Minister Itshak Waserlauf (Otzma Yehudit) has announced that he and his colleagues would oppose transferring the management of the historic "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue to parties that might remove the prayer for soldiers' welfare from its prayers.
In a tweet, Waserlauf wrote: "I grew up in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, on the ruins of the historic 'Tiferet Yisrael' synagogue. Words cannot describe the emotion I felt when I first entered the restored synagogue building. In the government's Jerusalem decision, I, along with others, worked for the restoration and rehabilitation of this important synagogue."
He added: "Now, some want to transfer its management to parties that might remove the prayer for the welfare of the State and the welfare of IDF soldiers. I will not support this, nor will my party leader, Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and neither will any member of Otzma Yehudit."
Earlier this week, a government meeting focused on transferring the management of the "Tiferet Yisrael" synagogue, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, into haredi control.
Sources involved in the matter revealed that the move is being promoted under the guise of the security situation, with little opposition being heard due to the absence from the public sphere of those currently bearing the security burden.
A senior official familiar with the matter slammed the move as "a cynical exploitation of the situation."
"Our children are being killed in Gaza right now, and there are those who choose to seize more and more spiritual and physical assets and hand them over to haredi hands," he added. "It is absurd that during this entire war, with the funerals of our children, and the economic situation in the economy, the government finds time to make decisions on a single synagogue in Jerusalem, important as it may be. We will fight this decision."