Righteous rebel

A serious challenge by Chaim Amsellem to the Shas leadership could change the political landscape significantly.

By KAMOUN BEN SHIMON
amsellem (photo credit: miriam alster/flash 90)
amsellem
(photo credit: miriam alster/flash 90)
RABBI CHAIM AMSELLEM from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party has no intention of resigning from the Knesset. Until recently a rather anonymous Knesset Member, Amsellem seems to have been biding his time until publicly breaking ranks with his party over the past few months.
In August, he protested against the party’s silence in the face of discrimination against Sephardi girls at the ultra-Orthodox girls’ schools in Immanuel. Since October, he has been consistently and repeatedly expressing opinions that conflict with all of Shas’s most dearly-held positions.
Amsellem supports finding easier ways for non-Jews from the former Soviet Union living in Israel to convert to Judaism and endorses conversions performed by the religious military authorities. He insists that haredi schools should teach the Education Ministry’s “core curriculum,” including basic math skills and a foreign language. And, “worst” of all from the mainline Shas perspective, Amsellem believes that only a talented few haredi men should dedicate their lives to Torah scholarship and that the rest should be gainfully employed rather than living on what he refers to as “shameful” welfare allotments.
Amsellem had been publishing his positions on the Kikar Hashabbat (Sabbath Square) haredi website for months. Shas leaders had known that Amsellem was a loose cannon primed with independent thinking, but no one thought he would actually take his ideas to the secular community. So when, in mid- November, they were disseminated in Maariv, a mass circulation secular Hebrew newspaper, Shas leader, and Amsellem’s arch rival, Interior Minister Eli Yishai took his case to the Council of Torah Sages, the rabbinic body that sets policy and makes political decisions for Shas, headed by the revered Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
Without even summoning Amsellem to the session, the council published a formal statement, in which they declared that they had “convened… in great sadness over the remarks by Chaim Amsellem, who opened his mouth disrespectfully against the dear yeshiva scholars worth their weight in gold, who engage in Torah day and night and maintain the whole world with their Torah and ‘cooked his stew’ in public in order to ingratiate himself with haters of the Torah, biting the hand that fed him… He, too, has joined those who make trouble for us… the ignoramuses who hate scholars of the wise…” Ignoring that Amsellem is an ordained rabbi, the council wrote, “We demand of Mr.Chaim Amsellem under the law of Torah that he return the mandate to Shas in accordance with his commitment… we call upon everyone for whom the Torah is dear to keep a bow shot’s distance from this man and from his strange and heretical opinions.” Amsellem’s rift with Shas is, according to a high-ranking official in Shas who spoke with The Report under condition of anonymity, “nothing less than an earthquake. Amsellem has turned everything in Shas upside down, and from now on, nothing will ever be the same.” The longsimmering, competitive dislike and disregard between Amsellem and Yishai has finally come to the fore. And the timing is hardly coincidental. While wishing that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 90, the undisputed spiritual and political leader of Shas, continues to live “to 120,” in the words of the Jewish blessing, Shas leaders know that he probably won’t. The race for the power in a post-Yosef era is on.
Amsellem’s social goals are broader than his party’s. Attempting to jumpstart a Sephardi movement that will not kowtow to the rigid Lithuanian stream of Ashkenazi ultra- Orthodoxy, he seeks to reassert the deeply Orthodox yet tolerant, Zionist and socially engaged Sephardi Judaism, which contrasts sharply with the insularity, anti-Zionism and strict, dour religious interpretations of Shas’s Lithuanian mentors. Amsellem, says yet another anonymous supporter, “does not like the angry, uncompromising tone of the Lithuanian Ashkenazi Jews. He wants to show the nicer face of Sephardi Jewry.”
Should he form a new political party, Amsellem could conceivably attract both religious and non-religious MKs and voters. Since its inception in 1984, Shas, which currently has 11 MKs, has been a perennial coalition kingmaker, parleying its weight to obtain gains for haredim. Once relatively moderate on the Palestinian issue, Shas, under Eli Yishai, has become increasingly hawkish and hard-line.
A new party, or even a serious challenge to Yishai’s leadership, could thus change the political landscape significantly.
In the meanwhile, Amsellem says categorically, “I’m not resigning. In the Knesset I am now as free as a bird. I can say what I want and I am not bound by party discipline.”
IN AN EXTENSIVE INTERVIEW WITH The Report which took place at his office at the Knesset, Amsellem speaks easily, his tone pleasant, his voice soft yet assertive, and he gestures emphatically with his arms. He wears a white shirt and a colorful tie, his jacket hanging on his chair. His phone rings almost incessantly during the interview; many of the calls are from journalists, others apparently from supporters from within Shas who encourage him to continue his struggle.
A picture of Amsellem posing with Ovadia Yosef hangs prominently on the wall of his office. Unlike many haredi MKs, he looks at this female journalist directly.
Amsellem, 52, brings an impressive pedigree to religious politics. He is related to the renowned Abuhatzeira family, one of the most prestigious Sephardi dynasties, and he is married to the great granddaughter of Rabbi Moshe Khalfon, one of the greatest rabbis of North Africa. He is the father of eight children and a grandfather of 10.
Amsellem was born in Algeria; his family moved to France when he was a young child and to Israel when he was 11. His home life was ultra-Orthodox, but devotedly Zionist. Unlike thousands of Sephardi yeshiva students, who were “hijacked” into Lithuanian yeshivas, Amsellem is a graduate of the well-regarded Kisai Rachamim (Throne of Mercy) Yeshiva, where he studied according to the Sephardi method, which is based more on rote memorization and less on Talmudic argumentation. He points out with obvious pride that he does not speak Yiddish and has never “mingled” with Ashkenazi Lithuanian yeshiva students. He describes himself as deeply religious, yet moderate and observes the traditional Sephardi customs. “I oppose any kind of extremism,” he tells The Report.
He has been a communal rabbi in both Israel and to the wealthy Sephardi community in Geneva, Switzerland, and has written books on rabbinical law, which received acclaim from both Ashkenazi and Sephardi rabbis alike.
Amsellem was brought to Shas because of his close relationship to Yosef. Knowing that Shas’s positions are so different from his, why did he join the party? “Of course I knew what Shas was like,” he responds. “But I believed that the only way to bring about change is from within.” He reiterates his positions clearly. “Yes, I think that someone who is not studying Torah should go to work. I am against the haredization of the Sephardi world. I want our lives to be the way they were while we were growing up. I am in favor of the core curriculum, I want moderation to be our dominant way of living. That means that I am in favor of the IDF conversions, I am in favor of organ transplants and I think that the hospital in Ashkelon should be built even if there are ancient graves there.
“We must stop basing our religious rulings on the rulings of the Lithuanians. That’s why Shas was originally set up, after all. I have nothing against the Lithuanians. I respect their rabbis. But we Sephardim have enough learned rabbis of our own.”
But some of those same learned rabbis, including Yosef, with whom he was once so aligned, are trying to remove him from Shas. “They tell me that Rabbi Ovadia doesn’t think like I do. And I say, that’s a lie,” he says heatedly.
“They [the leaders of Shas] have never even given me a chance to sit with Rabbi Ovadia, to tell him what I think, to express my own opinions. One man sits at his side, whispers in his ear from morning to night, bringing to the rabbi’s attention only what he wants him to know. That man is Eli Yishai. And that is a mistake.”
He quickly launches into a frontal critique of Yishai. “Eli Yishai took advantage of the fact that I was abroad and convinced the sages that I am a heretic and must be expelled from Shas. When I returned and saw his lies, I convened a press conference, and things have escalated from there. The more things escalate, the more I feel free to express myself. If they want it this way – then let’s open up everything.
“Look at what’s going on here: The entire world is waiting for [US President Barack] Obama, and Obama is waiting for the government of Israel, which is waiting for Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], who is waiting for Shas, which is waiting for Rabbi Ovadia, who is waiting for… Eli Yishai!”
Yishai, Amsellem accuses, has neither tact nor political smarts. Noting that Yishai has led the campaign for the expulsion of the children of illegal foreign workers, he says, “Yishai angered the entire country and hurt our international image. Even if he were right, he could at least act smart. But in everything he does, Yishai shows no wisdom, no moderation. Shas shouldn’t be holding the entire nation by the throat.
“I do not think that Yishai has any talent. I think he is misleading the rabbi, and I think that it is a great mistake that he is the one who comes and goes in the rabbi’s court.”
Yishai’s office did not respond to The Report’s requests for a response. An assistant to Roy Lahmanovitch, spokesman for Shas, tells The Report that “Amsellem’s opinions and declarations are not worthy of a reaction, nor is the man himself.”
Amsellem insists that he has tremendous rank and file support. “At least 50 percent of Shas voters agree with me,” he asserts, citing a survey that has yet to be released. “Over 45 percent of Shas voters will support me under the slogan, ‘We respect Rabbi Ovadia but choose Rabbi Amsellem.”’
Amsellem is taking full advantage of the moment. No longer anonymous, he has the national and international press at his door, waiting for his next move. “I intend to broaden my support base, with the intent of starting a new party, that will really restore our ancient glory,” he promises, referring to the slogan that Shas used in previous electoral campaigns.
He says that he has a “social agenda” and a “political agenda” regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict, but he is “in no rush to present his plans. I have two years,” he emphasizes, referring to the scheduled date of the next election.
Also waiting in the wings to make his political move is former Shas leader, the charismatic Aryeh Deri, who dropped out of politics when he was convicted of taking $155,000 in bribes while serving as Interior minister and given a three-year jail sentence. But to most observers, it seems unlikely that Amsellem and Deri, who are different in terms of temperament, theology and political positions, would team up.
And when he does start a party, he promises, it will be something “very different” from Shas, and quite possibly composed of both religious and non-religious representatives – and may even include women candidates, which Shas vehemently opposes. “I will only say that I am considering that,” he responds.
“Eli Yishai’s hysterical response played right into Amsellem’s hands,” says another supporter who speaks on condition of anonymity. “Amsellem is a highly educated man, who has traveled widely and speaks several languages. He doesn’t need the uneducated members of Shas. Paradoxically, we might say that Yishai helped to build Amsellem, and Amsellem may be the undoing of Eli Yishai.
“Amsellem is clearly a man of Torah. He is a sage and no one can take that from him,” the supporter continues. “The broad base of Shas voters are breathing a sigh of relief. Finally there is someone who says what they have been thinking for a long time: that they are sick and tired of the Ashkenazi Lithuanian hegemony, that they are sick of seeing Sephardim who act as if they are Lithuanians. Among the Sephardim, men never studied without working.
Shas, the third-largest party in the country, provides a high rate of enlistment in the army – perhaps even the highest. So how can it be that the sons of the voters serve in the army, and especially in combat units, while the leadership opposes conscription of yeshiva students?
“It’s all anyone is talking about in the synagogues these days,” he continues. “And they’re not whispering, either. People are openly supportive of his positions.”
Jerusalemite Moshe Cohen, a taxi driver whose family came to Israel from North Africa in the 1950s, says that although he is not religiously observant, Amsellem is “exactly what I have been waiting to hear for a long time. It is insanity to decide that someone who studies Torah shouldn’t work – this is an Ashkenazi custom. It’s good that this MK has finally opened his mouth.”
Moshe Kariff, a public relations consultant who was a founding member of the Sephardi activist group, the Democratic Mizrahi Rainbow, had once had great hopes for Shas, but was quickly disappointed. Now he believes that Amsellem may renew that hope.
“Amsellem represents a watershed event in Shas,” says Kariff. “Shas was supposed to be the part of Sephardi identity, but, instead, they adopted the neo-liberal economic policies of the Likud and the mannerisms of the Lithuanian Jews. Amsellem speaks to the voters. He is more traditional, observant yet without giving up the tolerant attitude that has always characterized the Sephardim.
“He is inclusive, he represents reconciliation.
True Sephardi culture never fought reality – we can see this even in Sephardi architecture, which is based on arches. Arches stand because they bear conflicting pressures, and Sephardi culture includes numerous streams and pressures. It is not dogmatic or extremist.
“Take note of this moment,” Kariff concludes.
“Perhaps we are witness to a new beginning.”
Support for Amsellem seems to extend beyond the Sephardi constituency. The largely Ashkenazi religious Zionist movement is also in theological and political conflict with the haredim and has praised him enthusiastically.
Recently, Rabbi Benjamin Lau, one of the leaders of the religious Zionist movement, published an opinion on the Ynet news site. “What was Amsellem’s ‘sin’?” Lau asked rhetorically. “That he said aloud that the Sephardi religious leaders do not accept that their society should be based on study alone… The Torah leadership of Shas has given in to the Lithuanian model and is merely a pale shadow of the United Torah Judaism party.”
The secular press has begun calling Amsellem the “sane Shasnik.” His statements regarding conscription to the IDF and support for yeshiva students come just as the IDF Manpower Division announced that, due to haredi draft-dodging, some 60 percent of youth will not serve in the army in the coming years and as a proposed amendment to the economic arrangements bill that would provide special support to yeshiva students was brought to the Knesset. These developments have heightened secular-haredi tensions.
An alliance with secular politicians would be very valuable for Amsellem. And, indeed, MK Nitzan Horovitz (Meretz), a well-known warrior against haredi power and head of the caucus for pluralism at the Knesset, tells The Report that he “views the different voices coming out of haredi society with great satisfaction. There is nothing that would prevent any kind of cooperation between parties… I strongly believe that Judaism is capable of different attitudes and voices – including haredim, religious, traditionalists, Conservative and Reform, Sephardi and Ashkenazi.”
Support on the secular street is more complex. “At first, Amsellem sounds very good and even bold,” says Amit, a student. “But why did it take him more than two years to go public with this? Could it be that he is smart enough to understand that the general public is so fed up with the haredi behavior that he just wants to secure his future in the Knesset?”
Adds Anat, a social work student at Ben- Gurion University, “It’s not true that all secular people hate haredim, but it is true that many feel that the situation can’t go on. Amsellem’s words have given me hope that everything is not lost, that we can reach some kind of coexistence between us, if he manages to stay in the Knesset, of course – which isn’t for sure.”