Moshe Gafne told the press on Monday that the so-called facts listed in the monetary suit filed with the Jerusalem Rabbinical Monetary Court are simply baseless; adding the allegations against him in the document submitted to the beis din by Gush Katif expellees is simply bizarre.

Marking six years since the over 9,000 families were expelled from Gaza and northern Shomron communities by the government of Ariel Sharon, two of the families filed a suit against the Degel HaTorah MK, who now serves as chair of the Knesset Finance Committee.

The plaintiffs accuse Gafne of “cooperating” with the expulsion government, voting in favor of the so-called “Disengagement Plan”, seeking compensatory damages as well as compensation for the pain and suffering of being uprooted and expelled from their homes. They allege that Gafne’s Yahadut HaTorah party supported the plan in exchange for a “payoff” to the tune of NIS 290 million, funds allocated by the Sharon administration for chareidi mosdos.

In the suit they accuse Yahadut HaTorah of giving the required support to permit the expulsion, as well as the “moral authorization” to legitimize Sharon’s plans, leading to the families being uprooted from their homes, resulting in an abrupt transition from established working families to homeless refugees. The plaintiffs stress the absolute horror of the mental anguish that has become their lives since that day, and as a result are demanding monetary compensation for the loss of their homes, workplace, source of income and the accompanying mental anguish.

On Monday, Gafne responded to the beis din headed by HaRav HaGaon Avraham Dov Levin, seeking to delegitimize the accusations and statements of the plaintiffs. He is labeled in the suit as a “senior Member of Knesset”, asking the beis to please define what constitutes a senior MK. He adds that at the time of the expulsion, he was not the head of the UTJ coalition, comprised of Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisrael, but his colleague Rav Yaakov Litzman held that position, with the latter currently serving as deputy minister of health with ministerial authority.

Gafne explained to the Dayanim that the money allocated to chareidi education was not a buyout, but funds that were given as per his efforts and coalition agreements, nothing more, rejecting the validity of accusations of the money being tainted, a buyout at the expense of the Gush Katif and N. Shomron families. He added that all yeshivos entitled to funding received a portion of the allocation, including the talmidim from yeshivos in Gush Katif, and those funds then followed them to their new yeshivos in their new communities. He questioned the validity of being singled out, pointing out that the expulsion Knesset coalition consisted of many parties.

Gafne stated that government will remain infamous for eternity, for attempting to extinguish Yiddishkheit and Torah from Yisrael. He went on to explain that was the agenda of the ultra-secular Shinui Party, which was partnered with the right wing and Zionist parties, proudly adding that the Ashkenazi chareidi parties would not enter the coalition — refusing to sit side-by-side with the likes of Shinui.

MK Gafne questioned the timing, why the six-year delay, adding that as the Knesset was about to break for the long summer recess he succeeded in allocating NIS 400 million for the expellees, an unprecedented sum, the result of countless hours of work and toil towards assisting them six years after the expulsion, seemingly confused as to why now and why him. He reminded the beis din that he was frequently quoted from the Knesset podium calling upon the state to compensate the expellees, financially, morally, and in accordance to Halacha for the pain and suffering they endure.

Gafne called upon the beis din to reject the suit.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)