accordance with the instructions of the leading rabbonim and had done everything within their power to resolve the status of yeshiva students and kollel members amid the ongoing military draft crisis.
The report comes as the proposed changes to Degel HaTorah’s Knesset delegation still await approval by the party’s Council of Torah Sages.
Yated Ne’eman opened its report by stating: “The Council of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah is currently approving the composition of the Knesset slate following a refreshing of its ranks with new representatives.”
The newspaper then directly rejected reports suggesting that the decision reflected dissatisfaction with the performance of the current Degel HaTorah representatives.
“It should be emphasized that, contrary to the false reports, the decision to refresh the ranks is not an expression of no confidence in the Degel HaTorah representatives, who carried out their activities throughout the entire term in accordance with the guidance of the leading Torah sages and consulted with them at every step. They acted in the same manner throughout all their years of public service, in accordance with the guidance of the leading Torah sages of blessed memory.”
Yated Ne’eman also addressed the failed efforts to pass legislation regulating the status of yeshiva students, arguing that the outcome should not be blamed on the party’s Knesset members.
“After the ‘draft law’ was thwarted and failed to advance, contrary to all the coalition promises that were repeatedly broken, the leading Torah sages noted in their letter (published in Yated Ne’eman) that the Knesset members did everything within their power to bring about a resolution of the status of yeshiva students and kollel members. The need to refresh the ranks therefore does not constitute an expression of no confidence, as various parties have attempted to claim.”
Notably, Yated Ne’eman did not mention either Gafni or Maklev by name in its report. It did, however, state that the Council of Torah Sages is currently reviewing and approving Degel HaTorah’s slate for the next Knesset.
The clarification follows reports by Matzav.com that several members of the Council of Torah Sages have voiced strong opposition in recent days to removing Gafni and Maklev, with some reportedly arguing that “outside considerations” had influenced the decision.
On Motzoei Shabbos, an official statement was issued from the home of Rav Dov Landau saying that he had sent personal letters to both lawmakers thanking them for their years of service. At the same time, Rav Landau informed them that, because of the decision to bring new representatives into the party’s ranks, they would be leaving the Knesset.
Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who had initially been expected to join the letter, ultimately decided not to become involved in the move. According to the report, he told those close to him that he opposed removing Gafni and Maklev.
Senior figures close to Gafni, meanwhile, said that the effort to carry out the shake-up had been conducted “in the shadows,” while claiming that members of Rav Landau’s household had repeatedly denied that such a move was underway.
{Matzav.com}
