A Political Party in Israel That Calls Knit Kippa Wearers "Amalek"

Watching from afar the politicking surrounding the upcoming election, one sees many politicians whose political interests concern only themselves. 

Watching the ugly scenes of the brawl last week when Shas supporters attacked the hall where Eli Yishai announced his new political party, and seeing them wrestle over the photo of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, one wonders how those who stormed the hall wearing kippas and tzitzit deem themselves "religious."  

Going to brawl with another political party and threatening Yishai's safety while Shas itself is bereft of ideology is far from religious. 

Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef was a great Jew. On the other hand, Aryeh Deri, who leads Shas, is a felon - who was convicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and was prohibited for seven years after the end of his prison sentence from being elected to the Knesset. Nevertheless, the Shas “Council of Torah Sages” deems Deri as fit to lead the party. 

Shas is unsurpassed in the number of leaders in their political party who are convicted criminals - 

for example, Rafael Pinhasi, Yair Levy, Ofer Hugi, and Yair Peretz and Shlomo Benizri - 

hence, Deri is the leader of quite a crew.  

This gang is most concerned with power for themselves; witness their partnering with the left on numerous and critical occasions, including being a part of the coalition with Meretz and Labor when the Oslo Accords were approved in 1993. 

Lest one forget, a member of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages just last year called the national-religious party Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party a “home of non-Jews.”  

Indeed, he asked a laughing crowd “Are these people even Jews? We would be unfortunate to end up with a [chief] rabbi who wears a knit kippa.” He said “The [heavenly] throne is not complete when Amalek exists,” and “As long as there’s a knit kippa, the throne is not complete (reference to a well-known midrash based on the word for throne that in the biblical story of Amalek, is written missing a letter, ed.).

 That’s Amalek … When will the throne be complete? When there’s no knitted kippa.” 

Describing knitted-kippa wearers as Amalek speaks for itself. 

There’s more to being religious than davening – ethics, honesty, and love of our fellow Jew are also necessities.  

Truly religious people have values and beliefs – a core value system which stands for something. 

Leaders - from all political parties - should be concerned about the State and people of Israel.