Rabbi Avraham Salim, a member of Shas’ Council of Torah Sages and head of the Maor HaTorah Yeshiva, on Sunday night expressed support for the haredi MKs, blasting both the Attorney General and the Supreme Court.
Rabbi Salim is one of the senior halakhic authorities in the Shas movement, and his voice carries significant weight in the Sephardic-haredi public.
"The Attorney General is the Jezebel of our time, and the Supreme Court is Jeroboam son of Nebat," the rabbi told his students. "They have joined together with the left and are persecuting Torah scholars in every way."
Addressing the growing criticism within the haredi public toward its political representatives, Rabbi Salim responded: "There are yeshiva students who are angry and claim that the representatives are doing nothing - that is not true. The representatives are making efforts, I know. Both in the past and today, they are looking for every way to regulate the status of Torah learners."
At the same time, Rabbi Salim firmly condemned the street demonstrations and called on yeshiva students to stay away from them.
"The demonstrations do not help - they cause harm, take people away from learning, and accustom them to violence," he said. "Efforts must be made through quiet channels - visits, phone calls - and one must remain aligned with the instructions of the rabbis."