62 Friday, January 6, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Religious Parties in Israel in Turmoil

By MOSHE RON

former position in the
party leadership. How-
ever, owing to the con-
TEL AVIV — The two tinuous controversies be-
great religious parties, the tween the Hammer-
Mizrachi and the Hapoel Ben-Meir and Burg
Hamizrachi, do not exist groups, the convention
any more. The old leaders was put off. Now Rafael
and ideals have since passed claims that the situation
away. Today, the Mafdal in the Mafdal is so bad
(National Religious Party) that even 10 Rafaels
is in a severe crisis. The could not change it.
party is broken.
Party veterans and lead-
In the last municipal elec- ers of its kibutz movement
tions which took place re- are trying to unite the party
cently, two separate Mafdal groups again. Some
lists appeared: the Lamifne threaten a hunger strike in
group headed by Interior front of the party's central
Minister Dr. Josef Burg and building in Tel Aviv.
the Young Guard led by
* * *
A long time ago, a rebel-
Education Minister Zevu--
lun Hammer. Both lists lost lion broke out in the Agudat
a great many municipal Yisrael among Sephardi
seats. They had separate leaders who argue that they
election headquarters and are being discriminated
one list competed with the against by the party leader-
other. The Young Guard ship. When the party lead-
now refuses to submit to the ers received from the gov-
leadership of Dr. Burg and ernment $500 million
party secretary General shekels for yeshivot and in-
stitutions, the Sephardi in-
Rafael Ben-Nathan.
The Young Guard lead- stitutions received nothing.
ers, Hammer and Dr. Sephardim are not included
Yehuda Ben-Meir, are on the editorial board of the
planning to appear with a party's newspaper
separate list together with Hamodia. Among the Israel
the Tami group led by Party secretariat's 23 mem-
former Minister of Reli- bers, there is not one
gious Affairs Aharon Sephardi member. In the
Abu-Hatzeira, which split Jerusalem Religious Coun-
away from the Mafdal on cil there are only eight
the eve of the last Knesset Ashkenazi members.
The main argument is
elections in 1981.
Former Mafdal leader that in the Council of Torah
Dr. Yitzhak Rafael, who Sages, the highest religious
last year decided to re- and - political forum of the
turn to his party, is wait- Agudat Yisrael, there is not
ing for a party conven- one Sephardi member
tion in order to regain his among its more than 20

The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent

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rabbis and yeshiva heads.
In Orthodox circles in
Jerusalem it is explained
that the reason for this is
that the deliberations in the
council are held in Yiddish
and that the Sephardi rab-
bis do not understand this
language.
One of the council
chairmen, 87-year-old
Rabbi Eliezer Shach,
head of the Fonivesh
Yeshiva, resigned be-
cause of clashes with the
vice chairman, the Rabbi
of Gur. Rabbi Shach was
annoyed that during the
last municipal elections
in Jerusalem the Hasidim
of the Rebbe of Gur
called on their followers
to vote for the candidate
of Poalei Agudat Yisrael,
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman
Druck and not for the
Aguda list which lost two
seats in the municipal
council. Rabbi Shach
supported the separate
list of Agudat Yisrael,
which received three
seats, whereas the Aguda
list headed by Knesset
member Rabbi Menahem
Porush received only one
seat.
In
the
meantime,
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy
Kollek came to an agree-
ment with the Sephardi
party to join his coalition in
return for a deputy mayor's
post. The Sephardi group is
not as extreme as the
Aguda. The Sephardim,
agreed to the coalition
knowing that Kollek would
not retract his proposal for a
sports stadium and swim-
ming pool in one of
Jerusalem's neighborhoods.
The Aguda leaders have ex-
pressed their strong pro-
tests.
The Sephardim have al-
ready chosen their own
leadership, headed by
former Sephardi Chief
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the
heads of Yeshivot, Rabbi
Yehuda Zedaka (Yeshiva
Porat Yosef in Jerusalem)
and Rabbi Ben-Zion Abba
Shaul and Rabbi Meir
Mazuz from Bnei Brak.
The Sephardi Aguda
leaders have begun to col-
lect money to establish their
own office and publish their
own weekly. They claim
that the Aguda newspaper
refused to publish their paid
advertisements on the eve
of the municipal elections.
They intend to appear with
their own separate list in
the next Knesset elections.
They accuse the
Agudat Yisrael of break-
ing an agreement with
them whereby one of
their four elected Knesset
members would give his
seat in the middle of his
term to Sephardi candi-
date Josef Melamed from

Rosh Haayin.
Many rabbis and yeshiva
heads appealed to Rabbi
Shach to withdraw his res-
ignation. There are a few
candidates as his successor:
Rabbi Leib Steinman, head
of the Nivesh yeshiva;
Rabbi Moshe Shapira, head
of the Beer Yacov Yeshiva;
Rabbi Nissim Karelitz,
head of the Hazon Ish Kolel
in Bnei Brak; and Rabbi
Greinerman from Bnei
Brak.
* * *
The Hasidim from Belz,
too, have complaints
against the Aguda leader-
ship. They threaten to have
their own separate list, or a
united list with the
Sephardi group, if there is
not a seat in the Knesset for
one of their candidates.
They are also angry with
Menahem Porush for depos-
ing from the Jerusalem
Municipal Council Rabbi
Shlomo Bunim Klein and
putting in his place his own
son, Meir Porush.

*

*

These clashes in both
religious parties have
weakened their political
position in the country. In
Tel Aviv, Mayor Shlomo
Lahat, only one day after
the elections, invited the
opposition candidate Dov
Ben-Meir to form a new co-
alition, appointing him de-
puty mayor.
The leaders of the two
religious parties, Dr.
Burg and Avraham Shap-
ira, appealed to Prime
Minister Shamir to pre-
vail upon Lahat to attach
their parties to the new
coalition. Lahat acceded
to the request, but he re-
duced the previous
standing of the religious
parties on his council,
since his majority no
longer depended on their
vote.

Other
Deaths

Robert Russell, 66, na-
tional vice chairman of the
United Jewish Appeal and
new chairman of the Jewish
Agency Project Renewal
Committee, died Dec. 21 in
New York.

* * *

Julie Berns, 84, a com-
edy writer for Yiddish- and
English-speaking theater
and for radio, died in New
York on Dec. 28.
* * *
Rabbi Robert Addison,
29, executive director of the
Bureau of Jewish Living of
the Jewish Federation of
Greater Des Moines, Iowa,
since July 1981, died last
week in Des Moines.

Rabbi Morris Kertzer Dies

TORONTO (JTA) —
Rabbi Morris Kertzer, who
had served as a rabbi in var-
ious synagogues in the
United States, died Dec. 29
at age 73.
He was the author of sev-
eral well known books on
Judaism, including, "What
Is a Jew?," "The Art of
Being a Jew," "Today's
American Jews" and "Tell
Me, Rabbi." He also con-
tributed articles on reli-
gious issues to various
American publications and
magazines.
Between 1951 and 1958,
Rabbi Kertzer served as the
director of interreligious af-

Jack Litinsky

Jack L. Litinsky, who re-
tired from Bankers Life and
Casualty in 1981 after 17
years of service, died Jan. 1
at age 68.
A native Detroiter, Mr.
Litinsky previously was the
owner of Marners Chil-
dren's Shoes on Dexter
Blvd. and later on Livernois
Ave.
During World War II Mr.
Litinsky was decorated
with the Purple Heart and
Bronze Star. He was a
member of Masonic Lodge of
the Masons and Pisgah
Lodge of Bnai Brith.
He is survived by his wife,
Belle; two sons, Barry H.
and Sanford A.; a brother,
Irving Lyons of Santa Bar-
bara, Calif.; a sister, Mrs.
Dorothy Bressler; and two
granddaughters.

Louis Fine

Louis B. Fine, a women's
clothing manufacturer's
representative, died Jan. 1
at age 73.
Born in Nova Scotia,
Canada, Mr. Fine was a
member of Mosaic Lodge of
the Masons, the Shriners
and the Michigan Women's
Apparel Association.
He leaves his wife,
Esther; one son; a brother,
Jack; three sisters, Mrs. Joe
(Minnie) Blitstein of
Downsview, Ont., Mrs.
Dora Mendelson and Mrs.
Seymour (Tillie) Brodsky of
Windsor; and three grand-
children.

Dr. W. Zieve

Dr. William G. Zieve, a
dentist who practiced for 45
years, died Jan. 1 at age 82.
Born in Russia, Dr. Zieve
had been retired for the past
15 years. He was graduated
from the University of
Michigan School of Dentis-
try in 1923.
He leaves his wife, Shir-
ley; two daughters, Mrs.
Jerry (Claire) Bronson and
Mrs. Joyce Tafoya; a
brother, Robert; and five
grandchildren.

"Serving the Jewish community with traditional dignity and understanding"

fairs of the American
Jewish Committee. He was
secretary of the New York
Board of Rabbis from 1957
to 1959.
He was also a member
of the executive board of
the Central Conference
of American Rabbis, the
association of Reform
rabbis, from 1964 to 1966,
and was also a member of
the board of trustees of
the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations
from 1962 to 1967.
Rabbi Kertzer received a
BA degree from the Univer-
sity of Toronto, an MA de-
gree from the University of
Illinois and a Doctor of He-
brew Literature degree
from the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America. He
was ordained as a rabbi in
1934.
He was the recipient of
various medals, among
them a Bronze Star from the
U.S. Army after World War
II and the George Washing-
ton Medal from the Free-
dom Foundation. In 1956,
Rabbi Kertzer headed a
delegation to the Soviet
Union.

Arnold Monash

Arnold H. Monash, a De-
troit attorney, died Jan. 2 at
age 69.
A native Detroiter, Mr.
Monash 'was. a former
Wayne County Assistant
Prosecutor (1946-1949). He
was graduated from the
University of Michigan Law
School in 1937.
He was a member of
Cong. Shaarey Zedek and
Mosaic Lodge of the Ma-
sons.
He leaves his wife, Char-
lotte; three sons, Richard,
Kenneth of Ann Arbor and
Dr. Gary of Tucson, Ariz:
and three grandchildren.

The Family
of the Late

JACK
ROTH

Acknowledges with
grateful appreciation
the many kind ex-
pressions of sympathy
extended by relatives
and friends during the
family's recent be-
reavement.

The Family
of the Late

FANNIE

RUBI

Acknowledges with
grateful appreciation
the many kind ex-
pressions of sympathy
extended by relatives
and friends during the
family's recent be-
reavement.

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