claiming Daas Torah could be illegal and send Rav Shteinman and Rav Kanievsky to jail

Yaakov Asher recently left his position as Mayor of Bnei Braq to move into his new position as Member of Knesset for UTJ.  When Asher left his position as mayor, Bnei Braq continued in its time-honored tradition of not having elections but appointing a mayor based on a mutual decision between the rabbis. A fellow named Avraham Rubinshtein was appointed as mayor, in a decision announced jointly by Rabbis Shteinman and Kanievsky.

In a shocking move, a resident of Bnei Braq has filed a criminal complaint against both Rav Shteinman and Rav Kanievsky. His complaint is in how they appointed Rubinshtein as mayor, and specifically what they said in the announcement. He even states explicitly that he is aware of the fact that if they should be convicted, they could even serve a prison sentence for their crime, and they will very likely have to testify in court.

Yisrael Appel, the complainant, says that the law states that if the mayor should leave his post before his term has come to an end, the city council will choose the replacement from amongst the council members. Yet, Rubinshtein was close to Rav Kanievsky and Rav Shteinman and they together published a letter in which they said that according to daas torah Rubinshtein should be appointed mayor. Appel says the claim of "daas torah" is really a threat and weapon used against the elected officials. Using "daas torah" stops the elected officials from holding their own free discussion on the issue. And, Appel, shows, this is precisely what happened. Right after the announcement, the city council met and unanimously appointed Rubinshtein as mayor.

All this, Appel claims, is a threat against elected officials, and is damaging to the foundations of democracy. He also said that he is interested in explaining why he is going to court and not beis din over this, and he would be happy to explain his halachic rationale in front of a panel of dayanim made up of specific rabbonim from a variety of courts.
(source: Bechadrei and INN)

I imagine his justification is the same idea - no dayan, were he to go to beis din, would hear such a case against Rabbis Shteinman and Kanievsky, and would definitely not give such a hearing a fair trial. But that is just my guess.

I don't know who this Appel is, but he has a lot of gall to file such a complaint. Really, if all he wants is a real election, all he has to do is register a separate party. Bnei Braq has no elections, because everyone agrees, based on the instructions from the rabbonim, to run on one party. If another party would be registered, it would force elections. His issue with "daas torah" would still be an issue, as "daas torah" would be used to influence any such elections as well.

Daas Torah illegal? Let's see what the courts say. I am curious how this will play out. I cannot imagine Rav Shteinman and Rav Kanievsky being sent to jail, or even being forced to testify in court, for this. I imagine it will be thrown out of court, but I do see it as a possibility that the courts might rule on whether "daas torah" can be used to influence elections, the way the courts have already discussed the using of amulets and blessings..

------------------------------------------------------

Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel

------------------------------------------------------