The haredi house at war (extracts)
Matthew Wagner, JPost, Nov 22 2008
The Ashkenazi haredi political establishment is undergoing a major shakeup. Normally a bastion of stability and unity, haredi politics has abruptly been engulfed in a period of uncertainty and fluctuation. Internecine violence is the most obvious sign that the once cohesive haredi political leadership is in turmoil, and it reflects a major rift between two major groups making up Agudat Yisrael. On one side is Shlomei Emunei Yisrael, headed by Porush, which is made up of a patchwork of small-to-medium-size hassidic sects usually named after the East European towns where they were founded. Some of the sects represented by Porush include Arloi, Slonim, Karlin-Stolin, Seret-Viznitz, Sadigora, Belz and Boston, one of the few hassidic groups named after an American city. Pitted against Porush’s Shlomei Emunei is the Gerer hassidic sect, the country’s largest. Until the recent confrontation, Ger, under the aggressive leadership of Rabbi Ya’acov Aryeh Alter, effectively controlled Agudat Yisrael. Now Shlomei Emunei and Ger are waging a power struggle. The groups clashed in the Jerusalem mayoral race. In a brazen move that undermined haredi unity, Alter refrained from supporting Porush, the only haredi candidate, in the election. There are contradicting accounts on whether or not Alter ordered his hassidim to vote for Barkat. From an analysis of election booths located in areas heavily populated by Gerer hassidim, it appears that many did. There are also eyewitness accounts of Gerrer hassidim openly campaigning against Porush, shouting slogans such as: “Save Jerusalem from the Taliban.”
One possibility is that Porush will attempt to create his own independent list. Porush has already taken steps to set up a daily newspaper that would compete with the Ger-controlled Hamodia. During the Jerusalem mayoral elections, Hamodia ignored Porush’s campaign. His name barely appeared in the paper. Immediately after the elections, Porush’s followers launched an anti-Hamodia campaign. Two decades ago, Yated Ne’eman (‘tent-peg of the faithful’ – RB) the only haredi daily that competes with Hamodia, was established. Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, the undisputed spiritual and political leader of Lithuanian haredi Jewry at the time, supported the creation of Yated along with the establishment of Degel Hatorah, a political party that represents non-hassidic Ashkenazi interests. In fact, the present split is reminiscent of the 1988 elections, the last time the Ashkenazi haredi vote was split. In an interview that appears this weekend with Shas mouthpiece Yom Le’Yom, Porush does not rule out the possibility of creating a new party. Another option is that Shlomei Emunei and Ger would put aside their differences for the sake of political unity ahead of the national elections. According to a source in Ger, the easiest way to bring about a reconciliation would be to replace Porush and Litzman, the two politicians most identified with the conflict. “Porush can become deputy mayor of Jerusalem, while Litzman can resign as MK,” said the source. This might be a satisfactory solution for Ger to be able to maintain its present control over Agudat Yisrael. And Litzman would be able to continue to control Ger from behind the scenes. But it is unclear whether Porush is ready to forfeit his Knesset seat. He made statements this week to the contrary.
The present turmoil comes after nearly two decades during which United Torah Judaism, a coalition made up of Degel Hatorah and Agudat Yisrael, enjoyed political stability uncommon among most Israeli parties. The demographic factor has been the UTJ’s strongest electoral asset. Besides perhaps Shas and some segments within the (now deceased) National Religious Party’s constituency, no other political party enjoys a larger natural growth of its voter body than UTJ. Since 1992, when UTJ was created, the party’s electoral strength has gradually grown from four seats (86k votes) to 6 seats (147k votes) in the 2006 elections. UTJ managed to increase its Knesset representation despite the huge influx of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, the vast majority of whom are secular. Also, the UTJ managed to significantly increase its electoral power despite the rise of Shas, which undoubtedly attracted some of UTJ’s voters. Political scientist Asher Cohen of Bar-Ilan University has pointed out that the UTJ has yet to realize its full electoral potential since the sharp rise in fertility in the haredi sector began in the 1980s. For instance, in 1990, haredi elementary school students made up only 7.6% of the national average. In 2005, they represented 25%. Part of this rise can be attributed to the growth of Shas’s educational system, Ma’ayan Hahinuch.
Niqnaq 