A massive crowd gathered Wednesday night in the BMG dining room to hear from Rav Malkiel Kotler, Rav Yisroel Neuman, and Rav Aharon Feldman of Ner Yisroel in an asifa against participation in the ongoing World Zionist Organization (WZO) elections.
The WZO elections, held every five years, play a pivotal role in determining how billions of dollars are allocated across Eretz Yisroel. The Eretz Hakodesh party was formed with the goal of securing representation in the World Zionist Congress and redirecting funds to support Torah institutions and yeshivos. The initiative has received backing from many gedolim and was endorsed in the previous election by Harav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l.
However, not all gedolei torah agree with this approach. The speakers at the Asifa strongly opposed any participation in the election, arguing that any affiliation with the Zionist movement—even for the purpose of supporting yeshivos—is treif. They expressed deep concerns about the potential risks of engaging with a system they believe to be inherently opposed to Torah values.
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[HaRav Avrohom Gurwicz, Rosh Yeshivas Gateshead: “It’s a Chiyuv to Have a Say in the WZO”]
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33 Responses
Thank YWN for representing this issue fairly from both sides.
To the zionist Torah is no different then the Chinese religion it’s not a personal thing it is some kind of collective culture not for each individual as the life so if you have to go to the army you not obligated to the Torah it isn’t life breath to them of every single person himself it is only for all the Jewish nation
How dare anyone vilify the Pesaq of the venerated Gateshead Rish Yeshiva shlita, & how dare anyone vilify the Pesaq of the late Godol haDor Moreinu HoRav Chaim Kanievsky ZTKLLH’H on this very same issue.
BMG is opposed? I’m going to vote TODAY
They could care less about wht Rav Chaim zatzal held. He was fiercely opposed to the BMG freezer yet they continue. So he’s water under the bridge in their minds. They care about BMG.
In fact, I bought my רש”י כפשוטו after they banned it.
BMG is not for me.
BMG is not for me.
BMG is not for me nor is it right for thee.
I believe all Sephardic gedolim poskin to yes vote.
Well there goes a lot of votes. I’m not interested in voting either. What exactly did we gain last time from their Phantom money. They’ll continue supporting transgenders and women of the wall anyway
chaval
With Kavod to the Gedolim
maybe one can explain
why do Yeshivas/Kolellelim in EY take so much money from the government
if the Rabbanim do not want to be involved
not long ago the Roshei Yeshiva came to America because they were going to lose one hundred million dollars from the govt !
what is the difference between that money taken and voting and getting some of WZO money
when people want to come and have mixed davening at kosel and all the other issues
people come out to scream and protest
if some of these issues can be solved (possibly even more) by voting in WZO why would this not be just as an important effort. trying from another angle
and for other issues people protest and cause terrible chilul Hashem and danger to others
why would voting not be another more peaceful form of effort…
please someone explain to the general public
BH I just voted thanks BMG for the reminder
Thank you for posting this true Da’as Torah.
For the sake of consistency, please refuse as well Zionist government funding for yeshivos, kollelim, housing subsidies, Arnona discounts, day care subsidies, and free health care coverage.
And leave the Zionist Kenesset as well.
A total divorce from the Zionist State.
The taxpayers of Israel will thank you.
The People of Israel will be very grateful
Reb Emes – are you serious? Do you know that because of the actions of the Orthodox coalition, yeshivas and seminaries got more funding? Offsetting costs for American coming to study in Israel? Did you know that Keren Hashviis got massive support, and in the last shmittah, over 90% of farmers kept some type of shmittah? Do you know how many thousands of Jews in Israel have grown in their shmiras hamitvos thanks to the state funding?
Rabbosai, this is an important election. Follow your poskim and vote for what makes sense to you, if your poskim say to vote. If not, don’t vote.
This isn’t a cause for sinas chinam.
Of all the issues facing klal Yisroel in general and the yeshiva world in particular, why is this the issue that gets an asifa?!
So don’t vote. No need to make a big deal about not voting and turning it into a religious mandate, that’s a זיוף התורה.
Something tells me a lot of these people would think totally different if BMG would get $$$ out of it.
Just like it’s okay to sign on to be a “Democrat”, with all that entails, because everyone knows you don’t really stand for that, you’re just playing the democratic game – here it’s way better! because EY and “Judaism” is not theirs to begin with, you’re just being מציל מידם what they highjacked…
rebEmes,
You don’t remember how many bochurim went to EY during corona with their help?
I am so scared about the כותל becoming mixed gathering השם ירחם, hence my unequivocal יראת שמים is telling me not to even hesitate to go & vote, and how dare anyone discourage anyone from voting in this critically important election. Not voting is Blasphemy.
These are actual quotes from a video recently posted by the Reform movement:
“The (WZC) election is a way for you to support democracy, pluralism…to stand up for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights…”
“If we don’t vote and don’t show up, we know who will; our extremist ultra-Orthodox opponents who stand against these values, who have fought us at every turn…”
This is a small sampling from the Reform leaders, begging their non-frum followers to combat the Orthodox slate of Eretz Hakodesh, who, at the behest of the greatest Torah Leaders of our generation, were able to garner almost 25,000 votes in the most recent WZC election in 2020.
If every American Torah observant adult voted for this Orthodox slate, it would result in many more millions of dollars being funneled to the Mosdos that you support, and place a dagger in the heart of the Reform movement who wish to destroy Torah life in Eretz Yisroel. (As an example, they are working to outlaw separate sections for men and women by the Kosel!)
Check out their website http://eretzhakodesh.org/ and you will see that what I am saying is but a fraction of the importance of your participation.
any lefty zionist krum positions turn out to be wrong
rav shmuel auerbach zt”lsaid long ago do not even go to the draft office when they contact you.. do not engage with them, now the entire olam hayeshivos in eretz yisroel has no joined the fray
rav chaims psak was solicited based off non full disclosure
Whyy is this any different than voting in Israeli elections? (Unless the roshei yeshiva are opposed to that too, in that case they are in the extreme minority…)
Who is surprised? For years I’ve heard the Lakwood crowd denigrate learning in Israel and the chashivus of Torah m’tzion. What do they care about the yeshivos in E’Y or the inroads that heterodox movements are making to destroy the kedusha of marriage, the kosel, etc.? They are cutting off their nose to spite their face. Billions of dollars are at stake. If they think that voting in the WZO makes them a zionist, then their votes locally make them LBGT and defund the police advocates. Hypocritical.
147, not everything is black and white.
Yaapchik, if you would do some research, you wouldn’t be posting those comments. for one thing, The BMG Roshei yeshiva were not the only ones behind the Rashi K’pshuto controversy.
Before you bash BMG or anyone, think a 1000 times!
1. Starting up with a talmid chochom is messing with fire, even if you are right. There’s 7000+ talmidei chachomim there. Being a talmid chochom doesn’t need anybody’s approval, its a reality.
2. Having an opinion about something can include many reasons. Just because they don’t elaborate, doesn’t mean they don’t have a good reason.
3. It may be a psak for their yeshiva, nobody needs to go to that yeshiva of they don’t like it. Who said it was meant to spread to the news.
4. Its the nature of an am hoeretz to hate Talmidie chachomim. If you feel the need to share your hatred towards a very large group of undisputed Talmidie chachomim, you may be announcing to the world that YOU are a bonified first class am haoretz.
Ummmm, they never banned רש”י כפשוטו…
to some ppl. any rabbi who agrees with them is venerated
and as soon as that rabbi learns that someone mislead him by not fully disclosing the issues at hand and that rabbi retracts his psak than all of a sudden this rav is no longer venerated
yaapchik in one line has decided not only whatever the roshei yeshiva of lakewood say he does farkert but he paskens so should thee
Fools. When the time comes and these lashings hara fools rush to make it to eretz Yisrael who do you think they’ll be begging for help from? The very same people- both frum and secular and all in between- for help. Sickening. I doubt most there will see the geula, their love of galus smells like intermarriage on the land of Israel.
I thought I was supposed to sign up and vote so I did. I am confused now. Am I a tzadik or shaygetz? 😉
to correct this article, it was pointed out by the asifa that there is no factual basis that Rav Chaim endorsed it (which would have been quite surprising, considering his father’s, father-in-law’s, the Chazon Ish’s and many other Gedolim’s clear psak assuring it), and Rav Gurwicz clearly writes in his letter that he is basing himself on Rav Chaim (among other factual misconceptions).
why dont you post the content of Rav Feldmans speech
“anyone vilify the Pesaq of the late Godol haDor Moreinu HoRav Chaim Kanievsky ZTKLLH’H on this very same issue.”
Any ruling that he made from that time period means that they paid off Gechazi a/k/a as Yanky Kanievsky
Harav Hagaon R Chaim Kanievsky said this a few years ago. Things have changed over the past year with the WZO that its possible if Harav Hagaon R Chaim Kanievsky ZTL was still alive he may have paskened different . Remember you have to pay $5 to vote & as long as the reform are in charge your money you are paying to vote will go towards that . The Rabbonim in Lakewood also know we have to Chance to get more seats than the Reform because if we did they also may have paskened differently we dont know
“[Disclaimer: YWN does not take a position on this matter but is presenting the discussion for informational purposes.]”
And what kind of lie is that!! With all the EH ads all over your website, who exactly do you think you are fooling by saying YWN doesn’t take any position on this topic!!
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