Degel HaTorah of Beit Shemesh held its first board meeting on
elections preparations after selecting 45 branch members and
11 board members in internal branch elections two months
ago.
The meeting, held to get ready for local elections scheduled
for 13 Cheshvan, was opened by Branch Secretary Rabbi Shmuel
Greenberg, who provided an update on routine activities for
the community in Beit Shemesh. He also said the board must
discuss and reach decisions on all matters related to the
elections. Board members held a piercing discussion on the
joint efforts by UTJ, which is comprised of Degel HaTorah and
Agudas Yisroel. They also discussed the UTJ elections list
and the issue of the mayor's office.
Rabbi Menachem Shapira, director of the Degel HaTorah
Municipal Department, said the principles important to Degel
HaTorah should be hammered out. The board members were
unanimous on the issues that should be stressed, saying
meetings should be held immediately rather than waiting until
the last moment.
Councilman Rabbi Moshe Montag said heavy emphasis should be
placed on housing and education, noting Beit Shemesh could
lead a housing solution that would affect the entire country,
saying it has obtained zoning for 30,000 residential units, a
portion of which already have Taba approval in Ramat Beit
Shemesh Gimmel.
The Branch Secretary raised a proposal to set up a board
committee that would be authorized to handle the following
issues: contacting Agudas Yisroel of Beit Shemesh to conduct
negotiations on the effort to make a joint list to vie for
the mayor's office, discussing the mayoral election and
evaluating all the data it receives; discussing the Degel
HaTorah list for Beit Shemesh and determining the main issues
to focus on in the election campaign.
The board would also address the Degel HaTorah platform as
well as the needs of the party and its constituents, work to
unite the party and bring as many voters as possible into its
ranks, select branch members and party field workers to re-
map Degel HaTorah voters throughout the city and submit work
summaries for board approval. The issues will be submitted
for review and inquiries by the city's rabbonim and then
would be presented to the branch for approval.
After reading aloud the decisions the proposal was approved
unanimously.
