Under the headline “Israel Nearing Elections,” the main article on the front page of the Yated Ne’eman newspaper in Israel on Thursday morning detailed the instructions of HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau and HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch to act to dissolve the Knesset due to “the attempt to turn lomdei Torah into criminals.”
The article states: “The representatives of Maranan and Rabbanan were surprised to discover the list of sanctions that Yuli Edelstein sought to introduce in the conscription law, which could harm many households of lomdei Torah by thousands of shekels per month and, at times, tens of thousands of shekels per year!”
“HaRav Landau and HaRav Hirsch instructed the Knesset members: ‘A government that intends to treat the Torah and those who learn it in such a humiliating manner is a bizayon to the Torah and has no right to exist. It it is forbidden to be partners in it. It must be overthrown, and we must go to elections.'”
A special editorial, which appears under the main headline, states, “The draconian sanctions of the ‘portiz,’ which are intended not only to bring about the conscription of lomdei Torah but also intended to humiliate, are not only ‘ineffective politics’ that will not achieve their goal— the conscription of lomdei Torah—but are the essence of evil and malice.”
“If the law that the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is plotting passes, chalilah, and the list of sanctions that have been exposed is part of the legislation, it will be an outrageous absurdity: an [Israeli] Arab who raises his son for terror and violence will be entitled to receive all these benefits from the State of Israel. A prisoner who is in jail for a serious crime will also not be harmed. But a ben yeshivah whose only sin is his desire to continue studying Torah will pay the full price and the draconian sanctions will severely harm him and his family, even if and when they supposedly meet the target goals.”
“And what next? According to Edelstein, after the severe and malicious violation of basic civil rights that are granted even to foreign workers, they will continue to remove garbage from the residential neighborhoods of lomdei Torah. At least for the time being!”
“A country whose laws so severely harm lomdei Torah for their learning and does not recognize the value of limud Torah, this is ‘אם בחוקותי תמאסו ואת משפטי תגאל נפשכם. This is a country that has raised a flag of public Chillul Hashem in the eyes of the entire world.”
It was also reported on Sunday that HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, one of the heads of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, instructed the chairman of the party’s negotiating team, former minister Ariel Attias, to inform Prime Minister Netanyahu that the conditions set by Edelstein for advancing the draft law mean “the end of the government’s term.”
In addition, HaRav Yosef instructed Attias to maintain an open channel with all parties in the Knesset for possible cooperation after the elections.
“The main mission in the Knesset is to strengthen and maintain lomdei Torah, without whom we have no right to exist; therefore, we must act in every way with anyone who is willing to assist in the matter, and there is no connection here to the right or any other stream,” HaRav Yosef stated.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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18 Responses
Do they think that a majority left wing govt would treat the Torah with less contempt?
Why don’t they disqualify Yuli edelstein asa Goy and no rights to Israel he dis not have kosher Geirus coming from Ukraine and only his grandfather was jewish
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuli_Edelstein. Here is backing for the comment
I heard from the beis din shel maaleh that if Zevulun-Yissachar partnership is based on extortion, the learning should fully belong to the sponsor.
Like the Germans who even at the cost of losing the war couldn’t control their lust for Jewish blood, the state of Israel, the ideological heirs of the Germans of ww2, can’t control their hatred of Jewishness even at the cost of losing this ‘existential war’. ( these clowns haven’t been fighting as though it’s existential either, but that’s a subject for a different day)
It really is a disgusting country that investigates its own soldiers, puts mohammeds wife’s life over our dear sons, spits at religion and glorifies gays and abortions. They will meet their end quickly and viciously. Your job is to take the side of the gedolim and support them in their harsh times because that will be your advocate . Don’t speak against torah and lomdim it ends miserably for those who do. Hashem is done with this erev rav iyh very soon
@morik – did you actually read the article you linked to? His father was not halachicly Jewish (though he was Zera Yisrael), but his mother was – and her “conversion” to Christianity did not change this. Yuli himself is a Chozer b’Tshuva – and there are significant Halachic issues with questioning his Halachic status as a Jew.
an Israeli Yid
Attention morik-please read the link that you posted-carefully
Here is how this whole situation can lead to a kiddush Hashem. When BB is ousted (I am not saying he is good or bad) the world will ask why. Then the world will see how important learning the word of G-d is to the Jews.
@lakewhut no Gadol is claiming Israel has a right to exist, left wing or right wing.
“A country whose laws so severely harm lomdei Torah for their learning and does not recognize the value of limud Torah, this is ‘אם בחוקותי תמאסו ואת משפטי תגאל נפשכם. This is a country that has raised a flag of public Chillul Hashem in the eyes of the entire world.”
Of course, everyone agrees that the Zionist pseudo-State is a gross rebellion against G-d, and abomination to G-d, even before this latest additional oppression of Jews by the wicked Zionists.
I am very torn about this whole situation. Years ago, when I was a kid, the gedolim in E”Y were against any frum yid or Yeshiva taking stipends etc. from the govt. We know most of this from conversations between the Satmar Rov, the Chazon Ish, and the Brisker Rov, which slowly over time became public knowledge. Then, after the passing of these greats, the uber-expansion of Kollelim and Torah learning in E”Y, and the advent of new great Roshei Yeshiva and gedolim, it slowly became ok to accept these stipends, quickly and quite naturally leading to it becoming mainstream, as it is today. So we know where we sort of went wrong, given that the threats from the left apparently mainly involve that money. It seems to me, then, that the solution lies in all yidden in חו״ל donating heavily to support the E”Y yeshivos and mosdos, not to have government fights. We need to accept that Hashem wants US to support Torah in E”Y, not a bunch of shkotzim leftists, and step up to the plate, so to speak. I know for myself that when the gedolei E”Y come to the us next week, I will give them bl”n a very serious donation, and I think all of us should.
IMHO
@FrumWhere
In 2022, the government contributed NIS 1 billion (about $273 million) to Haredi yeshivot and kollelim, which had an overall budget of NIS 5.3 billion (about $1.4 billion). On average, the government provided about 28% of the annual budget for these institutions.
For 2023, the allocation for Torah-teaching institutions was NIS 1.089 billion ($294.08 million)
The proposed 2025 state budget included NIS 1.27 billion ($351 million) for yeshivot, NIS 75 million ($20.7 million) for women’s seminaries, NIS 60 million ($16.5 million) for yeshivot for overseas students.
If the current government falls, as looks likely, I suspect the replacement government will be without the Haredi parties. They will have even less reason, in their minds, to support Torah institutions and students in Israel. I can only wish the Gedolei Yisrael every ounce of Desiyata Dishmaya if they need to somehow to raise as much as $400 million just for 2025 alone.
anIsraeliYid, thanks for defending the minister. I looked at his bio – indeed everywhere says that his mother was Jewish and he also married in Israel, so went via rabbanut presumably. Here we are talking about a Yid who risked his life in Russia, not that it is ok to motzi shem ra about anybody.
FrumWhere, I agree with your suggestion that yeshivos rely on donations from their own communities. In addition to other benefits, donors from the community know better what schools and students are the best and will channel their donations accordingly.
I hope you are also disturbed that yeshivos are not only relying on government funds but are even ready to risk country security and lefties coming to power for the sake of that money.
Savlanut, I don’t think you fully count the funds. There are also various other benefits that were constructed based on political pressure from charedi communities. Can you add those up?
Savlanut, thank you for the economic breakdown of support to the mosdos. How much does the government give in direct benefits to chareidi families? I think it may exceed the amount given to the mosdos.
What they said about the government (Memshalah – meaning the Prime Minister and Cabinet) is actually true about the Medinah (the Zionist state as a whole). Without a major revolution (or a time machine to undo mistakes going back to the 19th century, and some dumb decisions by the Ottomans, the Brits and the early Zionists), the only impact of bringing down the Netanyahu government is to put someone more hostile to frumkeit in charge (e.g. Lapid, Bennet, etc.).