Deri Blasts Judiciary Over Yeshiva Budget Cuts, Draft Crisis

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri hosted businessman Reuven Wolf, chairman of the World of Torah Fund, for morning prayers in his sukkah on Wednesday. The meeting occurred amidst the ongoing crisis surrounding the military draft of Haredim and budget cuts to yeshivas.

Deri publicly thanked Wolf for establishing the private fund, now in its third year, as an alternative to the frozen government budgets. He strongly criticized the judicial system, stating, "They tried to harm Torah scholars," and asserted that the fund provides a practical response to what he called "the judicial system's sanctions against Torah scholars."

Furthermore, Deri attacked the Attorney General and the Supreme Court, vowing that his party, Shas, would not allow harm to the life's work of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. He pledged that Shas would proceed with thousands of memorial events across the country and bring large crowds to Rabbi Yosef's Jerusalem tomb, despite attempts to limit these activities.

Rabbi Moshe Maya, the senior sage of the Council of Torah Sages, also attended the event. He stressed the importance of voting in elections, warning that any eligible voter who abstains from voting would be considered complicit in the "contempt of Torah scholars."