1.
The affair of the missionary attempt to hold a mass baptism event in the city of Raanana kept Yated Ne'eman busy this week - and that's a good thing.
Although the Haredi media ignored the affair, it is important to note that this is a significant danger to the State of Israel. Despite the attempt to portray the news item's subtitle, written by Yechiel Sabar, as "cancellation of the mass conversion ceremony following the firm stance of the city's rabbi, Rabbi Peretz Shlita," the issue is not so simple.
So it is true, and as he stated, that there are excellent relations between the mayor, Ze'ev Bielsky, and Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz, and the rabbi's threat to resign from his position if the incident takes place did succeed in scaring Bielsky (while still a Kadima MK, he used to tell me about his excellent relations with Rabbi Peretz, and how as mayor he knew how to get along with the ultra-Orthodox residents of Ra'anana). However, this is not really an issue on which the municipality can decide.
The court hearing has been postponed, but it is only a temporary postponement. There is a possibility, as was the case in the past, that the court will decide that the municipality must allow every sect and group to hold events on its territory.
And what will Rabbi Peretz do then? Will he resign from his position? "I have announced firmly that if, God forbid, the religious conversion ceremony takes place, I will resign from the position of rabbi of the city and leave the city," Rabbi Peretz tells Saber. Will he indeed resign, in the event that, God forbid, such an event takes place?
Once in his life, he had already left his position as chairman of the Shas movement for the sake of values. This was after Shas (under the direction of Peretz's then-assistant, Aryeh Deri) supported the stinking exercise, contrary to the opinion of Rabbi Shach, the late.
Will history repeat itself this time? Time will tell.
2.
Pay attention to the following story, written by Yaakov Rivlin in the community.
""In 2013, for example, in Belma, a faction meeting that discussed the distribution of positions exploded, and a certain person left it in a rage and promised that there would be no entry into the coalition if he did not accept the position that he had inherited, according to his claim, by virtue of the Great Church agreements in Vienna.".
"In the end, reality, and also his realistic friends who refused to join the rebellion, put him in his place, and he went to the office that the faction meeting had called for him. After the forced walk, came great love and the rest is history.".
So let's just remind you: in 2013 (two years ago), no one invited the Haredim to join the coalition, no one gave them either an inherited role or a forced role. Nada, nothing. They accepted Gornisht.
All that remains for them is to stage MK Yaakov Eichler's "abandonment" play, and leave the plenary hall in a rage when the new government is announced, to the sound of chants of "A Jew does not boycott a Jew.".
In the play, everyone acted as one. Eichler alongside Yaakov Litzman (the man who learned to love the Ministry of Health, a position he was given by force, in 2009 - six years ago) alongside Moshe Gafni.
3.
We also found a 'nice' jab at Shas in Yaakov Rivlin's column in the community.
Alongside the assertion that Degel Hatorah MKs do not dare to confront the directors of Haredi seminaries and institutions (which is true), he asks them to include demands in the field of Haredi housing in the coalition agreement that is being formed.
""In the previous agreement of 2009, you didn't mention almost a word or two in this area. The reasoning was that since the Interior and Housing ministries are in the hands of Shas, it will be the one to take care of it.".
This was, of course, a serious mistake. Shas, on internal Haredi issues, is always a broken reed. Always. Especially now that the party's personnel are concerned about transparency and the affairs of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Anyone who knows of a specific achievement by Shas that was beneficial to the Haredi public is welcome to send us a detailed written message and it will be published in this column next week.".
Which is true, true. We will just add that even for the transparent and the affairs of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, it is not certain that she will care. For the transparent - because they interest her mainly on election nights. And for the affairs of the Ministry of Religious Affairs - because everything is subject to what is promised to the Jewish Home...
4.
Since I have the feeling that Yom Yom editor Yitzhak Kekun is not really up to date on the details of the coalition negotiations, I was a little surprised to read, and further in the editorial: "The clear stance of the chairman of the Shas movement, Rabbi Aryeh Deri, to the Shas negotiating team: First we will complete the basic guidelines, cancel the decrees, social budget additions, and only then will we close on the files.".
This is not what the guys in Torah Judaism are updating, who feel a bit like Shas isn't really helping them correct injustices in the area of decrees.
According to the leaks coming from the Likudists in the negotiating rooms, Shas is mainly focused on the issue of the files. What's for it, and what's for the Jewish Home, or more accurately, what's not for the Jewish Home. And a little more concern for the funds of Shas' cultural organizations and the spring.
As one of the senior United Torah Judaism officials familiar with what was happening in the negotiating rooms said: "I wish they too would demand the annulment of the decrees.".
But what? Even removing the Planning Committee from the Interior Ministry is considered a decree. So it seems.
5.
Shimon Breitkoff in the family elaborated a little more on the struggle of "only later will we close the cases.".
""In a holiday interview he gave to 'Mishpasha', Deri declared that he was not going to create difficulties in the negotiations and that he intended to be the first to close an agreement with the prime minister. His demands were relatively modest... one minister and two ministries: interior and religious affairs.
He also showed flexibility and generosity in the other areas that were on the table. Did he promise zero VAT on food products? Well, it's not urgent, a committee can be established to discuss the issue seriously. Who knows better than Deri that this is a donkey's burial, but that's not why the negotiations are being aborted.
There were issues that took a little more time and required the Likud negotiating team to study, such as: a fundamental solution to the ongoing financial distress of the education network, and other economic matters that are better left silent.".
So I would have been happy to have a little more detail about these economic matters 'for which silence is better'... But in general, I searched the candles for the words war on decrees, conscription law, or yeshiva budgets - and didn't find any.
How does this fit in with the day-to-day phrase "First we will complete the basic guidelines, cancel the decrees, social budget additions"? Day-to-day solutions...
6.
Pay attention to the following passage, in Breitkoff's column: "Officially, Shas and United Torah Judaism are coordinating both on core issues and on issues of roles. In practice, the coordination is only with Litzman. Last week, rumors spread about a deal that Gafni made with Kahlon: you give up the Finance Committee and we will give up the veto imposed on the Planning Committee.".
First, I would have expected credit for the Haredim 10 website that revealed the deal.
Second, pay attention to the continuation: "Gafni immediately called Deri to deny: 'It was not and was not created, a complete lie.' The hasty phone call was likened to the phrase 'The hat is burning on the thief's head.'".
I also agree with this assessment.
7.
I found a beautiful story in Aryeh Erlich's column in the family: "During the past Passover holiday, political commentator Amit Segal, a Channel 2 veteran and a leading figure of religious Zionism, sought to express his displeasure at the strident anti-Jewish rhetoric that takes place during the holiday near his home.
He went down to the streets of Tel Aviv, saw restaurants openly gorging their customers on leavened foods, with crowds of secular people crowding their counters.
He expressed his pain in cautious language, speaking more about the law and less about the Torah's command. 'All of Ibn-Gvirol in Tel Aviv,' he wrote, 'is full of hametz restaurants. Anyone who does not respect the law on Passover cannot carry the banner of the rule of law all year round.'.
Segal is a leading and popular political commentator, with extensive scoops and often brilliant commentary to his name. But his impressive resume did not stand by him when he dared to express his personal position regarding what was still left of the Jewish face of the State of Israel.
From the moment he published his thought, Segal became a target for poisoned pressures from modern Greeks who are ashamed of the heritage of their ancestors. Everyone competed with everyone else around the new sport: to beat up the believing journalist, to remind him of the sins of his ancestors, to dig into his father's membership in the Jewish underground even before he was born, and to present him as a dark person who dares to demand the realization of the "unleavened bread.".
sad.
And so fitting for this past week's 'celebratory' day, Independence Day.
Amit Segal, congratulations on the birth of your son. May you be blessed with raising him to Torah, marriage, and good deeds.
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