Talks with ultra-Orthodox millionaires and meetings with yeshiva leaders: this is how Netanyahu worked towards an agreement in Torah Judaism

In a meeting he held with three senior officials, Netanyahu said that "everything must be done to reach 61" - and that the ultra-orthodox factions must be united.

He wanted to make sure that if he promised to reduce the core studies - the problems in the party would be solved.

Although Netanyahu received a lot of criticism for the move, the party says: "The crisis was resolved thanks to him"

Yaki Adamker

13/09/2022

Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 2:27 p.m. Updated: 3:25 p.m.

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Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the Shabbat Square conference

Last Tuesday, in the early evening, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu along with chief of staff Tzachi Braverman and his ultra-Orthodox advisor Ze'ev Fleishman secretly entered the office building located at the beginning of Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.

In the meeting room of the Nevo Kidar Blum law firm, three senior Haredi officials were waiting for him - Rabbi Yossi Hebroni, head of the Hebron yeshiva - from the most respected yeshiva in the ultra-Orthodox world, known as the ultra-Orthodox "Oxford" and influential in the Degel Torah faction;

Shlomo Carlinstein, director of the yeshiva and who is responsible for the large financial body of the Gur Chassidut;

And the ultra-orthodox real estate developer Shlomo Bruner, who is close to the ultra-Orthodox leaders' houses. "My commitment," Netanyahu told those present in the room, "is to do everything possible to obtain 61 mandates for the right-wing bloc."

These are the peak days of the political crisis between Degel Torah and Agudat Israel, the two factions that make up Torah Judaism.

The parties were unable to reach an agreement, the talks reached an impasse and although some of the ultra-Orthodox factions warned Netanyahu "don't get involved", he worked behind the scenes and invested tremendous efforts to obtain an agreement to run together.

Netanyahu's assumption was that if the factions ran separately, victory in the upcoming elections would be hopeless.

In such a situation, at least one of the two factions will not pass the blocking percentage and the bloc led by him will not reach 61 mandates.

Documentation of Netanyahu leaving the meeting with the three, last Tuesday (photo: official website, no)

The main debate between the two factions revolves around the demand of Belaz Hassidism, the second largest Hasidism in Israel, to join a new path of the Ministry of Education which means budgets from the state in exchange for studies of Livah subjects - mathematics, English and Hebrew, a move that provoked strong opposition from Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, leader of the partner faction, the Torah Banner. "I want you to make sure," Netanyahu told those present at the meeting, "that if we manage to reach an agreement on education with Belaz, that there will be no problems later on about positions and positions on the list." After the meeting, Netanyahu left the place, and his documentation of his departure The building was revealed for the first time.

This was not the only action Netanyahu took to achieve the agreement.

Last Monday, Shlomo Werdiger, an ultra-Orthodox tycoon and chairman of Agudath Israel in the USA, landed in Israel.

Verdiger is considered close to the rebbes and rabbis, and for years has donated millions of dollars to Hassidism, educational institutions, and charities in the ultra-orthodox sector. Verdiger had a marathon of talks with Netanyahu. Upon landing in Israel, he came to a private meeting with the rebbe of Belaz at his home in Jerusalem, in which he tried to gain a breakthrough through contacts.

The day after, shortly before boarding the plane - he also had a telephone conversation with the ultra-orthodox leader Rabbi Edelstein.

Werdiger also made sure to update Netanyahu on the details of these conversations.

More in Walla!

It is the ultra-orthodox parties that prevented their voters from the core studies.

Netanyahu just gave the approval

To the full article

Updated all the time.

Netanyahu (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Chairman of Torah Judaism Moshe Gafni (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

In addition, in an attempt to exert pressure on the Torah flag, Netanyahu's office also operated through other channels, including with Robi Sharan, an ultra-Orthodox real estate magnate from New York who was also the mediator in the inheritance dispute in the family of the late Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky.

A close associate of Sharan said that Netanyahu's adviser Fleishman "obsessively called" in order for Sharan to use his connections with Beit Rabbi Edelstein to reach an agreement between the parties.

After the conversation with Rabbi Edelstein's people, Sharan informed that it was an ideological debate but that he would continue to work to achieve a breakthrough between the parties.

Most of Netanyahu's efforts were focused on attempts to add Hassidism in Belez to the Shas education network, a network that receives a 100% budget from the state in exchange for Liva studies of a similar scope.

He believed that if the economic issue is resolved, the crisis will be resolved and the parties will run as one party in the elections.

Netanyahu met last month with members of the Knesset Israel Eichler and Meir Proosh and then with the chairman of Sh.

The agreement signed yesterday in which the ultra-Orthodox educational institutions on the recognized unofficial track and on the exempt track will receive funding from the state in the amount of 75% and 55% (respectively) despite the fact that some of them do not teach the Liva subjects at all or teach in low volumes was signed between the ultra-Orthodox factions but Netanyahu promised the representatives Torah Judaism to take care of the budget for its implementation. He was criticized for this, but senior Torah Judaism said today that Netanyahu is not responsible for its details, but "if he had not acted, this crisis would not have progressed to a solution."

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