Degel Hatorah party leader and Knesset member Moshe Gafni addressed the protest against the judicial reform, the prayer disruptions in Dizengoff Square, and the recent budget transfers in the Finance Committee at the movement's conference held last night at Kibbutz Hafetz Haim.
Gafni: "I met with leaders of the economy, economists, many months ago, and they explained to me how the reform could be a significant problem and what it might mean for the economy if it goes through. By the way, quite some time has passed since then, and the economy is doing well. Both the high-tech sector and the budget deficit, as well as government expenditures and revenues, are excellent. I told them – you are not aiming for the judicial reform, or anything similar to it; you are waging a religious war against us."
The Knesset member continued, "And what we saw on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv is proof of that. When they pray 'Kol Nidrei' in Dizengoff Square and then the protesters pull on the tzitzit (ritual fringes) from those who are there, we are in the midst of a religious war! Therefore, we, members of Degel Hatorah, do not grant interviews to the media; it won't help anything. But let it be known – their war is not economic, not security-related, and not social; it's a religious war. That's how we should address it and be cautious not to say unnecessary things."
"I had much to say after the recent attacks on the last budget transfers in the Finance Committee, but it won't help. We have been thrust into our duty to wage a war on everything sacred and precious to the people of Israel – and with God's help, we will stand firm in this," Gafni concluded.