Porush Breaks Silence on Agudat Yisrael Split With Ger

MK Meir Porush, chairman of the Shlomei Emunim movement, is speaking out for the first time at length about the dramatic split within Agudat Yisrael and the establishment of a separate framework for managing party funds allocated to Shlomei Emunim and Belz.

In an interview granted for the Sukkot holiday, the veteran lawmaker (who is no stranger to battles with Ger) opens up completely and sharply criticizes the current conduct, explaining the events that preceded the move.

"We didn't want to reach this situation, but there was no choice," Porush says. "What happened with the management of funds in Agudat Yisrael, public funds that belong to the public, is an act that must not be done and I could not stay silent any longer, especially in light of the outcry that rose from the field on this matter."

Porush details the background to the decision: "For years, and essentially since the changing of the guard when my late father resigned from his activities in the leadership of Agudat Yisrael, all the funds have been controlled by one person, appointed by the Central Faction based on the results of internal elections 50 years ago when that faction received 2.5 percent more than the Shlomei Emunim faction."

According to his interview with HaMevaser, "This led to a clearly illogical allocation of resources from party funds, an unfair distribution of positions, and more. Several years ago, the Council of Torah Sages issued an instruction to conduct an arbitration process, which included a directive to establish a finance committee that would manage party funds, with every financial expenditure requiring approval from both a representative of the Shlomei Emunim faction and the general Hasidic public."

Porush describes the incident that led to the decision: "In accordance with this decision, I was designated at the bank as a mandatory signatory. At that same meeting it was also agreed that no amount would be withdrawn from the additional account without agreement. After the municipal election campaign, I discovered that a very large sum had been withdrawn for the Bnei Brak municipal elections, beyond the agreed amount, and without approval."

"Following this behavior, I instructed to withdraw an identical sum for several cities across the country," Porush recounts. "As a result, the party secretary-general and chairman, both from the Central Faction, ordered the cancellation of the signing authority of the Belz representative and myself. Does this sound reasonable? Two senior partners, together holding 52 percent, one with 27 percent and one with 24 percent, can a partner cancel bank signing authority?"

Porush asks angrily: "Tell me, could I pass over this in silence? Even if I wanted to stay silent about it, which I don't, the outcry of our representatives in the field obligated me to take action."

He draws attention to the branch issue: "Just a few days ago, a conversation of mine with Meir Rubinstein, mayor of Beitar Illit, was published in which he cries out, how can it be that in a city with almost the most votes for Agudat Yisrael, there is no branch? And it's not that they didn't promise, they promised and didn't deliver. In Beit Shemesh, the future city of the Haredi public, there is no branch. In Elad, there is no branch?"

"What is the common denominator of all these cities?" Porush asks. "Who is the main Hasidic force in these cities? You know the answer yourselves... The facts speak for themselves. Again and again there are those within Agudat Yisrael who seek to harm Agudat Yisrael communities, and do so even while trampling members of the Council of Torah Sages, and one cannot remain silent about this."

Porush concludes: "The meaning of the move we made is one and only, returning Agudat Yisrael to the hands of the members of the Council of Torah Sages."