The haredi UTJ party's Degel Hatorah faction released a statement Saturday evening, attacking the appointment of the chairman of the party's Agudat Yisrael faction Yitzhak Goldknopf to the Defense Policy Cabinet.
"Degel Hatorah opposes the acceptance of a ministerial position that would be responsible for all of the government's actions, including those which in opposition to Jewish law, even if he votes against them, due to collective responsibility," the faction stated, "All the more so, him being a member of the Defense Policy Cabinet who's decisions are decided once the ministers know about all of the actions that were taken beforehand and especially when it concerns human lives."
According to the coalition agreements between Agudat Yisrael and the Likud, Goldknopf will be UTJ's first representative to will serve as a regular member of the Defense Policy Cabinet.
Later Saturday, a source in Degel Hatorah told Israel National News that his faction's chairman Moshe Gafni is leading the attacks on Goldknopf and that not all of the faction's members support it.
"Moshe Gafni is fighting alone. On his own opinion only. It is not accepted by all of the faction members. and it is unclear why he's acting this way," said the source.
"Yes, there are no challenges against him from within the faction, and we all signed the letter to Netanyahu, but that was only to not create inner tension. But the truth must be said: Gafni is fighting this fight alone," the source claims.