MK Moshe Gafne is making sure that his objections to the opening of a Slonim Chassidus Beis Yaakov in Modi’in Illit are known to all as he continues speaking out against chassidim for segregating their children from other chareidi children, litvish and Sephardi alike. Gafne has become the chareidi champion against discrimination, speaking to the media explaining the litvish stream is proud to have Sephardi and Ashkenazi girls sitting side-by-side and the problem lies with the chassidim, who prefer to segregate from both the litvish Ashkenazi girls and Sephardi girls.
Kikar Shabbos News reported on Sunday, 15 Elul, that “sources in Slonim” responded to the attack by Gafne explaining Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita gave his approval for opening the new Beis Yaakov for Slonim girls exclusively.
“Why is Gafne coming to us with issues when Maran Rosh Yeshiva gave his approval” the askanim are quoted saying, adding that “Chinuch Atzmai, which is under his leadership, approved the opening of the school. Does one think we would open the school without Rav Shteinman’s approval?”
“It is public knowledge that Rav Chizkiyahu Mishkovsky visited with Rav Shteinman to receive his approval for Chinuch Atzmai to recognize our school and Maran gave his approval. We did not have to seek this approval for we have a bracha from the Slonim Rebbe but it was necessary for Chinuch Atzmai. Gerre, Belze, Vishnitz, Bayan, Karlin and other chassidus have opened their own schools so why was Gafne silent? Why is he creating a storm at this time? The chassidim have the right to learn separately in their own schools and not to continue educating their girls in the litvish schools. We have our askanim, our ideology and our hashkafa and there is absolutely no reason to educate the girls in the litvish derech”.
Litvish askanim explain that Rav Shteinman was presented with a fait accompli that the school was opening and rav Shteinman gave his bracha amid the realization this was already a fact but the Gadol Hador may have responded differently if asked about the idea in the early stages.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
This is why its high time Degel Hatorah and Agudas Yisroel go their own separate ways.
Why is girls education the point of desention every ELUL?
Belz has plenty of Sefardim and baalie teshuva in their schools
In order to distance the geulah.
What a joke, especially with all the discrimination against Sefardi girls.
No Jews is superior to another and this nonsense has to stop or we will suffer the consequences.
I’m all for achdus but really it makes sense for different kehillos with different minhagim to run their own schools according to their own poskim and derech.
This does not need to say girls from alternate atreams can not be accepted on individual basis but it is more logical that they are catered to separately in general.
The biggest problems I see are:
1) the schools taking advantage of alternatives in order to discriminate – be it for working parents, Sephardi girls, snobby exclusivity etc.
2) the lack of good quality Sephardi schools – להחזיר עטרה ליושנה – Rav Ovadiah ztzl was so passionate that schools should be opened , why are they not focusing on creating quality watablishments for their girls and not relying on the litvish/chasidish schools to accept them all?
Why does combining all the girls mean achdus? The chinuch in a chassidisher girls school is different to in a litvisher school, to a sefardisher school and all the different colours of the Yidden is what makes us so beautiful! We can learn achdus and ahavas yisrael without erasing our minhagim and unique ways of chinuch. What is Gafne trying to achieve?
I’m sure I speak for many of us here in America, that this is a difficult thing for us to understand inasmuch as just about each and every chasidishe group has their own mosdos.