It was a stormy session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Subcommittee chaired by MK Yochanan Plesner (Kadima) today, Tuesday, 27 Tishrei, MK Moshe Gafne and MK Rabbi Chaim Amsalem exchanged harsh words which led to a verbal confrontation. Gafne exploded when Amsalem released harsh comments during a discussion focusing on chareidim entering the workplace.
There was discussion about chareidi chinuch and mosdos, to which Amsalem stated “the mosdos are run like organized crime”. Gafne exploded with “Who are you to dare speak on this matter? You should shut your face!”
The verbal confrontation continued for a few minutes, bringing the session to a halt, but eventually, the chairman was successful in resuming with the day’s agenda.
Gafne later spoke to the chareidi press, quoted by Kikar Shabbat as saying “Gafne is arrogant and a liar. All I said was that one who permits thousands of chareidi youth to hang out in the streets, some falling into criminal activities, without offering an alternative system is guilty of ‘organized crime’”.
Amsalem adds that from his perspective, “Gafne is one who just seeks headlines, deciding to disparage me because he knows I speak the truth and speak my mind without fear”.
Amsalem has spoken out against the chareidi chinuch on many occasions, and today was no different. He feels that a common denominator among many graduates of talmidei torah is that without even making an effort to determine who is best suited for one system or another, ignoring the need for an alternative for some, but instead, the numbers of those falling off the derech continues to increase without anyone stopping to address this reality.
“I revealed a painful statistic, that 7.8% of the chareidim drop out of mosdos and Gafne and his friends wish to hide that fact – seeking to sweep it under the carpet” Amsalem explained.
“It is possible that Gafne doesn’t really care since the problem impacts Sephardim primarily, as well as baalei tshuva, not exactly his constituents”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
I wouldn’t consider Amselem much of anything. He was disowned by his own Shas Party. Hagaon HaRav Chacahm Ovadia Yosef shlit”a has said extremely harsh words about Amselem and his misguided actions.
Oy vei
Rabbi Amsalem is a breath of fresh air, speaking truth to power.
The gemore in kidushin says “whoever does not teach his son a trade is as if he taught him thievery”. The parents of today hand over the chinuch to experts, and these do not follow the teaching of the gemorre.
I strongly agree that whoever cannot make toroso umnoso, meaning that his entire existence is dedicated to torah study (not teaching or being a mashgiach or meshulach) must be taught a means of earning a living.
it is time to face the truth in Israel. Unlike the USA, there is very little exposure for a chardi youth to work type education. Amselem is correct in demanding changes to the chardi educational system to give boys opportunities to acquire means for work related education. This is a radical departure from the tradition here in Israel.
All the Gedolim in Eretz Yisroel — from Rav Elyashev to Chacham Ovadia Yosef — not only strongly disagree with Amsalem, they hold he is an oivurf.
It is well known in Charedi circles that Amsalem is an Apikores
6 and 7: not at all true.
Name calling and assassination does not CURE THE PROBLEM.
This situation exists globally, when there are no options for bochurim besides long-term learning a schism begins and cracks erupt. In America, many schools for professions and vocations have opened, job options have been explored and organizations are exploring job training for bochurim and avrechim. Lakewood now has many successful “training and academic mosdos”, it will and has emerged slowly in Eretz Yisroel.
#6, its not true that “all” the gedolim strongly disagree with Rabbi Amsalem. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, shlit”a, has been saying similar things for years.
#7 is repeating lashon hara. How do you know anything about his religious beliefs?