Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, sharply criticized Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over his visits to the Temple Mount and warned against giving political power to someone who, in his view, defies the rulings of the leading Torah sages.
In his remarks, the former Chief Rabbi said: “There are people who talk and attract young people with all kinds of slogans, but what do they actually do? Nothing. Just talk, talk, and the young people get excited."
The rabbi directly addressed the issue of ascending the Temple Mount, adding: “I have warned several times that it is forbidden to ascend the Temple Mount... The very next day, deliberately, that Ben Gvir went up to the Temple Mount, against the opinion of all the leading Torah sages from every community.
“How can anyone give power to a person like that, who openly, arrogantly, and contemptuously defies and disrespects all the leading Torah sages and ascends the Temple Mount like that? God forbid that anyone should support such a person."
Earlier, Ben Gvir published a sharply worded open letter directed at the leaders of the Haredi parties, following what he described as a staged campaign intended to divert attention from their "colossal failure" throughout the past term to resolve the military conscription issue.
In his letter, Ben Gvir launched an unprecedented attack on the United Torah Judaism leadership, accusing its members of direct responsibility for the difficult situation facing the Torah world, including the suspension of funding, arrest warrants against draft evaders, and the ongoing conscription crisis.
According to Ben Gvir, instead of acknowledging their failures and the fact that “for four years they did nothing to take care of their community," the political operatives chose to turn him into a cynical scapegoat.
Ben Gvir pointed an accusing finger at the Haredi representatives' longstanding approach to the law enforcement establishment.
“At the beginning of the term, I was the one who demanded that the Attorney General be dismissed, while you, the representatives of the Haredi parties, opposed it. You explained that you knew how to make deals with her. You thought you were smarter, and you gambled on her in order to obtain her approval for appointments - and now we have reached the current disgraceful situation."
In his letter, Ben Gvir also addressed the issue of yeshiva students' military service and attacked what he called the “ostrich policy of the community's leadership."
According to him, had the Haredi leadership recognized reality for what it was and established appropriate service tracks for those who are not actually studying Torah, it could have protected the status of genuine yeshiva students.
He praised the establishment of specially adapted, strictly Haredi service tracks in the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service, which have absorbed thousands of young Haredi men.
Ben Gvir accused the party leaders of completely ignoring these initiatives for narrow political reasons and even boycotting votes on legislation intended to benefit the Haredi public, such as the law allowing gender-segregated studies.
At the same time, Ben Gvir revealed that considerable behind-the-scenes contacts and attempts to coordinate areas of activity had taken place.
He also claimed to possess sensitive material from senior rabbis and Hasidic rebbes criticizing the conduct of Haredi political operatives, which he had chosen not to exploit for political purposes.
“Every time the rabbinical courts approached me in anger over the political operatives, I could have used it, but I didn't because I love you," he wrote.
Ben Gvir concluded his letter with a forceful message to Haredi voters: “The truth is that you know perfectly well that everything I have written here is true. When you tell your public that I am to blame, you are primarily revealing just how much you despise them and insult their intelligence. The Haredi public deserves more respect from you, rather than being sold such low-grade lies."