United Torah Judaism Chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf issued a scathing official statement this evening (Thursday) against Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri - revealing 'fissures' among the leaders of the Haredi factions.
The announcement comes in response to Deri's attack against his colleagues in the ultra-Orthodox factions - who continued to serve in ministerial positions, while he was disqualified from their government.
In an interview with Amit Segal, the senior political commentator told him: Your friends in Gur say you fell in love with the cabinet and neglected the draft and the Haredim.
Deri replied: "Look, a month after the government was formed, I received a ruling that I could not enter as a minister, and I did not do anything significant about it. My friends continued, and Rabbi Goldknopf also continued in his positions, and Rabbi Gafni also, and they all continued in their positions until they decided to leave a year and a half later. This is not a reward for me, but rather a burden that I take on, because I am part of the responsibility.".
""With all due respect, after enduring two years of pressure from the families of the kidnapped and being kidnapped in conversations, I could have also escaped from reality and said, 'I'm not a member of the cabinet, I'm outside.' That's why it's a shame - it's even a ridiculous claim - to say this. And by the way, the director general of the Ministry of Housing, who is a Hasidic Gur, is still in office, so don't start with me.".
Goldknopf's office expressed surprise at the Shas chairman's words: "We were very surprised by the criticism leveled by Aryeh Deri that while he was disqualified from serving as a minister, Rabbi Gafni and Rabbi Goldknopf continued in their positions - and this, when Deri knows very well that throughout their tenure in their positions in the government they worked for the world of Torah, the avrechim and the yeshiva students, and to advance the regulation of the status of their Torah-art.".
In the office of Representative Gur, Deri was given a moral lesson: "The scolding style, and the threat he sent towards United Torah Judaism and Degel-HaTorah with the words 'Then they won't start with me' is not appropriate for the behavior of a Torah scholar, and does not respect Deri and his party.".
They added: "As for his claim that he was preoccupied with the issue of the kidnapped, both Rabbi Gafni and Rabbi Goldknopf met with many of the families of the kidnapped and acted on their behalf, while, according to them, Deri avoided meeting with them even after they sent a personal appeal to his wife.".
This is the second round of confrontation between the two figures. The first round took place before Passover following Deri's implicit attack against the central faction in the AGO, in a holiday interview he gave to the magazine "Haderech.".
In an interview with Haderech, Deri said: "There are those who claimed that we should have overthrown the government a year and a half ago because of the conscription law, even during a war. But we have to ask what the significance of such a step was from a security perspective. Where is the responsibility? To whom would you hand over power? To the bunch of scoundrels who are in opposition today? Who would you run the country with? With Yair Golan, with Bennett, with Lapid? What kind of country do we want to be here? With what character? It's very easy to throw out slogans, but we have to be responsible.".
Goldknopf then responded: "I saw MK Aryeh Deri's words in the newspaper 'Haderech' and was shocked to see how a Haredi representative expressed himself disdainfully towards the great men of Israel. The statement that 'there are those who claimed that we should have overthrown the government a year and a half ago because of the conscription law' refers to a clear and explicit decision of the Council of Torah Sages, the Rebbes.
""The Torah gurus are the ones who guide us on how to act and what the right path is. The term 'there are some' and presenting their position as a marginal claim by anyone while casting doubt on their responsibility is an attack on the honor of the Torah, and I protest against that.".
Goldknopf quipped: "As you may recall, Deri insisted on legislation that would allow his appointment as minister as a central condition for the government's continued existence. What we have before us is solely the regulation of the status of yeshiva students and the conscription law, for the sake of the existence of the Torah world. This requires a resolute and clear stance, without extraneous considerations and without dependence on coalition convenience, membership in the government, or control of ministries.".
Shas responded to MK Goldknoff's words: "The Shas movement and its representatives operate under the close guidance of the Council of Torah Sages, and have great respect for all representatives who listen to them. If a different tone was implied - we insist on that.".
""On the eve of Passover, in the midst of war and under the shadow of difficult prices, this is not the time to be drawn into arguments. We will speak our minds when the time comes. Shas will continue to act resolutely for the sake of the world of Torah.".
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