"We will not allow people to incite against the chareidi and religious
public, which leads to synagogues being torched while the media
remains silent," MK Rabbi Yisroel Eichler boomed before a special
meeting of the Knesset plenum early this week. "I want everyone to
know that yesterday a synagogue was set on fire in Jerusalem, because
of the incitement and the fanning of the flames and the animosity, and
burning a synagogue is the fault of the instigators. This cannot be
countenanced."
Rabbi Eichler's remarks followed inflammatory words by MK Shlomo Molla
(Kadima) against the chareidi public and chareidi parties, accusing
them of draining the public coffers and blackmailing the Prime
Minister.
Kadima Chairman MK Tzipi Livni sat in her place in the Knesset plenum
throughout Molla's speech, listening without any interruption or
attempt to prevent him from issuing his severe remarks against the
chareidim.
"Nobody has spoken about the fact that a synagogue was torched in
Jerusalem and that anti-chareidi extremists are incited by the media
— some by the media and some by things that have been said and
are being said here in the Knesset — where chareidim are
portrayed as Enemy No. 1."
He also mentioned an article written by a professor who wrote that
"the protest failed because they did not focus on who is the enemy,
and the enemy is the chareidi public."
Deputy Finance Minister MK Yitzchak Cohen (Shas) objected to Molla's
inflammatory statements, but said he "is less surprised by Shlomo
Molla. I'm more surprised at the Kadima chairman who said and heard
everything he said and did not speak out on a single point. How can
such a thing be? I don't get it. This is your claim to glory —
that you incite one segment of the population against another? Is this
what you think will secure your political future for you? Get down
from there. Step down. Go learn how to give an opposition speech in a
dignified manner. Don't incite."
