After the storm that arose on the Internet following a document in which Aryeh Deri is seen saying that his Etrog is worth $5,000 in cash, the media person Avishai Ben Haim reveals its true cost.
As a reminder, a video was published last night in which Deri is seen presenting his Etrog to one of the rabbis who came to his Sukkah: "This is the most expensive Etrog of all here in the box. $5,000, just like that, in cash."
As mentioned, the documentation caused an uproar on the grounds that the person who heads a party that represents the periphery cannot afford to purchase an Etrog for an amount close to NIS 20,000. However, shortly after the documentation, Deri's office published a clarification that it was a joke.
The message said: "For many years, Shas Chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri used to bless on the Sukkot holiday Etrogs of different varieties, including Moroccan, Yemeni, and 'Chazon Ish'. This year, there were large Etrogs and a small Moroccan Etrog in his Sukkot. With a sense of humor and to protect the dignity of the Moroccan Etrog Rabbi Deri jokingly said - don't look at the small size of the Moroccan Etrog, in Satmar in America they pay thousands for it in cash. The aforementioned words were said in jest. The Etrog itself, like all Deri's Etrogs, purchased in Israel for only hundreds of shekels, as is his custom."
So how much did Deri's Etrog really cost? The media person and correspondent for ultra-Orthodox affairs of News 13, Avishai Ben Haim, wrote: "So how much did the Etrog really cost from Deri's $5,000 joke? 350 shekels."
Ben Haim added: "The slanderers could have found out in a minute and realized that there is no such thing as an Etrog with a market value of $5,000, not even half of that. Why didn't they find out? Because this story cultivates a racist sentiment that is important for hegemony: Mizrahim should not have money. Creating resentment towards Mizrahim with money".
