Jerusalem – Outside a polling place in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood yesterday, young Hasidic followers of mayoral candidate Meir Porush gathered. On the other side of the street, youngsters in the distinctive dress of the Gerrer Hasidic community set up their own post. The tension between the two camps was palpable.
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After a few minutes, the Gerrers crossed the street and entered the station. On the orders of their rebbe, due to a longstanding grievance between their group and Porush’s camp, they were threatening to vote for secular candidate Nir Barkat. All eyes were now on the Gerrer voters to see whether they would indeed “betray” the ultra-Orthodox sector by voting for Barkat.
A young Gerrer walked into the station slowly with his grandfather and assisted the old man in inserting his ballot into the box. On leaving, he encountered an acquaintance from his community and the two began a lively discussion, from which it emerged that both voted for Barkat. “Like everyone,” he told his friend jokingly.
Was his hand shaking, his friend asked. “No way,” was the response. “The rebbe said so, and so we’re happy to vote for Barkat.” Hearing the tale, Moshe Friedman, the head of Porush’s campaign, let out a sigh, saying, “it breaks your heart.”
It seemed that Porush’s camp was in needs every vote it could get. An entire class of developmentally disabled girls arrived at the ballot station escorted by girls from the city’s Beit Ya’akov schools.
“From a legal perspective, for every disabled person who agrees to be escorted, it doesn’t matter the level of their disability or the basis of their disability, the ballot chairman can authorize it,” said Friedman. He did not specify, however, whether the initiative to bring the girls to vote originated with the campaign itself.
Outside, a member of an extreme anti-Zionist Orthodox group sat chain-smoking. Maybe because he was about to cast his first vote – members of his community do not usually cast ballots, as it is seen as an act that strengthens the Zionist regime. Despite rabbinical decrees against voting, many came out to vote anyway, out of a feeling of obligation to Porush. “Porush is one of our own,” said the smoking Hasid. “He studied with my father in yeshiva. He helps us.”
I think the rebbes should stick to politics with family (brothers,cousins uncle & nephew)they are much more qualified in that type of fights, and stay out of gashmiusdige politics
I think that time has come in Israel for america-like politcs, where you vote for 1 of 2 parties, and not for 5-7 parties.
This might be a good thing, Conider this: next eletion Likud gets 60 seats, Kedima 59. so if the frum olam goes for likud we now have an BIG party that owes its all to us. Consider this: the goverment gives you all benefits, and no one cries that we are fruma schleppers. HEY!
Well sounds like the Gerer Rebbi is tho only one who does not get intimated and could stand up to false askanem Kol Hakavod.
It hurts to see for a little kuvod or for a lack of an entire holy city where the Kodesh Hakudushim is located can be turned over to a secular person to run.
More power to him!
This is what I call a true leader!
Dus Hiest Ah Manhig Yisruel!
well the gerrer litzman must be very happy now, its the gerrer way of doing things, LO LEI VELOI LOCH, if not me then not you, what a shame, so now I understand chassidus better, you vote for a secular guy rather then a orthodox fellow, because another politician has a problem with him, dont tell me there wasnt any way to fix the problem there was, – and number 1 said it right, let the rebbes fight between themselves their brothers, nephews, – but its amazing how these gerers were willing to follow this litzman, and they didnt have the own brains and use their own judgement how to vote, they followed litzman like a fool thats what it boils down too, of course they will say we follow the rebbe etc., nebech.
Ger does whats good for Ger , just like every other Jewish lobby. you might not like how one group votes, but it is still their right and obligation
(Did the Jews of New York vote for Felder)
Who am I to decide who is right and who is wrong? but having looked at many posts I see that the majority think that Ger was wrong, (not necessarily my opinion) if in fact its so they have to remember that doing Teshuva on Chilul Hashem the Halacha say is almost impossible, I am sure that many will bash me for saying that that’s why I decided refrain from giving an opinion on this issue.
All Rabbi Purush had to do, was ask Mechila from the Gerer Rebbe and all of this could have been avoided. Instead he chose to show he can win by running without their support, and promised revenge if he wins. He definitly had the power to avoid this.
Just to mention if he would have done what he did to the
Gerer Rebbe to Harav Kienevsky, Harav Eliyashiv,Belz or Satmar he would’ve had his head ,,,,
P.S. What Mayer Porush did was printed in detail in the Hamodia (eretz yisroel edition) on Erev Succos
Simcha Felder is a Frum Jew yet the frum voters had no problem voting for his apponent.
Hey, Porush lost with more than 20,000 votes (9%), I don’t think ger in jerusalem had more the 5 or 6 thousand voters. so porush would have lost anyway
Truthfully, why do we need a frum mayor in Yerushalayim?
Did Polanski do any good for the frum people? To the contrary. He had tp apease the “chilonim” they shouldn’t say he’s good only for the “charedim”.
BTW, Ger showd them who is boss in Yerushalayim.
Kol Hakavod Litzman.
Many of you seem to think that the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita made a mistake in forsaking unity. What’s missing here is that Porush made a mistake in forsaking agreements made with all the gedolim and then ignoring the Gerrer Rebbe’s call to adhere to these agreements. Rav Alyashiv Shlita originally did not want to endorse Porush because Porush did that and insulted the Rebbe. Rav Shteinman Shlita also did not originally endorse Porush. Porush pressured them into endorsing him but couldn’t pressure the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita. So now the whole world is up in arms against Ger. Why? Because the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita is an Ish Emes and wanted to uphold the truth. And sheker and disunity has won again and Porush who fomented disunity looks good. Yippee Satan, your man Porush was good to you.
When is there going to be an election in Ger between the Rebbe and Reb Shoul?
OK. what did porush do to ger that was soooo terrible?
and this “ish emes” of yours will not help the dozens of children of his chassidim who were molested by his goons in boro park….
I would rather vote michael jackson for jerusalem mayor then litzman and his organized mob.
If only reb shaul were rebbe………………
The Gerer Rebbe is a true leader. Rav Wolfson refers to his as the “Kohain Hagodol.”
I have had personal dealings with him in Askonus, and he has always demonstrated true statemanship and a serious concern for Klal Yisroel.
To state that he opposed Porush for petty personal reasons is silly and demeaning for a Rebbe of his stature.
Porush double-crossed the Hareidim in an effort to appease the seculars, who he needed to gain a majority.
He even publicly stated that he would allow public parades by homosexuals in Jerusalem. Doesn’t that ell you all you need to know?
barkat will try to plaease the Hareidim ,especially since he must deal with a Hareidi majority on his City Council.
And why, exactly, is this not called nekoma?
And why, exactly is someone to be considered an “Ish Emes” if all he is doing is standing up for his own kavod?
(An earlier commentator said that none of this would have happened if Porush had apologized to the Rebbe).
Its amazing how so many gerrers follow this litzman – like a puppy – and he is always right….. and what did meir purish already do? all the politicians are the same, one day this guy says something the other day this guy says something, big deal MI HOT SHOIN GEHERCHT AZANS ! – so if litzman will tell the gerrers to eat treif will these guys follw him as well, and since when does politics guide chasidius? its so EKELDIG, but I guess the main thing is the hoizen zoken, and yes if elections are such a holy purpose why dont they make a vote in Ger who should be the rebbe? why is it under the rug.
and where was litzman on the crusial vote of deporting thousands of erlicher Jews shuls and Yeshivos from Gush Katif ???
What was the excuse then ???
Tell me its OK to stick it to another Jew for a few Donuts
Fact is G-d seems to always be on the the Gerrer Rebbes side. The Gerrer Rebbe worked very hard to keep the peace till now but when it comes down to this enough is enough. We can’t support a candidate who is not good for the frum community just because he has a long beard. In the long run Barkat would be much better for the community as a whole. The Gerrer Rebbe did not try to convince any Gedolei Yisroel to join him in the ban, he did not want to be Marbeh Machlokes. He let them do what they think was right but he stood his ground and stood up for what’s right. I hope Porush will learn his lesson from this and not take advantage of Gedolei Yisroel like Harav Eliyashev and others in the future. If you say you represent the Gedolim you have to listen to them and not worry about your personel koved and pocket. By the way: how did Porush get to be in this position anyway? If he means well he shouldv’e let Lapliansky run for another term and everyone wouldve been happy, including the chilonim and arabs. Bottom line this is a big KIDDUSH HASHEM. Those who diss gedolei yisroel will be dissed themselves. Even the Gedolim who supported him only did so lemaan hashalom and are probably happy with the results.
Right, and Barkat will stop the parade. Don’t get me started on this Wolfson-Kohein Gadol shtick, it wont be pretty. Your just another askan with to much to lose when change comes to klal yisroel and the corrupt power brokers get run out of town. Your day will come. Suffice to say, for every time you saw statesmanship (a gadol a statesman – what did you drink?) I saw twice the amount of cowardice and worse.
this wheeling, dealing and scheming by so many godols makes me wonder if we are dealing with sheep in wolves attire or clothless emperors
It all boils down to the unending cult mentality that so many are caught in and so many feed off. What is the difference between this idol worship and the other cults around today? read the guidelines for spotting a cult and what defines a cult and you will see this fits to the T
It’s very strange, because all the leaders of the Agudah in history of the Medinah prohibited voting for non-frum candidates for anything. Check R. Isser Zalman Meltzer, R. Shach, etc. etc. This means that the current generation of Agudists doesn’t even follow their own shita……..
Real leadership would have prevented this mess from the beginning and Rabbi Porush would have never have been the candidate. This whole event is a tremendous chillul Hashem and is another black eye on the way charedim operate in Israel. All of the politics within the UTJ is disgusting. This is just another example of Machlokes gone bad. Just last month the charedim received no seats on the Council of Chief Rabbinate because they disagreed about having Rav Ovadia son because of his support for the heter mechira. Now he is on the council anyways and all of the Ashkenazic seats belong to the Mizrahi. The only way the geulah will come is if we are truly Achenu Kol Bais Yisrael. Sadly many of the so called Charedim are very far from that goal and SHAME on them.
I have read almost all the posts. It all boils down to one thing thay hate ger because thay dont fargin a true leader with true chassidim. Evry one who writes posts about machlokes ect. those are the people who just dont frgin yenim. Check your own midos first.
דעת תורה של גדול בתורה כה לח יזכה כ”ק האדמו”ר מגור שליט”א להולכינו על דרך הישר
Well if you read the isreali news you will see that there were about 15,000 white voting papers what this means that alot of litvisha put in white paper for the koved of harav Eliyashiv shlita
Your very wellcome barakat. now back to protecting the homegrown molesters
porush did nothing to ger litzman was looking for a reason so that ger shouldnt vote for porush so he blames everthing that happens to gers kovod on porush so thats exatly why it is kovod hatorah to vote for a sucular candadate, and to go and get the secular to vote to make sure that his enemy should not win and if yerushalayim is not enough then what happend in bet shemesh the gerres also voted over there for a secular candadate hmm also porush? also kovod hatorah bushas and charpos on gerer chasidus litzman together with the rest i’d love to know what gerer rebes reasons are i wonder how legitimate they are if all gedoiley yisroel said the oppisite in yerushalayim and in bet shemesh
These Nasty GERER Chevra should go and be with there families and not turn the Yehadus Hachareidus upside down… they don’t need to put in there nose wherever they only can
pardon my ignorance, but where does the name “Litzman” come from. What’s the significance of it?
In my Litzman is not a bit better or worse than Porush, they both are ego maniacs, my question is very simple and I would appreciate a simple answer.
Assuming that what Porush did was indeed a terrible thing and deserved to get punished etc. But how come Gerer Rebbe shlit”a didn`t endorse a Frum yid against a secular one?
What a shame that one and only one “manhig” had the nerve to break away from the whole religious vote. Regardless if they wanted to or not evreyone came toghther to boost our repersentation. Except ONE cult which went the other way !!
NO EXCUSE !! Not Chinuch Atzmoi or anything else!! Ger stop looking for excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here’s a copy that was in today’s Yeted. “Polls had forecasted that current Mayor Uri Lupolianski, a member of Degel Hatorah, would be able to coast to an easy victory had he run, based upon his performance during his term as mayor and his ability to serve the disparate group that comprise the populace of Yerushalayim. He is much respected for the Yad Sarah organization which he founded and heads. Yad Sarah services all residents of Israel, providing medical assistance with care and devotion and regardless of one’s religious beliefs.
However, due to a rotation agreement signed prior to the election of Lupoliansky, this year it was the turn of Agudas Yisroel to field a Chareidi candidate. Porush won that nod, despite polls that demonstrated that he could not win.”
Now who crowned the secular Mayor ??? The self egoist Mayer Purish !
now that the outcome was that porush had no chance in winning like rav elyashiv and all the gedolim said and lupliansky was the only frum chance i most come to the conclusion that porush has made the biggest chilul hashem by not giving up his right to the seat becuase of him the mayor of jerusalem is not charedi MEIR SHAME ON YOU
I would like to understand the following question and I ask it respectfully. We hear alot about Daas Torah. So what was Daas Torah in the election? All of the Rabbonim except the Gerer Rebbe supported Porush. Which opinion was Daas Torah. If you were an ordinary Yid in Yerushalayim, not affiliated with any group other than Klal Yisroel, who should you have voted for?
TO # 75 – You don’t know what you are talking about. 17,000 white (blank) votes were counted. Few come from Ger, as Ger only has approx. 3,000 votes in Yerushalayim, and many voted for either Porush, or Nir Barakt.
Most blank votes came from the Litvish crowd that refused to vote for the Kovod of Rav Eliyashiv Shlita. Thats the facts! and it is supported by the analysis of the actual votes cast by district, Furthermore, there was a “pashkivil” today in Yerushalayim, given out by the “Chanichei Yeshivos” claiming that they did not vote out of respect for Rav Shteinman and Rav Eliyashiv, that did not want to support Porush, but were unhappily put into the posiition that they had to come out for Porush.
It’s very hard for Americans to understand Israeli politics, but this is the facts.
Ger had very little impact on Porush’s loss.
So cut the disgusting talk against the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita – it will only get you into Gehinnom.
The Gerrer Rebbe has been looking after his half a billion dollars of real estate for many many years. He got Reb Pinches Menachem to sign that he will be the next Rebbe even before his own fathers levaya. When people realised that Reb Shaul was a bigger Talmud Chocham and oyvad they squirted him motzei shabbos with fire estinguishers. Any chosid who was close to Reb Shaul was dealt with. The Yeshiva was totally taken to pieces without even consulting the Rosh Yeshiva. So why does it suprise anyone rthat Ger supported a Poshei Yisruel instead of Porush. Money and power in Ger is nothing new.
The lesson learnt is if you step on the interests of Gur you are dead meat. And if Yerushalayim is handed over to chilonim – simply bad luck.
If ever anyone messes around with Ger even the Ribona shel olam will get punished!
Gerrer says:-
“So cut the disgusting talk against the Gerrer Rebbe Shlita – it will only get you into Gehinnom.”
**At least I will have 2 Yaacovs for company!!
I am confused??
I read in some blogs that the Rebbe is an ISH EMES and then I read that if Porush would have appologized then we could of had a religous Mayor.
So why is Porush not the Ish Emes? He stuck to his principles, that the world does not only belong to the Rebbe of Gur and his money man, Litzman!
So maybe Gur are not AGUDISTIN but rather GELT-ISTN!
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And if Porush got the Gerrers to take their hands out of the till Porush needs to be taught a lesson.
At least they didn’t belt him up as they did to Menachem Porush!!!