Jerusalem – As the Orthodox candidate in Jerusalem’s mayoral race, Meir Porush has gone to considerable lengths to win over the city’s secular voters. It is doubtful, however, that most of them will view the remarks he made on Saturday evening at a conference of Belz Hassidim kindly.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“God willing, in another ten years’ time there won’t be a single secular mayor in any city. Maybe just in some run-down village,” Porush told the assembled crowd.
“Dear teachers and esteemed scholars, look at what is taking place here. It won’t take long, 10 years, 15 years, and they’ll have to hunt for a secular candidate to heady any city. We are currently in a situation where we already have an ultra-Orthodox candidate in Jerusalem, there has been one for five years and there will be another one for another five years. Not far from here, in the city of Beit Shemesh, God willing within ten days there will be an ultra-Orthodox mayor. And so on and so on.”
Porush asserted his political vision was an inescapable byproduct of the haredi birthrate.
“We are growing and multiplying at a fast pace, God willing, and in another 10 years there won’t be a secular as mayor in any city.”
Porush was asked about his remarks when he arrived at a fair on Jerusalem’s Emek Refaim Street on Sunday evening. When asked to elaborate on the comments he had made, Porush denied them entirely.
When he learned an audio recording of his speech was being widely circulated, he told Ynet he had merely been speaking of the connection between the National Religious sector and the ultra-Orthodox one
“In another 10-15 years, it will be very difficult for seculars to be elected to the Jerusalem municipality. This is a reality just like the Labor and Likud parties face running independently, just like the other parties.
“This is the reality, because of the (demographic) make-up of the public,” said Porush.
Shimon Bigelman, a city council candidate on behalf of the left-wing Meretz, slammed Porush’s speech. “Meretz disgustedly rejects the words of Meir Porush, words which prove his goal isn’t to be everyone’s mayor but rather the mayor of the ultra-Orthodox,” said Bigelman.
OUCH! I hope he didn’t hurt his teeth pulling his foot out of his mouth!
Loose lips sink ships. Big mistake
That’s really dangerous…
moronic comment
i guess we lost
should of backed Lupolianski
He’s probably right anyway. Secular zionism is dying. Either the orthodox or the arabs will control Israel in the future. Typical secular Israeli birthrate today is less than 2 children per couple….plus a dog.
So in other words, Israel will be destoyed in 10 to 15 years. It is a real shame, but a haredi Israel cannot survive. There would be a feeble army and a withdrawal of American support. America would not support a Jewish version of Afganistan.
and if g-d forbid that happens,i would not want to live there,if you want to know how life will look like under a chareidi government?,just go to iran,saudi arabia or afghanistan and you will find out.
by the way i am achareidi jew myself
He should not have talked like this. He has to think when he talks. You never know how he could affect somebody in a negative way. A frum jew has to be very carefull.
can’t you guys find another picture of him to use?….
Chaim says that he is a Chareidi Jew, but fears religious control of Israel because it would look like Iran or Afghanistan. This is ridiculous. A Chareidi Israel would look like Eretz Yisroel, our Eretz Hakdosha. This would not be Iran or Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, Chaim, being a good American and good Westerner understands that the ideal government is one like the US or other democracies. However, the Torah disagrees with him. An ideal government is one that is governed by the rules set down by the Torah. Unfortunately, many frum Jews have been brainwashed into believing that western democracy is the ideal. It is not. A government established and run in accordance with the Torah is the only government that we believe to be ideal for Jews. Chaim (and others like you), get rid of the Golus mentality.
i hope he doesnt win. then yerusalaim will be ban city. like taliban rule. the other mayor knew his place. porush wont be good.
Who will serve in the army when the Charedim rule Eretz Yisroel? It is a question that the Rabonim have to think about.
Will Porush do anything to stop the brazen and arrogant Arabs from attempting to creat new “facts on the ground” and chas v sholom grab control of the Holy City? If the answer is yes, then he is the right choice. If the answer is no, then he is just wasting everybody’s time.
Here we go again. If Porush wins, it will be like Taliban rule. No, it will be more like Torah rule (although not entirely, since this would not be practical at this time, given the secular national government).
If a City were ruled by Torah standards, this is not Taliban rule. it is Torah rule. It seems that, tragically, some people don’t know the difference. Read Comment number 10.
To anonymous #11 . Israel’s existence is not dependent on American support. It is dependent on the support of the Ribono Shel Olem. A haredi Israel, in accordance with the Torah, will have the support of the Ribono Shel Olem.
Of course, we still have to do Histadlus, but ultimately, the Ribono Shel Olem runs the world.
Why all this negativity regarding Porush’s comment that in ten or fifteen years, Chareidim will rule Israel? I am afraid that many of the bloggers are afraid that they will not have excuses for sitting here and enjoying the fat of America and will not be able to criticize Israel for its terrible secular and anti-religiousviews or actions.
Frum people should be happy with the idea that Charedim will run Israel. In fact, I don’t know wny we have to wait ten years. A recent study in Israel showed that if the religious parties (UTJ, NRP and Shas) ran a joint slate of candidates for the Knesset, they would have 25 seats in the Knesset and would be the largest party. They would then be able to choose the Prime Minister, although they would still need other parties in a coalition. However, the Chareidim would be calling the shots as to who should be in the coalition and on what terms.
I never understood why the religious parties cannot run a single slate for the Knesset. I realize that they have differences anong them, but what unites them is greater than what divides them. After all, the religious parties join coalition governments with the secular, although what divides them is greater than what unites them. If religious parties can live together in the same government with secular parties, there is no reason that they cannot live with each other.
Zealots like Porush and fake concert ban ‘rabbis’ have no place in judiaism. This is what happened when there was a false messiah in Israel. They must be stopped – It is a growing cancer and they have to be uprooted.
The answer to Anonymous 17 is that you do not have to go to college to learn how to run a country. This is an absurd comment. Dovid Hamelech did not go to college. He did fine as a King, thank you. Secondly, if one has to go to college, OK.
As for going to war, of course, if necessary to defend Jews or a Jewish homeland, one not only should go to war, it is absoluetlely imperative. Is this why you are afraid of a Charedi government in Eretz Yisroel – because you will not an excuse for not going to war to protect your fellow Jews. Remember what Moshe Rabbenu told the Shvotim of Reuven and Gad.
As for Anonymous #18 , you obviously misunderstand Chaim. If Chaim’s concern was that politicans “who think they ARE da’as Torah” will run the country, he would not have said that a Chareidi-run Israel would be like Iran or Afghanistan.
As fo your concern that Eretz Yisroel be run al pi da’as Torah, OK. I did not say anything different. I was discussing the principle of Eretz Yisroel being run al pi da’as Torah. It is up to us to assure that those who run it are sincere and not just politicians.
“I never understood why the religious parties cannot run a single slate for the Knesset. I realize that they have differences anong them, but what unites them is greater than what divides them. After all, the religious parties join coalition governments with the secular, although what divides them is greater than what unites them. If religious parties can live together in the same government with secular parties, there is no reason that they cannot live with each other.”
DUH! Your last paragraph explains why many frum people are not looking forward to the day when EY is run by charadim.
Today you think we should be happy to see the ‘ultra orthodox’ take control of the country. Tomorrow, it will be the ‘ultra charaidim’, who have already decided the regular ‘ultra orthodox’ are not frum enough, who will be looking to take over.
Even right now, the charaidim here in the US who think that they are considered charaidim by the EY charaidim are kidding themselves.
I don’t understand #23 ’s comments. I never said that I have the desire to run a country. However, there are Frum people who have the talent to do so. One does not have to be a doctor or scientist to run a counry. Look at the US. It has never had a president who was either a doctor or a scientist.
It seems to me that silly comments like this are an attempt to avoid the unpleasant task of possibly having to think about leaving the fat of America to go to Eretz Yisroel which is run al pi Torah.
Maybe I should advocate the establishment of a Chareidi government in the United States. I guess this would make some people happy. It would be the “religious” answer to Herzl’s idea of a Jewish state, but not necessarily in Eretz Yisroel. Herzl suggested Uganda.
To Comment #24 , who commented on my comment #21 . I agree with you. Of course, we see conflicts among the religious. My point is that we should stop these conflicts and establish unity among the Chareidim. I am aware of the fact that this is a very difficult task. However, we can’t use this as an excuse for not trying. As an only Chinese proverb says: a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
The problem is that if we start with negative comments like yours, we won’t even get to step one.
Maybe frum.. NOT chareidi.. here in chevron where I live, families are between 7 and 12 kids.. settlers learnt from the arabs that power in numbers.. a quasy torah state is possible.. it would require VERY VERY VERY complex issues between the different factions.. litvak would want to ban all chabad events.. and the settlers are pro karban peasach and oy vayz mir.. better the zionists!! we have shitos that hold (and have) blown shofar on shabbos rosh hashana in the old city, korban pesach is a fiasco.. if har habayis is in our hands and we dont makriv we are chayav kares.. they cant even agree on giyur, hechsherim etc.. etc..
Teku!!! (tishbi yitaretz kushyit v’abuyot!)
To Michael, comment #25 . You ask which Chelek Shulchan Aruch would you use to run a country? Is this a joke? Which section of Shulchan Aruch did Dovid Hamelech or other Jewish kings or the Maccabees use to run a country? The Torah gives us rules and guidelines on how to run a country. I hate to say this, but I can’t believe that someone would ask such a question.
Who will pay for the subsidies and handouts when no one is working in EY? When it is all ultra charedi is when the country and economy all collapses into poverty.
To Isaac (#33) who wants to know if he missed Moshiach’s coming. There is a common misunderstanding that you cannot have a legitimate Jewish government in Eretz Yisroel until Moshiach comes. This is not true and NOBODY holds of such a thing. This view is sometimes attributed to the Satmar Rov, Zt’l. This is mistake and is only said by people who never read the Satmar Rov’s writings on the subject. The Satmar Rov’s objection to the State of Israel is far more complicated than that. However, he does not say that Moshiach must come before a Jewish state can be established.
The exact nature of Yemos Hamoshiach is not known to anyone. The Rambam warns that we are not to speculate about it. However, some learn the Gemoro in Sanhedrin which discusses Yemos Hamoshiach to mean that a Jewish state will be established as a prerequisite to Moshiach. This does not contradict the Satmar Rov’s opinion, if you have actually read his writings on the subject, you will see that.
It is time for porush to shut his mouth and stop making a fool of the religion
Meir Porush seems to be calling for a new 2 state solution: (1) a chareidi country whose capitol is Yerushalayim, and (2) a secular country whose capitol is Tel Aviv.
כנראה שכולכם לא גרים בירושלים אני גר כבר כאן בירושלים כבר עשר שנים אני יתן לכם פרטים מדויקים המעומד פרוש איפה שאוחז עכשיו זה שאצל החילונים הסקרים שלו עולים בכל יום אצל החרדים יש לו עוד קצת בעיות עם כמה חסידיות ואגב מי שנתן להתקשורת החילוני הציטוט הזה שמפורסם כאן הוא לא אחר מאברך מהחסידות ההוא שגורם החילול השם ומפריע לפרוש וכל המלחמה עכשיו בין פרוש לברקת זה על המזרחי מפד”ל איחוד לאומי שב”ה כבר נוטה לפרוש. ובשםה’ יצליח ויהיה ראש העיר של ירושלים ” לכולם” רק מילה אחד על מאיר פרוש אין אף אחד במדינה שיכול לומר שהוא ביקש מהשוי מפרוש ולא קיבל הוא עוזר לכולם כידוע לכל בר בי רב ואף לעדות הערבים והדרוזים הוא עזר במשך השנים כל אחד יודע שפרוש הוא החבר כנסת היחיד שעונה את הפלאפון לכל אחד בלי מזכיר וכדומה. ולכל האמריראים המטומטמים שצועקים שפרוש יעשה פה טליבאן וכו’ אפשר להגיד חאחאחא!!!! הם פשוט לא מכירים את המצב ולא מכירים משפחת פרוש
I’m glad I live in Tel Aviv!