On the hareidi religious front, the Council of Torah Sages - spiritual guide for the United Torah Judaism party - also issued a letter to its followers last night. The rabbis wrote that it is not permitted to vote for a party whose members are not Sabbath-observant. Though in the past, hareidi voters barely needed to be reminded of this point, this election features Baruch Marzel - an observant Jew who has great appeal among certain hareidi sectors - as #2 on the Herut (Freedom) list. The problem is, however, that the Herut list is headed by MK Michael Kleiner, who is not known for his religious observance.
Marzel, a long-time resident of Tel Romeida in Hevron, has developed strong ties with the hareidi community and its rabbis. It is he, for instance, who is credited with building up support for Hevron among the hareidi community. "I see myself as a 'hareidi' in my personal life," Marzel has said, "but closer to the religious-Zionist camp in how I view the State of Israel. G-d established the State, not Ben-Gurion."
Marzel, a long-time resident of Tel Romeida in Hevron, has developed strong ties with the hareidi community and its rabbis. It is he, for instance, who is credited with building up support for Hevron among the hareidi community. "I see myself as a 'hareidi' in my personal life," Marzel has said, "but closer to the religious-Zionist camp in how I view the State of Israel. G-d established the State, not Ben-Gurion."