Rabbi Moshe Gafni, number 2 on Yahadaus Hatorah-United Torah Judaism’s list said today that the party is still undecided on its steps towards coalitional negotiations, and hinted that its support of Likud Chairman Binyomin Netanyahu was not definite.
“We haven’t made any decision, and with us, nothing is a given. First of all we would like to see how the blocs come together,” he said, adding that he was in contact with Netanyahu as well as Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni and Yisroel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman.
Rabbi Gafni said that his party and Shas do not constitute one ideological bloc.
“People are not really familiar with the religious parties,” he said. “The hard-core Shas supporters are not even chareidi; many people back the party due to ethnic affinity, and this public is for the most part rightist. Therefore, (Shas Chairman) Eli Yishai must say that he will join a coalition led by Netanyahu; otherwise he would not receive such widespread support. But all of this does not obligate us. We tell our public: We will act in accordance with the gedolim‘s decree.”
Rabbi Gafni admitted that UTJ, which won five mandates in yesterday’s general elections, “is a small faction that does not run the country.”
“Chazal say, ‘He who is wise knows his place,'” he added.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
Wishes of the Maran Rabeinu Rosh HaYeshiva Ponovezh should be honored: yeshivishe/chasidishe et.al should leave Aguda with its Lubavitch connections, and fight for upholding the values of Torah Judaism(this will definetly cause opposition from “Russian Israelis”), as stated in Maran, zy’a, correspondence with American Gedoilei HaRabbonim, some of which are translated into English by the einikl Reb Osher Bergman shlita