According to a report in Walla !, the chairman of Torah Judaism, MK Moshe Gafni, attacked Shas at an internal conference of the party this week, calling it a “racist party” and accusing all of its leaders of sending their children to Ashkenazi educational institutions. Moshe Arbel of Shas, in which he referred to the ruling of the High Court according to which Reform and Conservative conversions must be recognized for the purpose of the Law of Return and claimed that “there is great racism in the entire ultra-Orthodox public. When a Sephardic girl is not admitted to a seminary or Beit Yaakov “A) Because her grandmother came from Morocco, isn’t that racism?”.
According to the report, Gafni told those present at the conference that “instead of addressing the reforms and addressing the problems that arise from them, he says that the ultra-Orthodox are also racist while he is in a racist party, there is no one there who is Ashkenazi, everything is Sephardic.” He said that “he did not say hello” to Arbel after the interview: “We should talk about this thing, not let it be swept under the rug. He goes with our haters and he says the racism of the reformers and all this stuff, the ultra-Orthodox are more racist, cheeky like you.”
Gafni went on to attack at the party convention: “We are fighting for information, we are fighting to explain the positions of the ultra-Orthodox public and then he is going to tell about the racism of the ultra-Orthodox public. Where are all the children of Shas leaders, what is this talk? “This whole party is racist, is that what you’re going to say in the war against the Reformers?”
Moshe Gafni (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)- Maariv-Jerusalem Post Conference: The Money Time Before the Election
Shas chairman Minister Deri responded to Gafni’s remarks in an interview with Lishai Cohen at the Kikar studio – “When Gafni says that a Spaniard will vote for Judaism, he is actually saying to the Spaniards: Do not listen to the wise generation grow up, Shalom HaCohen. Gafni says to the Sephardim: What the president of the Council of Sages of the Torah, Hacham Shalom, is telling you, that this is a clear Torah opinion from the holy mouth – do not listen to him! “The full interview will be published on the program” Closing Week “in Kikar.
He added “I do not want to take into account who receives from whom, who helps whom, why if we do it there is no account. I do not come to the Ashkenazim and say to them: I helped you, I was there for you, vote for me. I will not do it in life, because all existence “That everyone should hear the knowledge of his great Torah scholars. That’s exactly how much he will be blessed. If Gafni thinks it is a burden on him that Spanish children study in independent education – I am ready to accept all the ‘independent education’ institutions to our large network ‘Bnei Yosef.”
Finally he attacked: “Gafni speaks of a different view? Who has dealt with all the capsules for the world of Torah throughout the past year? Who took care of all the Talmud Torah and the Hyderabad in Corona? We draw all our views from the greatest generation of the Council President Chacham Shalom HaCohen. He said of him “he is a man of truth – he has no touches”. He has the pure view of the generation. Something happened to him to Gafni, it is not appropriate for him to say such things. I forbade all MKs to respond to Gafni’s remarks – I am in a clear and determined decision to go only to the positive side “
The chairman of the Shas faction in the Knesset, MK Michael Malkieli, did not remain obligated, he also responded: “For many months in Corona, Gafni was declared missing and we did not hear about him at all. It is a pity that instead of concentrating on increasing the power of the ultra-Orthodox parties and trying to bring back the votes of Torah Judaism voters who abandoned in favor of Smutritz or persuade the faction members to vote, MK Gafni chooses to send slime in Shas and invent fabrications. “Shas has a council of sages and Minister Deri acts solely according to their instructions and no one will dare to harm the great men of our Torah.”