MK Moshe Gafne, who heads the Knesset Finance Committee, granted an interview to Yated Neeman which he used to attack the dati leumi community. He calls the dati leumi view of Eretz Yisrael “A fraud”, adding the dati leumi hashkafa has gone “bankrupt”.
He explained “it is an ongoing war” regarding how HKBH created the world, and once upon a time everything was “torani” and Eretz Yisrael was given to Am Yisrael and H’ divided the nation into the tribes. He emphasized that only if and when we fulfill אם בחוקותי תלכו, only then will we possibly merit the good of Eretz Yisrael that has been seen throughout the generations.
Gafne explained that the dati leumi hashkafa which accepts living in Israel while one does not necessarily maintain a lifestyle of adherence to Torah and mitzvos is absurd, citing that we are commanded to adhere to the Torah and this applies in Israel more than anywhere else. Gafne stresses that the Torah grants the Jewish People the right to live in Eretz Yisrael, not the UN or others. He feels this is a fraud for the Zionists are saying we were given a nation like all the other nations, with an army, flag and national anthem. “What makes it worse is that if one recites a halacha or something Jewish they jump on it in the government and public sectors, in the judicial system, and even in the media”.
Gafne spoke about religious and secular Zionism, he explained the latter tried to get people to give up Yiddishkheit and “become a nation like all other nations which contradicts halacha, tradition and it is unfortunate but we clearly see their purpose” he stated, adding “But religious Zionism is difficult to understand as they say they want Yahadut in Eretz Yisrael and take the reality of the last year for example, shmitah. Suddenly, when it is comfortable for them we have to be flexible with halacha as they sold Eretz Yisrael to Arabs under the fraud of heter mechira and suddenly, during this time, these lands are not Eretz Yisrael and Torah and mitzvos are not important [regarding the lands]. They are the ones who are flying the flag of living in Israel as Jews so how do they suddenly and easily sell to Arabs”.
Gafne continues, stating the religious Zionists are “hypocrites” for if there are calls for a state to be run in accordance to halacha, they will not support it even though some of the dati leumi community would be interested in such an entity. He adds they speak loudly about the importance of the Land of Israel but not about maintaining the kedusha of the land as halacha demands and this is a fraud.
From Gafne’s perspective, the leaders of the dati leumi tzibur have duped their followers for if one dared to speak about a nation run by halacha they would shout “religious coercion” as the leaders are opposed to it as well. He feels the leaders of the religious and secular Zionists communities want the same thing, a different kind of nation. He adds that as a result of the mesirus nefesh of Gedolei Yisrael and Chasdei Shomayim, the chareidi tzibur in the last generation has succeeded in preserving and continuing to develop Torah to the extent most say “we are the chosen nation and we must maintain more tradition and observe mitzvos” since there is a growing number of shuls and mikvaos as Torah continues to spread.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
Well said by Rav Gafne.
I have more respect for the Yerusholayim Chief Rabbi, who had the smartness to incorporate Dati Leumi & Right wing Rabbis together onto his Rabbinical committee to answer Sha’ailos [as reported on YWN this past week].
Gedolei Yisroel have been saying this for years. This is not a chiddush of R’ Gafne. He is merely repeating what Gedolim have always said. It is not an attack. It is said out of ahavas yisroel…
Lots of inaccuracies , has he ever stepped into Yeshivat Mercaz Harav, Yeshivat Shalavim, Yeshivat Karnei Shomron,, Yeshivat Shiloh etc,,, or spoken to any Rabbsnim or Roshei Yeshivos of the DL kehilla ….
Bunch of rhetoric & assumptions..
BTW most farmers who kept Shmittah this past year were of the DL/Chardal hashkafa.
None of the comments reported in Gafne’s name are worthy of being called a critique of DL “hashkafa”. They are criticisms of stereotypes of some sectors of the DL community.
Some of them are just straw man arguments.
“Gafne explained that the dati leumi hashkafa which accepts living in Israel while one does not necessarily maintain a lifestyle of adherence to Torah and mitzvos is absurd” – Of course they agree that everyone should be adhering to Torah and mitzvos. Until that happens, what does he suggest the religious do – drive out the secular by force from the country? As far as recognizing that Hashem put them in Israel so they could be more easily influenced toward the good and toward mitzva observance, you don’t have to even be DL to recognize that.
Why is this here?
With all due respect to Gafne, why can’t the charadim in EY go out and work in the work force? why can’t the charadim own a smartphone? why can’t they have internet? why can’t they learn a profession? why must they live in insular charadi neighborhoods?
the answer my friend is simply that the Israeli charadi education is not geared to deal with a man going out into the world. Their ‘gedolim’ are petrified that either they will fall apart (and after some 15 to 18 years in yeshiva/cheder learning environment).
American charadim seem to be able to maintain themselves in a goyish work environment without falling down. Mizrachi has its problems, but so do the charadim in EY.
The erev Rav is made up of 2 hashkafot. The first hashkafa represented by the secular zionists is all pure physical connection to the land. In other words we don’t need mitzvot to bring geula. The second hashkafa is the opposite and says we only need to learn Torah and don’t need to be physically involved in the land to bring geula.both of these are clearly wrong. The second hashkafa results in millions of orthodox Jews staying in the USA until Hashem brings geula. The first hashkafa has brought us to the land and we need to be extremely grateful to them.however secular Zionism is dying that’s true. The path which merges the two of religious Zionism which is acting in the physical world and building up the land whilst learning Torah and doing mitzvot. We act below and G-d responds from above. The state of Israel is simply miraculous and has allowed over 6 million Jews to fulfil the mitzva of yishuv eretz Yisrael.
His hoof n’ mouth disease continues. Can’t his party put a muzzle on him.
“Gafne explained that the dati leumi hashkafa which accepts living in Israel while one does not necessarily maintain a lifestyle of adherence to Torah and mitzvos is absurd”
This is in itself a fraud. Can he or anyone else force the Torah on others? This is nonsense. We can wish it were possible in pre-Moshiach days, but I don’t see him working towards it on any level.
“last year for example, shmitah. Suddenly, when it is comfortable for them we have to be flexible with halacha as they sold Eretz Yisrael to Arabs under the fraud of heter mechira and suddenly, during this time, these lands are not Eretz Yisrael and Torah and mitzvos are not important [regarding the lands”
This was not a Dati Leumi invention. Also, wasn’t Gafne involved in forcing the government to allow poison produce from Gaza which supports rodfim?
“Gafne continues, stating the religious Zionists are “hypocrites” for if there are calls for a state to be run in accordance to halacha, they will not support it even though some of the dati leumi community would be interested in such an entity”
Chareidim have been part of most governments since 1948. Did they ever once call for a state to run al pi Halacha? On a practical basis, Chilonim are the majority so who is he fooling?
The bottom line is, the Torah world can’t get its act together on most levels. There is Machlokes at every turn within the Chareidi world. If Gafne had any seichel, instead of disparaging others, he would try to build bridges among all Chareidi and Dati Leumi groups. If that happened, then add the more traditional Sfardim, the numbers would exist to make real changes. Right now, all he does is create division.
As they say, “people in glass houses , don’t throw stones.
what is a bigger shanda is how Gafni gives a hechsher to the very medina he rallies against as he sits in its parliament, ever read the Divrey Yoel?
This is so ridiculous. Gafne is a politician, not a posek. The heter mechira debate has been ongoing for 120 years at least. Great gedolim opposed it, and other great gedolim backed it. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ZT’L says in Maadanei Aretz, heter mechira is “founded on the heights of holy mountains and it has been accepted and practiced throughout the Eretz Hakodesh.”. No argument that other gedolim such as the Chazon Ish disagreed but really for a politician to drum up this longstanding disagreement this as a stick to beat another group of yidden who follow the opinion of those Gedolai Torah who support and say they are not following halacha it is an insult to the Gedolim who are proponents and to many erlicher yidden who follow them. Shame.
He’s refloating old rhetoric
And let’s say he’s is right. What does he propose to do ?
with all due respect to Gafni just because many datilieumi people don’t keep their own standards doesn’t necessarily mean their hashkafa is bankrupt.
and to commenter Garlic above since when is I t okay to have internet or a smartphone? since you mention it in regard to “openness” I assume you mean without a filter, and that’s assur lkol deois. If you have unfiltered Internet your not an open minded chareidi, you’re not frum period.