Moshe Gafni
Encyclopedia
Moshe Gafni is an Israel
i politician and Member of the Knesset for the ultra-orthodox
party Degel HaTorah
.
and later worked as head of a Kollel
, avoiding national service
in the IDF
. He was first elected to the Knesset on Degel HaTorah's list in 1988, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs in Yitzhak Shamir
's government in 1990. For the 1992
elections the party joined Agudat Israel
in forming an alliance called United Torah Judaism
, which won four seats. Although he initially lost his seat, Gafni entered the Knesset in 1994 as part of a rotation agreement between the two factions. A similar arrangement operated after the 1996 elections
, with Gafni taking the seat for the first half of the session (i.e. until 1998).
Early elections in 1999 meant that Gafni reappeared in the Knesset sooner than expected. This time no rotation agreement was in place, so he served his full term, and was re-elected in both 2003 and 2006. When Degel HaTorah split from Agudat Israel during the latter stages of the 16th Knesset, Gafni was appointed the party's Parliamentary Group Chairman.
Gafni was strongly opposed to the Supreme Court
ruling that the state must recognise gay marriages carried out abroad, stating "We don't have a Jewish state here. We have Sodom and Gomorrah here." However, he was one of the few ultra-orthodox public figures to condemn the violence carried out by members of the community over plans for the 2006 Jerusalem gay pride parade
.
Today Gafni is the very powerful chairman of the knesset's financial committee.
Moshe Gafni was attacked in Mea Shearim on 24 June 2010 as he emerged from a synagogue.
The two United Torah Judaism MKs (Uri Maklev and Moshe Gafni) had paid a visit to the Slonim rabbi, who lives in Mea Shearim and then entered a synagogue to pray. When they emerged they were set upon by young extremists from Neturei Karta who spat at them and assaulted them with stones, blows and a chair.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and Member of the Knesset for the ultra-orthodox
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
party Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
.
Biography
Born in Bnei Brak, Gafni was educated in a yeshivaYeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
and later worked as head of a Kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
, avoiding national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
. He was first elected to the Knesset on Degel HaTorah's list in 1988, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs in Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
's government in 1990. For the 1992
Israeli legislative election, 1992
Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...
elections the party joined Agudat Israel
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
in forming an alliance called United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
, which won four seats. Although he initially lost his seat, Gafni entered the Knesset in 1994 as part of a rotation agreement between the two factions. A similar arrangement operated after the 1996 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1996
Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...
, with Gafni taking the seat for the first half of the session (i.e. until 1998).
Early elections in 1999 meant that Gafni reappeared in the Knesset sooner than expected. This time no rotation agreement was in place, so he served his full term, and was re-elected in both 2003 and 2006. When Degel HaTorah split from Agudat Israel during the latter stages of the 16th Knesset, Gafni was appointed the party's Parliamentary Group Chairman.
Gafni was strongly opposed to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
ruling that the state must recognise gay marriages carried out abroad, stating "We don't have a Jewish state here. We have Sodom and Gomorrah here." However, he was one of the few ultra-orthodox public figures to condemn the violence carried out by members of the community over plans for the 2006 Jerusalem gay pride parade
2006 Jerusalem gay pride parade
The 2006 Jerusalem gay pride parade was a scheduled event which took place on November 10, 2006. The demonstration was met with violent counter-demonstrators.-Background:...
.
Today Gafni is the very powerful chairman of the knesset's financial committee.
Moshe Gafni was attacked in Mea Shearim on 24 June 2010 as he emerged from a synagogue.
The two United Torah Judaism MKs (Uri Maklev and Moshe Gafni) had paid a visit to the Slonim rabbi, who lives in Mea Shearim and then entered a synagogue to pray. When they emerged they were set upon by young extremists from Neturei Karta who spat at them and assaulted them with stones, blows and a chair.