On the very same day that Israel’s State Comptroller Yosef Shapira uncovered massive haredi tax evasion and money laundering, Member of Knesset Rabbi Moshe Gafne of the Ashkenazi haredi Untied Torah Judaism Party was ejected from a meeting of the Knesset’s Finance Committee after he screamed slurs at its chairman, MK Rabbi Nissan Slomiansky of the right-wing Zionist Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi Party, while another haredi MK assaulted a Knesset security officer.
Above: MKs Rabbis Yaakov Lizman and Moshe Gafni
Haredi MKs Disrupt Knesset Finance Committee, One Assaults Knesset Security Officer, Another Ejected After Accusing Zionist Orthodox MK Of Stealing Money From Haredi Yeshivas
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
On the very same day that Israel’s State Comptroller Yosef Shapira uncovered massive haredi tax evasion and money laundering, Member of Knesset Rabbi Moshe Gafni of the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party was ejected from a meeting of the Knesset’s Finance Committee after he screamed slurs at its chairman, MK Rabbi Nissan Slomiansky of the right-wing Zionist Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi Party, while another haredi MK assaulted a Knesset security officer, Yeshiva World reported.
“The money intended for yeshiva students from abroad” – i.e., money the government used to give haredi yeshivas to help support the study of haredim from outside Israel who come to Israel to study in haredi yeshivas – “you took for your settlements, leaving married haredi yeshiva students without a shekel!” the enraged Gafne shouted at Slomiansky in today’s committee meeting.
Rather than follow the Knesset norm and put up with a screaming haredi MK, Slomiansky – who has a joint BA in math and physics along with rabbinic ordination – told Knesset security to escort Gafni out of the committee meeting.
In response, Gafni shouted even more insults at Slomiansky.
“It is not a big honor to sit with you! You hate haredim! You hate haredi!” Gafni screamed as security began escorting Gafni out of the room.
“Do not be sanctimonious, because in the eyes of the haredi community, they all know the truth about you,” Slomiansky, a veteren of the IDF's Nahal Paratroopers with a rank of First Lieutenant, responded.
At that point, fellow haredi UTJ MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman screamed, “Get your hands off of him!” at Knesset security and pushed a Knesset security officer away from Gafni, who then walked out on his own without a security escort.
“There is corruption here! There is corruption! I know what I am talking about!” Litzman shouted at Slomiansky as Gafni left the room.
Knesset security then tried to remove Litzman, but he resisted and moved away from the security officer and shouted, “No one is ousting me! Get your hands off of me! No one lays a hand on me!”
It is unclear from the available reporting what happened next, but it appears Litzman was allowed to remain in the room and was not arrested for the assault.
Gafni and Litzman are the two haredi members of the Knesset Finance Committee.
They are also the two senior members of their haredi United Torah Judaism Party, Litzman representing the hasidic Agudat Israel faction and Gafni representing the non-hasidic Degel HaTorah faction.