Jerusalem News. The Magic 6 by MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni (16 July, 2014, 18 Tammuz, 5774)
The Magic 6
The Six Facts concerning Operation Offensive Edge by MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni
(Excerpt from speech given in the Knesset, 16 July, 2014, 18 Tammuz, 5774):
[Translation by Yair Davidiy with the help of Google Translate].
I want to declare six facts. And I say in advance: I do not have a phone-line to the Almighty, I do not.
No-one should think I am describing the Judgments of Heaven. I just want to tell the facts.
"Fact one - visible miracles occur in this war, visible to all intents and purposes. The mere fact that the Iron Dome anti-missile system successfully intercepts more than 90% of the time; the fact is that even in cases when their is failure to intercept the missiles and and they fall, we escape harm by the Grace of Heaven. These are palpable miracles. [There was an exception] with the incident yesterday. I send my condolences to the family of Dror Henin, who helped soldiers. He was giving food to them and was killed. We all feel that the deceased was one of our own. I send my condolences to the family. Nevertheless, on the whole we see visible miracles. That is one fact.
"Fact - Torah scholars continue to learn. Their studies have not diminished. They are still learning. In every Yeshivah and House of Study they say Psalms, pray for miracles. I do not link, if you are alarmed, MK Braverman, I am not making connections. I am just saying facts. The fact is that miracles are taking place on an unimaginable scale. The fact is that Yeshiva Students continue to learn despite the efforts made to stop their studies. They did not stop - They keep on learning, praying. Sometimes I also get to [ the House of Study] when I can, when there is no Knesset. I also participate in reciting Psalms and the rest.
"The third fact - the Government had decided that the Ultra-Orthodox children of Sderot would not have [subsidized] summer camps [whereas the children of every other sector would]. This applied to the children of Sderot who are affected by this arrangement. - Not only the children of Sderot, but even the children of Kiryat - Gat, and the children of Kiryat Malachi [all in the south near gaza]. Someone who is Orthodox, does not go to a [government subsidized] Summer Camp. That is the third fact.
"Fourth Fact - no one today has a Summer Camp. That is the Fourth Fact. I am not making any associations [between facts 3 and 4], of course, God forbid. I do not know.
"I stated facts. Until today the decision was that the children of the South who are Ultra-Orthodox, who live in Sderot, who go to school or kindergarten or what not, would not - according to the government's decision, be in Summer Camps [unlike children from other sectors]. Let them roam the streets. The fourth fact is that today no one has a Summer Camp.
"The fifth fact is that they [the present Government] struck against the budget of the yeshivot. They mainly hurt Ultra-Orthodox Torah education. It may be that they saved money or transferred it to other people. Nevertheless they mostly cut the budget of the ultra-Orthodox, harming them in existential matters. Even child allowances were cut.
"And the sixth fact is that Israel must now spend a lot more money on war than they gained by curtailing that given to the Ultra-Orthodox Haredim. I am not making any association, Heaven forbid. How would you say it? I put it to you, I put it on the table."
"You cut funding mainly against Haredi yeshivas, mainly against Torah education. You mainly cut funding for children. Behold, what a wonder! The sixth fact is that the State now has to spend a lot of money, much more than they cut, for the things we would all like did not happen. I do not know what is the connection between the six facts. I have no doubt however that there is a connection. I do not know between whom this connection needs to be made. Let each one make their own accounting. Thank you very much. "