Rabbi Refuses to Endorse Shas, Sparks Financial Dispute
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Rabbi Eyal Amarmi refused to endorse the Shas party, calling for a change in its divisive rhetoric and adoption of "love for Israel" principles. In response, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef accused Rabbi Amarmi of ingratitude, claiming Shas provided his institutions with 42 million shekels. An investigation by the "Babili" website found that the funds were allocated through municipal and educational development budgets for campus construction, not direct donations to the institution.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Rabbi Eyal Amarmi refused to endorse Shas, demanding the party adopt "love for Israel" principles.
- Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef accused Rabbi Amarmi of ingratitude, claiming Shas gave his institutions 42 million shekels.
- Rabbi Amarmi stated he would support Shas if it changed its divisive conduct and embraced unity.
- An investigation found discrepancies in the reported funding for Rabbi Amarmi's institutions.
- The funds were reportedly allocated through development budgets for campus construction, not direct donations.
A sharp dispute has erupted within the Haredi public after Rabbi Eyal Amarmi, head of the "Ka'ayel Ta'arog" institutions in Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood, refused to publicly endorse the Shas party for upcoming elections. Rabbi Amarmi stated that he could not support Shas in its current form, citing its conduct and urging it to adopt messages of "love for Israel" and cease divisive rhetoric, instead promoting the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov.
His refusal followed a request from a government minister to aid Shas's election campaign. Rabbi Amarmi clarified that he would support the party if it changed its ways, emphasizing unity and inclusivity, stating, "We don't hate anyone. We don't despise anyone. We oppose. It is permissible to oppose, but I don't hate anyone. We love everyone."
The First to the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, a member of Shas's Council of Torah Sages, publicly criticized Rabbi Amarmi during a memorial event for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in Ashdod. Rabbi Yosef claimed that Shas had provided Rabbi Amarmi's institutions with 42 million shekels for their building and grounds, questioning his ingratitude. "Where does this ingratitude come from? You received such a large sum, the entire lot, the entire building, Shas gave it all to him. What would we do without this movement?" Rabbi Yosef stated.
However, the "Babili" Haredi website investigated these financial claims, finding a discrepancy between the 42 million shekels mentioned and the reported annual revenues of Rabbi Amarmi's institutions, which are in the hundreds of thousands of shekels. The website reported that the funds Rabbi Yosef referred to were not directly transferred to the organization's account but were allocated over the years through development budgets from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry of Education for the construction of the institutions' campus. This included approximately 20 million shekels in 2019 for a Talmud Torah building, following a visit by Abraham Bezalel, then Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem for Shas and responsible for Haredi education. Further budgets were reportedly allocated for engineering work and development, including kindergartens, courtyards, and sports facilities, with the total investment estimated in the tens of millions of shekels.
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