UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni broke his silence on Thursday about the current crisis surrounding the Chareidi draft law.
“We’re in a difficult era,” Gafni said at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Chinuch Atzmai school in Tiveria. “We daven to Hakadosh Baruch Hu that it end well. I daven with all of Am Yisrael that the hostages return home safe and sound. As someone who speaks with the families, the situation is unfathomable – this is one of the hardest eras for Am Yisrael.”
“We always knew how to emerge from darkness to light – and this was in the zechus of lomdi Torah through all the eras. Even during the Holocaust – they sat in Poland, Hungary and other places – they sat in the bunker and learned Torah.”
“We’re after 2,000 of galus. We returned – Am Yisrael returned to be the Jewish nation, returned to its land….it’s in the zechus of lomdei Torah who continue the mesorah of Am Yisrael.”
“I bless the soldiers who risk their lives in Gaza and here at the northern border facing Hezbollah. I daven together with all of Am Yisrael that they return safe and sound. But without lomdei Torah, we have no future and therefore we have to preserve them with all our strength.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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14 Responses
Gafni needs to remember that many of the “”bochrim” walk around as batlanim on the streets of Yerushalayim. Also we would avoid so much sinat chinam if the chareidi community pulled their weight and went to the army – there is no contradiction and they can still learn Torah and be in the army the very same way the Hesder yeshivot do it. It would also mean that if they leave the yeshiva world they can earn a living and not be a financial burden. DO YOUR BIT – GO TO THE ARMY !!!
I have 2 observations.
First, this is spitting in the face of all the Daati Leumi that are Bnei Torah and also manage to serve in the IDF
Second, the Chareidim have chosen lousy politicians. The typical way to freeze any law in time is to take down the government. This process freezes everything for a minimum of 9 month, 3 months until and election and 6 month period after a new Knesset is seated. You can be sure that Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman will vote against a no-confidence motion that would be brought by the Chareidim to freeze the current state.
The core Likud is terrified of giving into the “no draft” position as they know it will cost them votes from their core constituents.
The Charedi politicians have truly backed themselves into a corner by not figuring out how to build a consensus to ensure true Bnei Torah can learn by agreeing the batlanim can go to the army or perform National Service.
interesting. That’s exactly what all our gedolim are saying.
aml:
“Dati Leumi” is of course idolatry, as per Rav Elchonon and all the rest. They “manage” to serve in the Zionist army because that is a core tenet of their idolatry. As well, once the Zionist army has done its shmad work on those “DL”, a large percentage of those end up giving up even their limited Torah observance.
arizev:
“Sinat chinam” is not a feel good term; it is halachic. If the Zionists hate Jews for wanted to remain Jewish rather than being shmaded in the Zionist army, then that is intentional (and wicked) Zionist sina, not “chinam”. For that matter, the severe prohibitions violated by joining the Zionist army – no matter the framework – are also halachic and not “feel good”.
““We’re after 2,000 of galus. We returned – Am Yisrael returned to be the Jewish nation, returned to its land….it’s in the zechus of lomdei Torah who continue the mesorah of Am Yisrael.””
This is heresy, of course. The status of Klal Yisrael did not any change since maamad har sinai – not in 1948 and not at any other time. As well, even regarding Klal Yisrael being a “nation” on the world stage: that, too, has not changed since Hashem sent the Romans to exile us 2,000 years ago. The Zionist interlopers certainly have not changed anything in that regard, not in 1948 and not at any other time – except to make things even worse, of course, for the past century since their initial invasion of the area there. Their “State” is Zionist, not Jewish, as this parliamentarian knows very well.
If this is what yeshiva world news is I wonder what I’m ahm haoretz d’oraysa news would be.
HaKatan:
Hopefully your hate consumes you. Nevela.
When they urged the Satmar Rov (ZT’L) to join the Tzionim by trying to entice him with aid to yeshivos he quoted the Midrash”Not by the honey nor by thy sting”. I wish they could all come to America. Rav Yosef said it was a possibility.
יָפֶה תַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה עִם דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, שֶׁיְּגִיעַת שְׁנֵיהֶם מְשַׁכַּחַת עָוֹן. וְכָל תּוֹרָה שֶׁאֵין עִמָּהּ מְלָאכָה, סוֹפָהּ בְּטֵלָה וְגוֹרֶרֶת עָוֹן.
Well, we can definitely see that now – the Chilul Hashem that’s happening now is most definitely in the geder of “avon”…
an Israeli Yid
ac23:
Dovid HaMelech wrote “Halo misanecha Hashem esna…”.
Unfortunately, your Zionism consumes you.
anIsraeliYid:
Too bad the Zionists won’t let the chareidim work (and their Zionist paradise would then gain the tax income from that work) unless the chareidim agree to be shmaded in the Zionist army. Only in the Zionist paradise are Jews not allowed to work for a living unless they first convert to Zionism in the Zionist army.
HaKatan – if letting Chareidim work is the goal, why did the Chareidi parties fight the attempt a few years ago to lower the exemption age to 21 from 26, which would have allowed Chareidim to enter the workforce earlier? At least present an intellectually honest argument – don’t keep changing it.
an Israeli Yid
anIsraeliYid:
At least be honest that you are worshiping idols.
There should not be any requirement of Zionist shmad at any age. No minimum exemption age at all. Period.