Rabbis Kanievsky and Edelstein sign joint statement castigating Bennett government over kashrut reform, tax hikes, and subsidy cuts.
Two senior Haredi rabbis signed a joint statement published Tuesday condemning the Bennett government as “wicked”.
The open letter, published in Yated Ne’eman Tuesday morning, was signed by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, two prominent rabbis from the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) Haredi community.
The two rabbis castigated the government both over its plans to reform the kashrut certification system, and austerity measures, some of which are included in the state budget, which is set to be voted on this week.
In particular, the rabbis lambasted the government for cutting daycare subsidies for the families of full-time yeshiva students, as well as tax hikes perceived as being targeted at the haredi community, such as a new tax on plastic disposables.
Furthermore, the rabbis alluded to the government’s plan to expand the egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall Plaza.
Under the headline “Shouting to Raise Up Our Cry”, the letter ripped the “evil government” for “carrying out their plot against Torah learners in every way possible; interfering with married yeshiva students by [cutting] the aid to the institutions for their small children; raising various taxes in order to make life difficult for Torah students; hurting kashrut for the entire nation in Zion; and increasing recognition of elements foreign to Jewish tradition while uprooting the rule of Jewish law by desecrating the site of the remains of our holy Temple.”
(Arutz 7).