MK Matan Kahana of the State Camp party led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz has issued a sharp attack against MK Avi Maoz, head of the Noam party, for claiming that he made use of the names of "insignificant rabbis" in order to bolster his position
"The text sent by my friend MK Avi Maoz is a perfect illustration of the line being taken by the party of Smotrich and Maoz," Kahana wrote. "Theirs is an extremist position that involves mocking anyone who does not agree with them. The State Camp party will be the home of those national-religious voters who are fed up with the language of strife and polarization, of those who understand that the Jewish identity of the State can only be established with unity -- between religious, traditional, haredim, and secular.
"MK Maoz knows that I have never messed with halakhah [Jewish law], G-d forbid," Kahana added. "He knows very well that I have said a thousand times that I want to create a conversion system that will operate in the manner that was customary under Rabbi Druckman. He also knows very well that Rabbi Druckman was a full partner in crafting the language of the law [that I proposed]. It did not concern him or his friends that they were showing disrespect for these rabbis [when they criticized the proposed law] that they were involved in crafting.
"MK Maoz and his friends know exactly which yeshivah heads I consulted with," Kahana continued. "They know which rabbis prodded me to deal with this burning issue of conversion. They know that I did not budge a millimeter from their words. Not only did they not protest when there were those who referred to these rabbis with derogatory names, but MK Maoz himself derisively called them 'exceptionally minor rabbis.' This is how Maoz behaves and this is how his party behaves. Anyone who does not think exactly as they do is a minor rabbi, insignificant. Anyone who doesn't see things the way they do will not be offered so much as a glass of water or a handshake, or be permitted to join them in prayer."
The former Religious Affairs Minister added, "We must not be party to this. G-d-willing, I will continue to represent all those who do not deal in banning or outlawing others, all those who show respect to rabbis who do not necessarily think exactly as they do, all those who know that we, the Religious-Zionists, are those who must be at the forefront of building the next generation of national leadership. We must create the national Jewish identity, an identity that can only be crafted out of unity."
Responding to Kahana's words, MK Maoz stated, "Matan Kahana is still trying to remain in the limelight in the desperate hope that there are still a few people left who believe anything that one of the greatest swindlers in the history of the politics of this country has to say. Matan, establishing a coalition together with those who aspire to turn the State of Israel into a state of all its citizens is not going to strengthen our Jewish identity. Spearheading reforms that go against the Chief Rabbinate and all the rabbinic leaders of the generation is not called being loyal to Jewish law.
"When Rabbi Druckman presents a program with the agreement of the Chief Rabbis, that is not called supporting your reforms," Maoz added. "And by the way, the person who called the rabbis you consulted with 'exceptionally minor rabbis' was none other than Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, whom you would no doubt cast as a divisive troublemaker. You are being used by a left-wing party as a fig-leaf, but this no longer fools anyone," he concluded. "Your era has passed."