Dozens of Likud Members Appointed Heads of Religious
Councils — Including Jerusalem — During Past Two
Years
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his son MK Omri Sharon gained
control over every focal point of power at the religious
authorities across the country by appointing Likud Center
members and other Likud members to head them. Probably most
of these appointed functionaries will follow Sharon into his
new party Kadima, and that is apparently one of the sources
of support that he is counting on. This includes Jerusalem
where Sharon appointed religious Likud members who destroyed
the Jerusalem kashrus organizations that had been built up
over many years.
A recent investigative report in Yediot Achronot
refers to these appointments as Israel's "biggest political
job arena." According to the report, once the religious
authorities came under the full charge of the Prime
Minister's Office under the dismantling of the Ministry of
Religions that was part of the coalition agreement with
Shinui, Sharon and his son took control. After the majority
of religious authorities were dismantled, Ariel Sharon and
his son appointed new administrations when they were
reorganized.
In recent years major changes have taken place at the
religious authorities with the stated goal to streamline the
system and "prevent the politicization" of the religious
authorities. Yet Yediot Achronot reveals that funding
has not decreased but is scheduled to increase, and Likud
Center members are constantly receiving
appointments—with the Attorney General's backing. A
disproportionate amount of the religious councils' budget
always went to salaries and not to religious services, and
this sad situation has not changed.
The newspaper cites a long list of appointments of
individuals unsuited to the task, such as Amram Benizri, a
green grocer from Bnei Brak, who was placed in charge of the
religious council in Kiryat Gat. He now receives a monthly
salary of NIS 9,500 plus vehicle expenses. In Kiryat Bialik
Arnon Sadeh of Shinui was personally appointed by the Prime
Minister as part of a deal between Shinui and the Likud. It
is amazing that Shinui still enjoys a reputation in Israel as
an uncorrupt party.
The report quotes a chareidi MK saying, "Omri [Sharon] is
behind the appointments. He looks out for his father and
makes the appointments for him. He does not appoint only
Center members but close associates who work for him, just as
Yitzhak Kaufman appointed his close associates to jobs in
Jerusalem. In practice they made a large portion of the
religious authorities into vote contractors."
The Arrangements Law for 2006, which was recently tabled in
the Knesset, states that all of the local authorities must be
reorganized by June 2006. Every local authority will have two
figures in charge, including one paid position. Likud figures
claim that Sharon only makes appointments from "the chareidi
group" within Likud, which is comprised of fringe chareidi
elements tied to focal points of power in the Likud. "There
is no tender, no locating committee, no restrictions,
nothing. There is only one criterion: that they pass Sharon's
decisions in the Likud and support him," one Likud Center
member is quoted as saying.
One Center member who received a job was Assaf Atzur, now
director of the Jerusalem Religious Council. Yediot
Achronot refers to him as a member of "the Jerusalem
group" of Likud Center members who formerly supported
Netanyahu. "His appointment, like that of Council Chairman
Moshe Ausditcher and his assistant Chagai Cohen, both Likud
members, is a part of the deal Omri Sharon promised the
chareidi group within Likud," reads the report.
A Center member told Yediot Achronot how the deal for
the appointment of this group to the Jerusalem Religious
Council was carried out, a deal that later brought Sharon
victory in several votes held in the Likud Center. "They
promised the Likud chareidim that if they support Arik Sharon
in the Center elections they would receive appointments from
top to bottom. They also made a lot of money by taking
control of lands that belonged to the religious councils.
When the Center members came to vote on postponing the
primaries we asked them, `Did you vote with us against the
Disengagement?' They replied, `We got something that's
impossible to vote against.' They simply voted in favor of
Arik Sharon as a single, unified entity, thereby bringing
about his victory in the Center."
The list of cities where the Prime Minister's backers
appointed their supporters to ranking positions at the
religious councils includes Eilat, Lachish, Kadima, Gedera,
Atlit, Netanya, Nes Tziona, Kiryat Ono, Even Yehuda, Ohr
Yehuda, Natzrat Illit, Rechovot, Bnei Brak, Beit She'an,
Kiryat Yam, Ofakim, Rosh Ha'ayin and Yehud.
According to MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, "The Likud, with both of
its camps and the Likud Center, has been trying in recent
years to take control of religious life in the State of
Israel, including religious services, appointments to the
religious councils, rabbonim, dayonim, etc. The
government's recent decision to make appointments around the
country, which are inevitably political appointments, the
decision to reduce the pay given to rabbonim, who they also
want to lower to the rank of clerks, the Justice Minister's
decision not to convene the Committee for the Appointment of
Dayanim unless they appoint at least one of the candidates
she wants—there is no precedent for a secular party
engaging in such issues so obsessively and for political
reasons.
"The reduction of the budget for religious services, which
was slashed by more than 50 percent under the NRP-Shinui
government, was halted upon UTJ's entry into the coalition
and the budget more than doubled. The government's [recent]
decision to require the local authorities to transfer their
share to the religious councils will alleviate some of the
suffering of the rabbonim and the religious council workers
until a permanent solution is reached and the debts are
settled."
