Members of the dati leumi community on shabbos visited a number of chareidi shuls in Yerushalayim to count the mispalalim, instructed to do so as part of ongoing efforts to document what is believed to be a significant gap between the numbers submitted by chareidi officials and the reality that exists. Dati leumi officials suspect the numbers were inflated to justify an inflated chareidi representation on the election body that will select the new chief rabbis of Yerushalayim.
It appears shul counters were operating on shabbos over the past weeks, accumulating information to present to the officials monitoring the election in the hope and expectation to compel a change in the number of chareidi and dati leumi delegates.
The dati leumi counters are reporting the actual number of people counted was far less than the numbers submitted by chareidi officials in the 24 shul monitored over recent weeks.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
10 Responses
is anyone counting in the nationalist/modern shuls also? or they are assumed to be a “talis shekula t’cheiles”?
Since it is forbidden to count Jews – did they count payis and divide by two?
Doesn’t this constitute Daber Daver? If so, it is only an isur d’rabanan. Being that supporting a Zionistic government is a “mitzva” d’oraita, I guess it over-rides the d’rabanan. (At least, according to them) 🙂
It is of course ossur to lie about how many numbers you represent.
Midvar Sheker Tirchok.
How do we know that they counted the Cheredi honestly.
They ‘wanted’ to find fewer Cheredi, and they did, and no one questions that?
And why is the group that stands to benefit most from deflated chareidi numbers believed to count that number?
did they count the dibbuk?
There may have been an over representation, for instance how many people that are in shul on shabbos mevarachim is different than a thursday morning? Any way you look at it, Yerushalaim should have a charedei and a charedi leumi rav as chief rabbis of the city?
#3, why would this be “vedaber dovor”? On the contrary, since it relates to the election of a chief rabbi it’s not only “tzorchei tzibbur”, but also “cheftzei shomayim”, and 100% permitted.
# 9 is correct. unless they are trying to damage the chances of the chareidi candidates!!