The haredi lack of acceptance of anything Zionist is in full gear.
Yesterday it was made offical - the new IDF Chief Rabbi is Rabbi Rafi Peretz, as Rabbi Ronsky's term was not extended.
I dont know much about Rabbi Peretz, other than the little I have read about him in the bios in the different papers. He is a rosh yeshiva, so I am sure he knows his stuff.
What the haredim are focusing on to start with is Rabbi Peretz's appearance. This is good because it means they don't have anything substantial and instead resort to pettiness. The rejection of him as being worthy of taking the position was a given from the get-go. Simply because he is not haredi, but Dati Leumi.
So instead of anything substantial, like criticizing any specific controversial psak or statement he might have said and using that to say he is not worthy (as was done regularly against Rav Ronsky), they are simply saying he doesn't look like a rav. He wears aviator sunglasses and has no beard (Rabbi Peretz served in the air force as a helicopter pilot).
Why would the chareidim care if the chief rabbi of the IDF is not chareidi? They by and large avoid army service anyway.
ReplyDeleteit is simply a matter of disrespect. Thye look down upon anybody who is not haredi, and for sure non-haredi rabbonim.
ReplyDeleteBut also, there are plenty of haredim in the army rabbinate. And this was also an outside appointment. They would prefer the job be taken by a haredi rabbi, or one more connected to the haredi gedolim.
Let me restate:
ReplyDeleteWhat chutzpa on the part of chareidim to, on the one hand, exclude their community from serving the country through army service, and, on the other hand, criticize the decisions made by the body they (on the whole) refuse to join in order to bring about that exclusion.
They can have all the preferences they want. But when they don't really participate in the IDF, why should these preferences be taken into account? (An RBS analogy - if chareidi leaders would suddenly object to the rav of Ahavat Tzion, would anyone in that shul care, or even think that the objection is appropriate?)
Yoni, welcome to Israel!
ReplyDeleteThen don't let it bother you. They're complaining about something they have nothing to do with. That would be like me criticizing the recent appointment of the new head of the Estonian phone company.
ReplyDeleteYoni said,
ReplyDelete"(An RBS analogy - if chareidi leaders would suddenly object to the rav of Ahavat Tzion, would anyone in that shul care, or even think that the objection is appropriate?)"
The day will come when this will happen. They (some Charedim) will put a charedi rav in DL shuls as to change the face of the shul.
They (and I repeat some) already attempted to do this to the Mikva on Dolev and the Kenyon Dolev both of which should be out of their realm.
this is nothing new. They already fight for the jobs in the Rabbanut, both in kashrut supervision and in neighborhood or city (and even country) Chief Rabbi positions, an organization they themselves do not hold of or rely on for anything.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of "Deputy" Health Minister Litzman who is not "allowed" to be a full minister.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see him speaking in the Knesset with the flag behind him I snicker.
Oh yeah, this guy is not part of the "zionist" government.
They get paid from asystem that many of them didn't even pay into.
Give me a break. if these guys really want to put their money where their mouth is let them remove themselves from any connection just like the NK.
I think even NK voted in the most recent Bet Shemesh mayoral race...
ReplyDeleteThe Chareidi opinion of what goes on in the Israeli Army is worth less than the Iranian opinion.
ReplyDeleteAri Enkin
Rafi in all honesty R Rafi Peretz learned in Yeshivat HaKotel and is a talmid of R Yaakov Katz, a Ponenvezher who went to HaKotel after being told by Rav Shach to do so. Even years later he is מתיעץ with Rav Katz on a regular basis. From a Chareidi perspective they could have done much worse.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about him but that sounds good to me. BTW, I saw today (or was it yesterday?) that he says he is very connected to the gedolim and he is as the dust by their feet...
ReplyDeleteBTW, once you mention it, why did Rav Shach tell Rav Katz to go to HaKotel?
Rav Shach never had a problem with people staffing Hesder Yeshivas. The "old-guard" in HaKotel was almost exclisively Ponevezher.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget, the Ponevizer Rav used to fly the flag on Yom haa'tzmaut
ReplyDelete