Tel-Chai Nation

Their council of "sages" have reared their ugly political heads again:

The Shas Council of Torah Sages harshly denounced the government on Wednesday night for its policies toward Torah students and the poor, and said that participating in the coalition was akin to committing a crime.

How come they didn't say that when Labor was the incumbent? Oh, right, because they couldn't make do without those oh-so precious welfare benefits they craved at the public's expense.

The council members – Yosef’s son and newly appointed member Rabbi David Yosef along with Rabbis Shalom Cohen, Shimon Badani and Moshe Maya – were briefed on political developments by Shas chairman Arye Deri and were then joined by the rest of the party’s MKs.

In a statement released to the media by Shas after the meeting, the council declared that the government was not acting with appropriate respect for Jewish tradition, and bitterly criticized its social policies.

“It is clear that a government that does not know how to behave with the fitting respect toward the Torah and traditions of Israel will not know how to behave with dignity and mercy toward the elderly, children and the sectors of society in crisis who are crying out for help,” the rabbis said.

It is clear that Shas does not value safety for the population from the wrath of jihadism, and should look at themselves in the mirror when they talk about not respecting Jewish tradition, which included defending the country from attackers. Deri, who still obviously hasn't repented for his past crimes, particularly needs to learn some morale.

The council pointed to government legislation currently in committee designed to dramatically increase haredi enlistment in the army.

“The council is utterly opposed to any compromise in relation to the drafting of those who study Torah and demands that the government immediately establish arrangements to enable them to continue striving in their Torah studies, which the existence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel depends upon,” they said.

Despite the harsh language of the council’s statement, the Shas party has previously been somewhat flexible on the issue of enlistment, with MKs tacitly recognizing that many registered yeshiva students fail to engage in their studies.

During the previous government, senior Shas MK Ariel Attias, then housing and construction minister, was involved in negotiations that he said would have led to the enlistment of 60 percent of the potential draft of haredi male youth every year.

And just a few weeks ago, Attias said during a hearing of the Knesset Special Committee on Haredi Enlistment that is reviewing the government bill on the matter that although Shas and United Torah Judaism would never support such a law, if it was formulated and worded in a “fair” manner, the haredi rabbinic and political leadership would not fiercely oppose it.

If that be the case, then they should knock off the cavalier attitude being mouthed off by their crummy council. But they'll also have to ponder that even those who do study should be encouraged to follow the words of wisdom biblical Moses brought up in his time, and there are classes on Torah and other subjects taught in army schools too. So why don't they just cut the crap and ask instead that all Haredis enlisting be guaranteed classes for studying Torah lessons? The truth is that following rabbi Ovadia Yosef's death, they're sinking further into the muck of insularity, and unable to grasp how this is only hurting them.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset, military, Moonbattery, political corruption