United Torah Jewry MKs presented a series of platform
messages at a large press conference held at its national
campaign headquarters in Givatayim last week, stressing the
party's efforts to reach out to the general population
through its numerous activities on social issues during the
outgoing term. They also presented aspects of the party's
ideological stance, namely preserving Israel's Jewish
character in the face of explicit threats by various other
parties bent on destroying all traces of Yiddishkeit
in the country.
Following opening statements by Publicity Bureau Director
Rabbi Menachem Gesheid, Knesset Finance Committee Chairman
Rabbi Yaakov Litzman spoke of the public's yearning for more
Judaism. He said various surveys show that 80 percent of the
public fasts on Yom Kippur and is in favor of keeping Shabbos
in public in order to preserve the nation's Jewish identity.
He also said that even the general media acknowledges UTJ is
a strong party on social issues in addition to its stance on
religious issues.
MK Rabbi Gafni, who also serves as organizational chairman of
UTJ's Central Election Staff, said that in terms of Jewish
identity the country has reached a low- water mark. Many
parents are afraid to send their children to school due to
rising violence and other undesirable influences prevailing
in schools. Only clear-cut Jewish values can rectify the
situation, he said.
According to Rabbi Shmuel Halpert, UTJ's task is to halt
dangerous trends that are taking over Israeli society. He
also spoke of the party's extensive activity in the area of
social legislation and assisting citizens on the lower rungs
of the ladder. "Everyone is talking about assistance, but we
have done it in practice," said Rabbi Halpert. He also
stressed the party's efforts to increase Torah study in all
schools in order to strengthen Jewish identity.
UTJ Knesset candidate Rabbi Yisroel Eichler raised a number
of points the party plans to address in the next term and
said the public must be shown authentic Judaism, and
stigmatizing notions of the chareidi sector as "an enemy of
the people" must be shattered. "Without Jewish identity there
can be no Jewish nation," he concluded.
Yaakov Blumenkratz, in charge of broadcast advertising,
presented the slogan leading the campaign strategy: "UTJ is
the difference between just another nation and a Jewish
nation," which is aimed at voters who are not traditionally
identified as UTJ supporters. He says the screen
advertisements are designed to bring in more UTJ voters and
to use the air time to allow audiences to consider the
messages conveyed.
In response to questions posed by journalists, Rabbi Litzman
said all those who went to graze in foreign pastures and
joined other parties will vote UTJ in the upcoming elections
because they, too, recognize there is no other answer for
Judaism other than UTJ. He also said that at a time when
other parties are being investigated for various scandals,
UTJ stands out for its spotlessness and the integrity of its
members.
Drawing in Voters from Non-Chareidi Sectors
MK Rabbi Gafni has held numerous meetings with sectors of the
voting public not considered traditional UTJ supporters, but
who would like to see Judaism strengthened in Israel and view
UTJ as the solution.
Last week Rabbi Gafni met with non-religious voters who
expressed an interest in working for and promoting UTJ. "They
see UTJ as [the party] that is truly leading the struggle to
maintain Jewish identity, and therefore want to contribute to
the party's success." He says numerous people who never
before voted UTJ have initiated contact with the party
recently, reflecting concerns that, based on current trends,
their children and grandchildren will be wholly unfamiliar
with authentic Judaism.
Rabbi Gafni says that at meetings, Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon repeatedly says UTJ is the only party that mentions
Jewish identity and reminds everyone that we are Jews. "We
don't need to hear it from him, but it's a fact."
Voters from the general public are drifting to UTJ because of
the work by party MKs on a variety of issues, says Rabbi
Gafni, who heads the House Committee and won a prize for his
efforts at promoting environmental issues. Efforts by UTJ MKs
to improve the public welfare have also garnered the support
of many new voters.
Rabbi Gafni says the Staff Organization has divided the
country into ten regions containing 15 towns and cities each,
not including moshavim and small population clusters, as well
as a separate set of activities in the leading 16 chareidi
population centers. Most of the work is done by volunteers
since the future remains uncertain and there is no guarantee
the party's past achievements will not be undone. The
economic crisis and the financial problems the parties have
been facing due to the frequency of elections have put a
crunch on the UTJ budget, and this means that campaign
workers do not receive the compensation they deserve.
In previous elections UTJ was fined by the State Comptroller
for budget excesses and party officials say they do not
intend to repeat this mistake. Party officials have decided
to focus on drawing voters not associated with UTJ in
previous elections, while making an effort to maximize voter
turnout among regular UTJ voters in light of the serious
state of political affairs and the threat that demands could
be made to effect changes in various critical areas,
particularly chareidi seminars, talmudei Torah and
yeshivos.
Rabbi Gafni Faces Off Against Labor and Meretz MKs
"According to the current situation in Eretz Hakodesh the
nation is losing its Jewish character and many youths have no
idea what makes them Jewish or why they live in this
country," said Rabbi Gafni during a debate against MK Michael
Melchior (Maarach) and MK Naomi Chazan (Meretz) at Bar-Ilan
University last week. "Only by preserving the Jewish
character of the country will we be able to educate future
generations here in Eretz Yisroel." Tommy Lapid was also
scheduled to participate, but did not attend.
UTJ is the only party that has placed the issue of Jewish
identity at the top of its platform, because it is the only
issue that will determine the next generation's tie to Eretz
Hakodesh, argued Gafni. The point of dispute separating the
various parties is a dispute over the root of the Jewish
people, and only UTJ has a clear message to convey on this
issue.
Rabbi Gafni said Mafdal has abandoned the issue of Judaism,
which was supposed to have spearheaded its platform, and has
adopted the issues of national policy and "Greater Israel"
(not withdrawing from any territory) instead. As a result
many voters are turning to other parties such as Likud and
Cherut, which stand to gain several mandates from Mafdal
since they represent the issue of "Greater Israel" more
effectively. A religious party must address religious issues
first and foremost, he explained.
During the debate MK Melchior said he believes there is no
need for religious parties and proposed that religious
parties merge into the leading parties. In reply Rabbi Gafni
said several religious Likud candidates were relegated to the
100th position on the list and suggested that were Melchior
to vie in the primaries instead of relying on his protected
position, he would find himself out of the list as well.
In response to a question on surveys showing that Shinui,
headed by MK Tommy Lapid, is expected to post good results in
the upcoming election, Rabbi Gafni said that when he was
working as a journalist, Lapid opposed opening movie theaters
in Jerusalem on Shabbos night, saying the only purpose of
such a move was to goad the chareidi sector. After winning a
seat in the Knesset however, Lapid discovered that by
attacking chareidim he could lure voters who are deeply
frustrated over the state of the economy, national security
and political corruption and who vote Shinui as an act of
protest.
Volunteers in Non-Religious Areas
Campaign workers are reporting that surprising levels of
interest in UTJ's Jewish and social platform messages have
been observed recently in non-religious areas in various
parts of the country. In some cases this awakening has taken
the form of volunteering to promote the campaign, in contrast
to relative complacency in overwhelmingly chareidi areas. UTJ
staffers expressed hopes that this apparent apathy will thaw
and more people will respond to calls by maranan
verabonon by volunteering to help bolster the election
staff as Election Day draws near, but in the meantime, they
say, the clock is ticking and valuable time is being lost.
To counter this apathy the national campaign workers'
headquarters in Bnei Brak, headed by Rabbi Mordechai Blau,
entered its election mode early this week in an effort to
boost staff bureaus around the country.
Field workers in secular areas are reporting serious concerns
over declining schools and a desire among many parents to
provide their children with a more traditional education to
prevent them from being severed from their Jewish roots. Some
voters told UTJ activists they feel stuck in a pattern of
going to the polls every two years to vote for a certain
party or bloc and not seeing any change after the
elections.
Many frustrated voters have even decided to abstain. Others
want to switch their vote to another party and are open to
any suggestion.
