In Beit Shemesh, Degel’s Muntag Accuses Shlomei Emunim Of Betrayal, Voting For Bloch In Election
While Beit Shemesh Mayor-elect Aliza Bloch is busy negotiating with the various parties towards forming a coalition government, Degel Hatorah Deputy Mayor, Moshe Muntag on Sunday evening came out against the Shlomei Emunim faction, which he blames for Moshe Abutbul losing the mayoral race. According to Muntag, “Shlomei Emunim betrayed us and the chareidi tzibur to obtain jobs”, citing Shlomei supporters secretly voted for Bloch and not Abutbul, resulting in his defeat.
“To my profound sorrow, it was confirmed that Shlomei Emunim had betrayed us during the elections,” said Muntag, a Degel Hatorah councilman in Beit Shemesh. He added that at first, he and others did not wish to believe it but not, it is clear to all that this is what occurred, and this is what led to Abutbul’s defeat at the polls, losing by 533 votes.
Muntag announces that during elections, Shlomei Emunim “closed a deal” with Dr. Aliza Bloch, the independent candidate backed by all the non-chareidim, a deal that included either voting for her or at the very least, having Shlomei supporters not vote for Abutbul, abstaining. In exchange, Shlomei Emunim officials will receive senior posts in the new administration. Muntag feels that Shlomei Emunim will be the only chareidim entering a coalition headed by Bloch. “This act will not be forgiven” he adds, with a senior Degel official adding, “We will oppose them as a vigorous opposition on every matter they try to pass. These people will not be permitted to benefit from their traitorous actions, betraying the entire chareidi tzibur, and they will not have benefit from a moment in the coalition.”
So, what caused Muntag and his colleagues to accuse Shlomei Emunim – the fact that efforts were made to unite all 13 chareidi factions into a single united unit, including the Peleg and Chabad, amid the realization this would provide a strong negotiating reality if there was a chareidi front against Aliza Bloch. However, the lack of trust between the chareidi parties brought that naïve vision to a quick end, with some faction representatives conducting talks behind the backs of other chareidi parties.
Shlomei Emunim denies the accusations, explaining Muntag is pained over the loss and the reality that now, he will not be in charge of the Planning & Construction portfolio in the incoming administration. “Chazal says כל הפוסל במומו פוסל,” Shlomei Emunim concluded.
IN THE AIRPORT THERE ARE MANY SUITCASES COMING OFF THE CONVEYOR BELT , AND PEOPLE ARE NOT AFRAID THAT PERHAPS SOME ONE WILL TAKE THEIR SUITCASE.
HE ASKS WHY ? ?
THE EXPLANATION IS, IT IS COVERED AND WHO KNOWS WHAT IS IN THE SUITCASE.
THE SAME IS EVERY MORNING WHEN PEOPLE WRAP THEIR FACE IN A TALIS AND YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT WHAT OTHERS HAVE, YOU SAY THE WORDS HOW PRECIOUS IS YOUR KINDNESS,
KINDNESS CAN ONLY BE, WHEN YOUR EYES ARE COVERED AND YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT WHAT OTHERS HAVE, CAN YOU RECOGNIZE ALL THE KINDNESS HASHEM BESTOWED ON YOU.
My Jewish name is Shlomo Menachem Mendel. I was born in a Catholic family with Jewish origins. My father allegedly was a descendant of a relative of rabbi Chayim Vital. His grandmother was a Vitale (italianization of Vital). Because I couldn't find proofs of Jewish origins of my mother, 22 years ago I made a giyur in Eretz. I don't like the word "ger" because I am far from being a stranger. I am a Yid! It's hard to be Jewish and still harder to be a Ger.
I am 47, I am not married, I have no children and I constantly try to be good Jew. What I lack is a role model. I lived the half of my life in Austria where I studied and I achieved a Master Degree and worked and then I lived 6 years in Switzerland where I worked.
I am an ashkenazi Yid and in Italy, especially here in Naples, there is no Ashkenazi or chassid. From my name you understand that I studied with Lubavitch chassidim. I chose as name Shlomo like Shlomo HaMelech and Menachem Mendel like the Lubavitcher Rebbe Z"L.
Dear Mr. Lock, if I am writing you is because I saw you in the video: "A hasidic Guide to love..." on youtube. I was very positively impressed from you and your wife. A woman who is so open minded to shake the hand with a male journalist although she is hasidic, deserves all my respect and esteem. She is really unique.
I grew up in a secular words, I study secular philosophy, history and so on. I wear a bekishe on Shabbes but I am very different from the chassidim. You would call me a philosopher. In myself there are 2 souls: a hasidic one and a philosophical one. I have to find a bridge between the 2 souls and it's not easy. Therefore I am writing you. I don't have a role model to follow and I would like to have you as role model. You could be my father and you were a teacher. Forget please that I am 47 and help me like I would be much much younger.
I tried to move to Eretz but, frankly, every time I try to go closer to a more orthodox Yiddishkeit, I get scared. Nobody speaks my language (I don't mean Italian but an academic language). I was in a yeshiva for few days but I am afraid, the yeshiva didn't suit me.
If Rabbi Akiva learned with 40, maybe I can learn with 47 or 48 or why not with 50. I am very confused because I don't find a rabbi or a moreh who can help me to live jewish and at the same time to avoid having the feeling that I am betraying my academic studies and mindset.
What should I do? The only rabbi who "speaks" my language is rabbi Jonathan Sacks. In his Divrei Torah he quotes from Talmud and from secular philosophy and culture. The other rabbis are tolmidim chochomim but they think that everything outside Judaism is treyfe and quite forbidden.
I am in a very bad situation because of these strong struggles in myself.
Should I give up, Chas VeSholem, to try to be a Haredi? Don't I have a single chance to be religious but without giving up my philosophical soul?
I hope, you can help me. Otherwise tell me which rabbi can help me please.
Jerusalem: Berkowitz Says Leon Does Not Have The Backing Of Agudas Yisrael
Candidates in the runoff for Jerusalem mayor: Moshe Leon (left) and Ofir Berkowitz
With the runoff mayoral race approaching, scheduled for Tuesday, 5 Kislev, Jerusalem mayoral hopeful Ofer Berkowitz announced that his opponent, Moshe Leon, who is backed by Shas and Degel Hatorah, does not have the support of Agudas Yisrael. He told Kikar Shabbos News that he remains hopeful in the race, adding he believes he will enjoy the support of Gerrer and other chassidic courts.
Berkowitz explains that Elkin took many of the religious community’s votes in round one, but in round two, he thinks there will be a change as there will not be a scare campaign against the chareidim. He explains the chareidim are an integral part of the city and he will work to increase chareidi voter turnout.
Berkowitz added anyone who checks his record can verify he was never anti-chareidi, but he has fought to maintain the religious status quo in the city, which he plans to continue if elected. He feels trying to label him “anti-chareidi” is demagoguery.
He insists, as mayor, he will safeguard the religious status quo for both sides. Regarding the Peleg Yerushalmi, he states he is not negotiating with the party for its support. He calls on all those who voted Elkin and Deutsch in the first round to support him. He adds that those wishing to see Degel Hatorah chairman MK Moshe Gafne and Shas party chairman Minister Aryeh Deri run the capital, then they should vote for Moshe Leon.
VIDEO/PHOTOS: Rudy Giuliani Visits ‘The Ohel’ of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and current personal attorney or President Donald Trump, visted The Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens on Thursday. Giuliani was accompanied by Chele Chiavacci Farley, Republican candidate for US Senate in New York.
He explains that the road on Route 90 near the Dead Sea was straight and clear, and there is no other explanation for the crash, which killed the parents and their 6 children.
It is now believed that the driver who struck the Attar family’s van head-on was under the influence of marijuana. Initial reports from the scene indicate he was using his cellphone as well.
Litzman: Backing Berkowitz In The Jerusalem Mayoral Election Is Not An Option
Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, in private conversations with colleagues, told them that despite reports to the contrary, backing Ofer Berkowitz in the upcoming runoff election for mayor of Yerushalayim “is not an option”, citing he would never back a secular candidate over one who is Shomer Shabbat.
According to the BeChadrei Chareidim report, in other news, the Peleg Yerushalmi faction is weighing the possibility of backing Berkowitz, telling BeChadrei they must study the situation and back the candidate who will be the best mayor for the chareidim. They explain they will present the options to their Rabbonim Shlita, and a decision regarding which candidate to back will be made.
It is added that Litzman and Meir Porush of Agudas Yisrael met on Wednesday with Yossi Deutsch to prepare their list of demands for negotiations with candidate Moshe Leon, who is running against Berkowitz in the runoff election.
The race between the two is expected to be extremely close, and both candidates are working hard to earn the support of the voters who backed Ze’ev Elkin and Yossi Deutsch in the first round of voting.
The runoff election is scheduled to take place on 5 Kislev.
With a number of victories in hand, according to most political analysts, Degel Hatorah is now likely to inform Agudas Yisrael that the tables have turned, and now; it will hold 60% of the joint Yahadut Hatorah pie and Agudas Yisrael will only hold onto 40%. In the past, the situation was reversed, as the chassidim maintained they are the majority. It’s now a litvish ballgame. Many are offended by these categorizations, but reality is what it is, and the parties are separate, and in this case, they opposed one another. Following this election, in the Jerusalem city council for example, Degel has six seats and Agudas Yisrael only three.
Degel Hatorah’s candidate in Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, beat out Agudas Yisrael’s Yossi Deutsch, and Leon is now facing off against secular candidate Ofer Berkowitz. While the polls predict a tight race, Degel officials are exhibiting confidence. That said, if they do not receive the support of the chassidim, Agudas Yisrael, Berkowitz may take the race.
It will be interesting to see how the chassidim act vis-à-vis the runoff election. Most predict that despite the fact that Leon is Shomer Shabbat and Berkowitz is not, Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, the Gerrer Rebbe’s man in Knesset, will not support him, but will announce he is voting for Berkowitz, or alternatively, will recommend to the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita that chassidim refrain from voting in the race. This occurred back in the race when Nir Barkat was elected for his first term. Litzman would not back a fellow Agudas Yisrael candidate, now Deputy Minister Meir Porush, his political nemesis, and refrained from backing anyone, opening the door for Nir Barkat. This time, it may be Berkowitz instead of Barkat.
MK Menachem Eliezer Moses however, who is the Vishnitzer Rebbe’s representative in Knesset and chairman of Agudas Yisrael, announced on Wednesday morning that he will suggest to Agudas Yisrael’s Moetzas Gedolei Torah that they back Leon in the race. Moses insists it is time to push party politics aside and look at the big picture, which demands achdus, adding that this is imperative ahead of Knesset elections in 2019. He reminds the tzibur that if the chareidim would have remained united, there would not be a runoff election, but unfortunately, this is not the case.
LETS SEE IF THE CHASDIM ARE FOR G-D OR FOR THEMSELVES ? ? ?
IF YOU ARE FOR G-D WHO IS ON TOP DOES NOT MATTER ! ! !
The victory is a major one for the dati leumi Bayit Yehudi party, as well as for Likud. It is a significant blow to the Chareidim in the city, who once again were not united, as Shas and Degel Yisrael backed Abutbul, but Agudas Yisrael would not join the ticket because Shas and Degel refused to back the Agudah candidate in the Jerusalem race. In that race, the Agudas Yisrael candidate, Yossi Deutsch, lost.
Bloch said following the notification of her victory that she plans to “take down the wall and mechitzos” and begin building with a new positive vigor.
“…You have to see the expansion here, chareidim and secular people dancing in a circle – that’s the end of days,” added Bloch. “This is what we have davened for all these years, and the people of Israel are waiting for such a thing.”
According to Bloch, “There are no more partitions, we have finished with the stigmas that the city of Beit Shemesh is a city with camps, the final result of the ballot box is the negligible detail now, and the important thing is the feeling of the people living here.”
“Many chareidim voted for me, I know what the situation is at the polling stations, and there is no doubt that thousands of chareidim said, ‘We want to live in a healthy society,'” concluded Bloch, who turned out to be victorious in the race.
With a number of victories in hand, according to most political analysts, Degel Hatorah is now likely to inform Agudas Yisrael that the tables have turned, and now; it will hold 60% of the joint Yahadut Hatorah pie and Agudas Yisrael will only hold onto 40%. In the past, the situation was reversed, as the chassidim maintained they are the majority. It’s now a litvish ballgame. Many are offended by these categorizations, but reality is what it is, and the parties are separate, and in this case, they opposed one another. Following this election, in the Jerusalem city council for example, Degel has six seats and Agudas Yisrael only three.
Degel Hatorah’s candidate in Jerusalem, Moshe Leon, beat out Agudas Yisrael’s Yossi Deutsch, and Leon is now facing off against secular candidate Ofer Berkowitz. While the polls predict a tight race, Degel officials are exhibiting confidence. That said, if they do not receive the support of the chassidim, Agudas Yisrael, Berkowitz may take the race.
It will be interesting to see how the chassidim act vis-à-vis the runoff election. Most predict that despite the fact that Leon is Shomer Shabbat and Berkowitz is not, Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, the Gerrer Rebbe’s man in Knesset, will not support him, but will announce he is voting for Berkowitz, or alternatively, will recommend to the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita that chassidim refrain from voting in the race. This occurred back in the race when Nir Barkat was elected for his first term. Litzman would not back a fellow Agudas Yisrael candidate, now Deputy Minister Meir Porush, his political nemesis, and refrained from backing anyone, opening the door for Nir Barkat. This time, it may be Berkowitz instead of Barkat.
MK Menachem Eliezer Moses however, who is the Vishnitzer Rebbe’s representative in Knesset and chairman of Agudas Yisrael, announced on Wednesday morning that he will suggest to Agudas Yisrael’s Moetzas Gedolei Torah that they back Leon in the race. Moses insists it is time to push party politics aside and look at the big picture, which demands achdus, adding that this is imperative ahead of Knesset elections in 2019. He reminds the tzibur that if the chareidim would have remained united, there would not be a runoff election, but unfortunately, this is not the case.
Aryeh King, who endorsed Deutsch in the mayoral race, and whose party received two seats in the Jerusalem Council announced it should be clear to all, that in the runoff, Leon is the man. In the elections, King, who is Shomer Shabbat as well, insists the religious voting public must vote for Leon.
While Beit Shemesh Mayor-elect Aliza Bloch is busy negotiating with the various parties towards forming a coalition government, Degel Hatorah Deputy Mayor, Moshe Muntag on Sunday evening came out against the Shlomei Emunim faction, which he blames for Moshe Abutbul losing the mayoral race. According to Muntag, “Shlomei Emunim betrayed us and the chareidi tzibur to obtain jobs”, citing Shlomei supporters secretly voted for Bloch and not Abutbul, resulting in his defeat.
“To my profound sorrow, it was confirmed that Shlomei Emunim had betrayed us during the elections,” said Muntag, a Degel Hatorah councilman in Beit Shemesh. He added that at first, he and others did not wish to believe it but not, it is clear to all that this is what occurred, and this is what led to Abutbul’s defeat at the polls, losing by 533 votes.
Muntag announces that during elections, Shlomei Emunim “closed a deal” with Dr. Aliza Bloch, the independent candidate backed by all the non-chareidim, a deal that included either voting for her or at the very least, having Shlomei supporters not vote for Abutbul, abstaining. In exchange, Shlomei Emunim officials will receive senior posts in the new administration. Muntag feels that Shlomei Emunim will be the only chareidim entering a coalition headed by Bloch. “This act will not be forgiven” he adds, with a senior Degel official adding, “We will oppose them as a vigorous opposition on every matter they try to pass. These people will not be permitted to benefit from their traitorous actions, betraying the entire chareidi tzibur, and they will not have benefit from a moment in the coalition.”
So, what caused Muntag and his colleagues to accuse Shlomei Emunim – the fact that efforts were made to unite all 13 chareidi factions into a single united unit, including the Peleg and Chabad, amid the realization this would provide a strong negotiating reality if there was a chareidi front against Aliza Bloch. However, the lack of trust between the chareidi parties brought that naïve vision to a quick end, with some faction representatives conducting talks behind the backs of other chareidi parties.
Shlomei Emunim denies the accusations, explaining Muntag is pained over the loss and the reality that now, he will not be in charge of the Planning & Construction portfolio in the incoming administration. “Chazal says כל הפוסל במומו פוסל,” Shlomei Emunim concluded.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and current personal attorney or President Donald Trump, visted The Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens on Thursday. Giuliani was accompanied by Chele Chiavacci Farley, Republican candidate for US Senate in New York.
Speaking at the scene of the horrific fiery crash that killed the Attar family from Psagot, ZAKA Chief Yehuda Meshi-Zahav made an impassioned appeal to motorists to end the horrible tendency people have to drive while distracted.
He explains that the road on Route 90 near the Dead Sea was straight and clear, and there is no other explanation for the crash, which killed the parents and their 6 children.
It is now believed that the driver who struck the Attar family’s van head-on was under the influence of marijuana. Initial reports from the scene indicate he was using his cellphone as well.
Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, in private conversations with colleagues, told them that despite reports to the contrary, backing Ofer Berkowitz in the upcoming runoff election for mayor of Yerushalayim “is not an option”, citing he would never back a secular candidate over one who is Shomer Shabbat.
According to the BeChadrei Chareidim report, in other news, the Peleg Yerushalmi faction is weighing the possibility of backing Berkowitz, telling BeChadrei they must study the situation and back the candidate who will be the best mayor for the chareidim. They explain they will present the options to their Rabbonim Shlita, and a decision regarding which candidate to back will be made.
It is added that Litzman and Meir Porush of Agudas Yisrael met on Wednesday with Yossi Deutsch to prepare their list of demands for negotiations with candidate Moshe Leon, who is running against Berkowitz in the runoff election.
The race between the two is expected to be extremely close, and both candidates are working hard to earn the support of the voters who backed Ze’ev Elkin and Yossi Deutsch in the first round of voting.
The runoff election is scheduled to take place on 5 Kislev.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)