Top Rabbi Calls on All Haredim to Vote, Even Extremists
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Rabbi Moshe Maya, a senior member of the Council of Torah Sages, urged all Orthodox Jews, including those from extremist factions, to vote in the upcoming elections. Speaking at a Jerusalem conference, he called voting a religious obligation to protest against the perceived desecration of Torah scholars and the potential drafting of yeshiva students. Rabbi Maya believes that a strong showing of 25 Knesset seats for the Shas party would prevent any government from being formed without their consent, thus blocking detrimental legislation.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Rabbi Moshe Maya called on all Orthodox Jews, including extremists, to vote in upcoming elections.
- He stated voting is a religious obligation to protest the desecration of Torah scholars.
- Rabbi Maya warned that abstaining from voting makes one complicit in anti-Torah actions.
- He believes 25 Knesset seats for Shas would prevent government formation without their consent.
- The rabbi invoked the late Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka to support his call for voting.
- The conference aimed to secure support for the Shas movement's future.
Rabbi Moshe Maya, the senior member of the Council of Torah Sages, delivered a forceful and unprecedented address at the 'Education Conference' of the 'Heichal Moshe' network of Talmudic schools in Jerusalem. The conference was attended by other Council members, Rabbis Shmuel Betzalel and Avraham Salim, Rabbi Baruch Shraga, and preacher Rabbi Baruch Rosenblum, along with other public figures.
Rabbi Maya issued a strong call to all parents and the public to fully support the Shas movement in the crucial battle for the character and future of Orthodox Judaism. He declared it an absolute obligation for everyone to vote, directly and unusually addressing segments of the population that typically do not participate in elections.
"Today the situation is completely different," Rabbi Maya stated, explaining the urgency. "Today their flag is to desecrate Torah scholars as much as possible. Since they arrested the first yeshiva student and put him in jail, I can barely sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and ask myself: where is our duty to protest?" He asserted that anyone with an identity card, even if affiliated with "the Jerusalem Faction" or "Edah HaChareidis," must go and protest by voting. "If he can protest and does not protest, he is complicit in a sin," he warned.
He argued that voting today is not for the sake of Zionism or the state, but rather a protest against the desecration of Torah scholars. He invoked the late Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka, suggesting that if he were alive today, he would urge people to vote, contrasting the current situation with the past when Torah scholars were not attacked.
Rabbi Maya further explained the consequences of abstaining from voting, stating, "Whoever does not vote, his vote is divided among the other parties, and in doing so, he becomes complicit in their actions which are against Torah learners. Most parties today are in favor of drafting yeshiva students and in favor of desecrating Torah scholars." He criticized the concept of "burden equality," questioning whose burden it is and contrasting it with divine will.
He set a clear halachic political goal, asserting that achieving 25 Knesset seats would prevent the formation of a government without their participation, thereby blocking the draft decree. "The only way is if we all go, influence, and vote," he urged. "This will be the biggest protest, and it will be impossible to form a government without us." He concluded by stating that if they achieve this, God will bring salvation, referencing the Declaration of Independence's commitment to freedom of religion and conscience.
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