We present herewith an excerpt of remarks by HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein at an election event. Such rallies were held around the country. There have been election rallies in most chareidi neighborhoods and some larger rallies, including a very large one in Bnei Brak on Wednesday evening.
Speaking at one of the rallies, HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, quoted the Ben Ish Chai and the Arizal regarding the severity in the lack of respective Klal activity for one who has the capacity to influence others and fails to do so, thereby accruing blame for the collective sins of the public. He quoted the Chok Nossan who tells of R' Chutzpis Hameturgeman, one of the ten Harugei Malchus martyrs who was punished because he taught Torah without full cognizance of the Torah-honor of R' Yehoshua. When the honor of Torah hangs in the balance, one is required to cease his study and show concern and action for kvod HaTorah.
"I have heard all of my masters that one is obligated to vote for the Gimmel list: from HaRav Yechezkel Abramsky; the Steipler and HaRav Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, and it is our duty to submerge ourselves, as it were, in emunas chachomim, as HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman directed, on the basis of the Radak regarding the wife of Ovadia, who appealed to Elisha for help 264 times. Had she cried out only one time less, she would not have been helped. This was only because she `immersed' herself in emunas chachomim. Fortunate are we to have our gedolei hador who guide us and show us the way, and the only way that we can protest against our Jewish political enemies is by voting Gimmel."
In an interview with Yated Ne'eman, the current and hopeful Knesset representatives explained the situation.
Rabbi Gafni: The situation today is different than it was in the past in that the problems which we dealt with then were specific, difficult to be sure, but individual. Our situation today is more ambiguous and broad, all embracing. Their overall plan is to make chareidi life in Israel so unbearable that we will wish to leave the country if we wish to preserve our faith and pursue our specific lifestyle. That is their goal and they implement it in every way possible.
There is no area in our lives which they have not sought to throttle the chareidi public, from the most sacred and central value like army service down to the smallest detail. This can be compared to a man sitting in his home and someone comes along to harasses him on all sides. The invader tears down the curtains, shuts off the light, demolishes his kitchen and bars him access to basic supplies to the point that the man is forced to move out. To be sure, when we speak in material terms, we are talking about impairment of our basic ability to live a life of Torah, of a basis for spirituality. This is the very bull's eye at which they aim their arrows.
We are talking about a composite attack on all fronts. I don't want to think about what might happen if they continue along this way. If this government did not collapse - and we hope we had a hand in it - we fear to describe what will be the consequences. If, G-d forbid, we reach the next round in weakness, with their having a strong upper hand, I dread to think what the consequences might be!
Rabbi Maklev: I think that the public is not sufficiently cognizant of the many aspects in our lives which depend and are influenced by what goes on in the Knesset. For example: the sector of working women and the aspect of government recognition of academic acknowledgment of their credentials to be accepted into the work field. We are working on this all the time, but with the wind blowing against us all the time, it is all the more difficult.
Or take other aspects of smaller things, for example: women working in companies like IsraCard etc. In the past we succeeded in circumventing their need to work full time on chol hamoed. We explained to the companies that these women work very hard in raising children while working full hours to support the family, and during chol hamoed, they are required to work as usual. We succeeded at least on this front. Now, however, in this Knesset term, things have changed. It all depends on the government in power and not on the company. They have already begun issuing fines for companies whose workers do not check in for full time on chol hamoed.
In this Knesset term, they also cut off certain scholarships for women who took professional courses for job placement because they wanted the men to enter the work field.
Rabbi Asher: I usually say that it seems as if they took the chareidi man from the moment he is born until he dies, and systematically attacked him at every stage of his life: from birth with the child allowance, on to cuts in child care center support, in kindergarten and cheder, seminaries, yeshivos, kollelim and they even sought to impose taxes on burial through the Chevra Kadisha societies! (Thankfully, this last bill fell, meanwhile...)
Rabbi Sorotzkin: We have run a pitched battle with them for years, on the subject of outreach. As chairman of Lev L'Achim, I work together with the MKs in this area. The situation is that a considerable portion of Chinuch Atzmai schools, kindergartens and other Kiruv institutions are housed in substandard prefab caravans. The government is afraid that we will siphon off children from secular schools and understand that so long as our schools look like they do, parents will be in no hurry to transfer their children to us. Perhaps this is why the Rosh Yeshiva sent me to serve in the Knesset. It is a battle pitched against all the weak citizens whom they were unable to hold on to in any other way than by downgrading our conditions. This is their cry: Whoever wants an authentic chareidi education cannot be denied it, but we can stifle and thwart them, and make them finance their own institutions. This is a battle on the very Jewish character in this State.
