Chaim Epstein: The wild card in the Jerusalem mayoral race

Chaim Epstein is a gentle and smiling man, who represents in the city council the Peleg Yerushalmi faction created a few years ago by the late Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, whose major aim is to prevent young yeshiva students from enrolling in the IDF and maintaining a harsh line against any change in the status quo. In 2013, Epstein surprised the haredi sector when he decided to join the race and ran for the position of mayor. He won one seat at the council, and was the first invited to join Mayor Nir Barkat’s coalition, with the title of vice mayor. On Sunday, Epstein announced that he was running again, but this time his move has pulled the carpet out from under Deputy Mayor Yossi Daitch (United Torah Judaism) who is still very busy trying to convince all the parties inside the haredi sector to fully support his candidacy. 

Epstein answered In Jerusalem’s questions.

I also ran five years ago. But the reason is that we believe that there must be a haredi candidate. 

But there are other haredi councilmen who haven’t yet officially announced their plans. So why did you decide to do so?

My friends haven’t yet decided, and they are facing some problems on their way to decide, and one of the reasons is that their major request [to reach a decision] is to keep us [Peleg Yerushalmi] out of the game.

An outsider wouldn’t understand that. But I will try to explain. We have not accepted the agreements that the rest of the haredim have accepted. For example, we reject totally the conscription bill, we refuse the coercion, and moreover, we refuse the system that replaces yeshiva students from one side with students from another yeshiva, based on draft quotas. It is immoral, and it will lead to closure of most of the yeshivot. It means that to release students from Bnei Brak from the army, we would have to provide the IDF with students from our yeshivot. We will never accept that.

There is the program called Kemah, established and led by Yossi Daitch [a foundation that provides scholarship for yeshiva students who decide to go to university or college]. It is merely a way to seduce young yeshiva students to leave the world of Torah, and we are against it. This a reform in the haredi world with which we do not agree. None of them would have dared to promote that in the days of Rabbi [Yosef Shalom] Eliyashiv.

Yes.

We are persecuted by them. They have fired our teachers, kindergarten teachers, synagogue gabbaim and cantors. We have had to build everything from scratch here in Jerusalem. Thank God, we already have 15 new synagogues here for our people. So how can they ask me now to join the ranks and support the haredi consensus? They ostracize me and now they want me to join them? They persecute me and now they want my support?

Because we think that Jerusalem deserves a haredi mayor. 

Of course I understand that. But I tell them that they have nothing to fear. What does a secular mayor tell me? I am also afraid of a secular mayor, and he tells me not to worry. Isn’t that so?

In many things. Barkat has respected his commitments, but the atmosphere here has become much more secular and it hurts us. Give us what we need and leave us alone – yeshivot, separate neighborhoods, synagogues, but I will not tolerate a municipal public event where non-kosher food is served. We have no plans to persecute secular people. 

What about the First Station, with haredim attempting to compel the city council to close the restaurants there that are open on Shabbat?

The law in Israel is made by the Supreme Court. Although I am opposed to the Supreme Court, it is the sovereign here, so I will respect it. We pray that God will remove the evil reign, but for the moment, that’s the reality.

That’s not my way. But I am strongly opposed to displaying posters with immodest pictures of women in public places.

It depends what kind of pictures they are. If they are not hurting feelings, then yes.

I offer an alternative, one that will return the haredi sector to its roots. God will provide.

I think that secular people already live very well now.

Absolutely. I am not afraid of them.