‘Is Their Blood Red Less?’ Goldknopf Sends Sharp Letter to Netanyahu Over Excluding 200,000 Haredim

The chairman of United Torah Judaism sharply attacked the benefits plan for Judea and Samaria, saying it excludes the Haredi public. “200,000 Haredi residents are left behind” | The full letter (Haredim)

MK Yitzhak Goldknopf (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

On the eve of the festive cabinet meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Nazareth Illit, the chairman of United Torah Judaism, MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, sent a sharp letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a government decision that completely ignores the Haredi public in Judea and Samaria.

“I find it necessary to turn to you urgently and with deep pain, בשם two hundred thousand residents of Judea and Samaria who are Haredim,” Goldknopf wrote. “On tomorrow’s government agenda, in item B, a dramatic proposal is being brought for the establishment of temporary sites in the rural communities in Judea and Samaria. And here again, we are facing an outrageous reality that cannot be explained: the Haredi public in Judea and Samaria is once again sidelined, excluded and completely removed from this plan.”

Goldknopf sharply emphasized the extent of the discrimination: “Of the roughly half a million residents of Judea and Samaria, close to 200,000 residents are Haredim, without an evil eye! The Haredi public makes up almost half of the entire population in the area, and the cities of Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit are the largest urban centers in Judea and Samaria.”

In his letter, the chairman of United Torah Judaism raised difficult questions: “The heads of the Haredi local authorities are asking me today with a bleeding heart, and I am directing this question to you: why is it that they are always the ones left behind? How is it that funding, development and benefits that go to the other communities never reach the Haredi population centers in Judea and Samaria?”

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Goldknopf added in pain: “Is the blood of the residents of Beitar Illit, Modi'in Illit and Emanuel less red? Are half of the residents in the area invisible to the government? There is a very strong feeling among the public that this exclusion is not accidental and its purpose is to prevent support and benefits from reaching a certain public.”

“We cannot accept such discrimination”

The chairman of United Torah Judaism concluded his letter with a clear appeal to the prime minister: “We cannot accept such discrimination! The Haredi public is part of the settlement in the Holy Land and a full partner in strengthening, developing and prospering the settlement, despite overcrowding and terrible housing distress. It is entitled to every benefit and assistance as a matter of right, not favor.”

Goldknopf called on Netanyahu: “As the prime minister of all citizens of Israel, I ask you to listen carefully to the Haredi sector in Judea and Samaria, to review this clause again before it is approved tomorrow, and to ensure that any plan, benefit or establishment of centers in the area will include, in an equal and full manner, the Haredi local authorities and residents as well.”