Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni launched a harsh attack on Shas leader Aryeh Deri on Thursday, only to receive a strong counter-attack from MK Michael Malkieli of Shas.
“I am boiling with rage," Gafni said in an interview with Radio Kol Barama. “There was a clear decision that we would go into the opposition and give up ministerial positions - and Shas is not honoring it. We left the coalition, but they refused to do so. They continue to run government ministries and openly admit that they are still part of the coalition."
Gafni claimed that “Shas does not want Ashkenazi rabbis. I asked Deri to sit down and discuss the matter, and he flatly refused."
Referring to the Attorney General’s opinion that institutions which serve draft-eligible yeshiva students will no longer be eligible to grant tax benefits to donors, Gafni said: “The Attorney General’s decision joins a long list of rulings that make no legal sense. No other body unrelated to the haredi public would ever be treated this way. I don’t understand how the Prime Minister continues to keep this woman in her position - she is outright antisemitic. He should issue a statement saying he will not cooperate with her and that she is fired."
He added, “The Attorney General does not believe in Torah study, she does not want this government, she doesn’t even hide her position. She wants to strip us of our voting rights. It’s coming."
MK Michael Malkieli of Shas responded sharply to Gafni’s attack on Deri: “While you’re spreading lies, you seem to have forgotten the facts and the truth. Right now, the only haredi government minister in Israel belongs to Gafni’s party. And the only former committee chairman still sitting in his office as chairman of the Finance Committee is Gafni himself. Fix yourself first before you criticize others."
Malkieli continued, “You, Gafni, only woke up when you made the effort to come to the Knesset at 1:00 a.m. to fight and oppose the transfer of large budgets for building mikvaot across the country. Thank God you failed, and with heavenly help, we succeeded in significantly strengthening the entire network of mikvaot in Israel."
“Shas, which receives its instructions and guidance solely from the Council of Torah Sages, will continue to lead on all fundamental issues," he concluded. “It is sad and painful that while the world of Torah is under threat and your friends are working alongside us to meet the needs of the public, you find the time to engage in infighting and chase headlines."