Arutz Sheva spoke with Rabbi David Stav, Chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, about the political stalemate and the divisions amongst the Israeli people.
"I'm not involved in politics," Rabbi Stav clarified, "I would like to see rabbis not dealing with the political issues, because I think that rabbis should be public leaders, and spiritual leaders, that respond to the needs of all the congregants."
"I don't want to be perceived, and I don't want the Torah to be perceived, that it belongs to one side of the political discourse."
Rabbi Stav also pointed out that, "The public discourse and especially among rabbis in the last couple of days became a discourse of hatred. People throw left-wing leaders, people that are a part of the army that sacrifice their lives to establish the State of Israel, to liberate Jerusalem...these people are involved in establishing the State, and all of a sudden they became the ultimate enemies of the Jewish people, of the Jewish history."
"I think this kind of hatred, discourse of hatred, does not fit with our philosophy, with our perception...that we should be people that embrace all tribes of the Israeli, of the Jewish society, and not rejecting and not pushing away others. And again, it doesn't mean that I support a coalition based on [Yamina chair MK Naftali] Bennett and [Yesh Atid chair MK Yair] Lapid, or resist this coalition."
When asked if there is such a thing as a true unity government, Rabbi Stav said, "Every coalition is based on compromises."
"Everybody knows that life is compromises. The only question is what kind of compromises, and how far are you ready to give away, and how far do you give up your principles and your visions. It's a question of measuring what is more important and what is less important, and not least and not last, what is achievable, what could be accomplished, and what cannot be accomplished."
Regarding how rabbis can help create unity, he said that rabbis should not be involved in politics, and that they should "increase the public discourse of love, of responsibility, of solidarity, to emphasize the good points in each position, and to know that no position is 100% good, and we ourselves are not also 100% pure."
"There is good and evil...in each one of us," he concluded.