The Knesset House Committee unanimously approved the split of
United Torah Jewry into two separate parties and notified the
plenum of the decision. UTJ has now been replaced by the two-
man party Degel HaTorah and the three-man party Agudas
Yisroel. The split is primarily a political, technical move
reflecting problems in operations in the Knesset, and not an
ideological one.
Following consultations with gedolei Yisroel shlita,
MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni announced
that they had decided to transform Degel HaTorah into an
independent Knesset faction.
In a letter to Knesset House Committee Chairman MK Roni Bar-
On notifying him of the UTJ split, Rabbi Ravitz wrote, "MKs
Avrohom Ravitz and Moshe Gafni, members of the Agudat
Hachareidim—Degel HaTorah Party, will form an
independent party in the Knesset known as Degel HaTorah."
The letter also states, "When the candidate list was
submitted to the Knesset, the Central Election Committee
Chairman was given an agreement regarding the union of the
parties." Before UTJ's formation Degel HaTorah was listed as
an independent party and received separate funding.
Independent parties make their own decisions on day-to-day
issues and have their own quota of agenda motions,
legislative motions, questions, committee membership, a party
room, an assistance staff, a party chairman, etc. The
decision only applies to the current term. A second decision
will be made in the future.
Rabbi Ravitz emphasized that this decision has no impact on
the coalition agreement signed with the Likud and that Degel
HaTorah will continue to be coalition members as per
instructions by Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah according to the
terms established before the coalition agreement was
signed.
MKs Rabbi Ravitz and Rabbi Gafni explained that the decision
to set up a separate party followed the conduct shown by MK
Rabbi Yaakov Litzman and his decision to accept a post as
Finance Committee Chairman just one day after the new
government was formed. "The decision of the Moetzes Gedolei
HaTorah that we would enter the coalition on a conditional
basis was in order to certify and clarify that suitable and
necessary solutions would be found both in the area of
regulating religious services and preserving the independence
and uniqueness of the chareidi education system. Rabbi
Litzman's move harmed and harms these efforts and finding
solutions to the difficult ideological problems chareidi
Jewry faces. Therefore, if they harm the difficult and
necessary struggle on the issue of religion and chareidi
education, we cannot continue to function as a single
party."
The two Degel HaTorah MKs also said the decision was preceded
by a UTJ meeting at which Rabbis Ravitz and Gafni asked Rabbi
Litzman not to assume the post of Finance Committee chairman
immediately, but to wait until the Prime Minister's coalition
pledges regarding religious services and chareidi education
were carried out as part of efforts to ensure their
implementation.
Rabbi Litzman, however, claimed that because Agudas Yisroel's
three representatives comprise a majority of the party they
could and should make party decisions based on their majority
vote. The Degel HaTorah representatives contend, "Until now,
when there were disputes on various internal party issues or
various non-ideological issues in the Knesset, we would
restrain ourselves and hold our tongues and agree to be
insulted by having him constantly decide and ignore our
position. But now, when speaking of an ideological and
substantive issue, a crucial matter of principle related to
guaranteeing religious services and the independence of
chareidi education, we can no longer remain silent and were
left with no alternative other than to set up an independent
party, Degel HaTorah, in which we will make our own
decisions, and he will continue to make his decisions in his
party.
"In any case, for a long time now, we have been working and
operating as two separate factions with differing opinions
and stances on almost every single issue. So if until now we
were separate parties de facto, now we will also be de jure.
This move simply reflects what has been happening in practice
for a long time. Unfortunately we were unable to continue our
activity as a unified party, both in practice and in
principle, when Rabbi Litzman decides every matter and issue
according to his own will and dismisses our opinion and
stance entirely, as if we did not exist as party members. The
accepted practice was always that when there were two
opinions, we would adopt the stricter approach
(lechumro). This is the way it has always been, and
here this was not done and this guideline was violated."
