Jerusalem – Shas Party spiritual leader Rabbi Shalom Cohen said haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men and women who voted for Aliza Bloch in the Beit Shemesh mayoral election are destined for the toilets in the afterlife.
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It appears that several thousand haredi voters cast their ballots for Bloch in the majority-haredi city, which led to her narrow win over incumbent mayor and Shas representative Moshe Abutbul. That shocked the haredi community and represents a stinging defeat for the haredi political party.
At a Shas Party post-election rally on Saturday night in Jerusalem, Cohen spoke of Abutbul’s defeat. He referenced the many complaints of regarding poor garbage collection in the city, one of several serious complaints against Abutbul’s administration.
“They say that Moshe Abutbul did not deal with keeping the streets clean. I spit on you, I spit on you!” declared Cohen in footage captured by the Kikar HaS-habbat haredi news website.
“The things of Torah which he did, is there anything more clean than this? In the world to come they [Bloch voters] will be put in clean toilets. How can a God-fearing person who puts on tefillin in the morning not know how to weigh between this one and that one?” Cohen demanded, calling the mayor’s defeat at the hands of Bloch “an embarrassment and a disgrace.”
Abutbul was endorsed by all the leading rabbis across haredi society, including Cohen as the spiritual leader of Shas, as well as the most senior Ashkenazi non-hassidic and hassidic rabbis.
That so many haredim apparently voted against Abutbul or chose not to vote – in spite of instructions by the rabbis to the contrary – has been seen as a testament to the low regard for Abutbul’s management of the city, as well a certain weakening of rabbinic authority.
Cohen’s comments are a reaction to the message some haredim sent to their political and rabbinic leaders by voting for Bloch: Some issues are more important than the rabbis’ edicts.
I suppose this lost something in translation. Heaven has toilets?
Much like the Democratic Party in America
The party leaders are completely out of touch with the electorate
The inhabitants of Beit Shemesh, don’t need more shuls , more lectures, more tznius posters, more religious bullying in their lives, they need the politicians to provide clean streets , safe streets, lower taxes etc.
Sick people with these type of comments.no wonder nobody ever wants to listen or learn or tried to change the lives to become more religious when you have people spewing this type of toilet talk
How about it’s a sign from God that you people live in a toilet today
at least the toilets will now be clean; every such statement brings kavod hatorah a notch lower
I watched the video.
Such a lovely and pleasant man! So well-spoken, with such a rich vocabulary!
So full of ahavas Yisroel and speaking with such wisdom, quoting gemaras and pasukim left and right! Shailos and Teshuvos too!
And such lovely and pleasant supporters!
Can’t figure out why Beit Shemesh voters would possibly want an alternative to him and his followers.
Only Islamic extremists think there are toilets in the afterlife.
Why did rabbi Cohen endorse a non charedi in yerusholayim?
The Ministry of Health in Israel supports some very good therapeutic treatment and rehabilitative programs that offer a wide range of services to mentally ill adults struggling to function and in need of high-quality psychosocial rehabilitative treatment. Rabbi Cohen should seek out such support and treatment at the earliest opportunity.
Welcome back to the Dark Ages via Shas. Look how pleasant life was for us back then…
Israeli haredim are getting smart. American haredim still……… !!!!
don’t you just love the way sefardim curse the truly are blessed in that
This speech is a true Chillul H’shem.
These Rabbanim should stay away from political power – it surropts them.
What I remember from the news of the last election is that North American Rabbis came over (in video if not in person) to twist their follower’s arms to vote a certain way. That leaves to me to suspect at least some of the voters (and apparently the “swing” hareidi voters) are under the authority of the afore-mentioned North American Rabbis, which means that other Rabbis have no right to interfere nor to usurp that relationship.
I guess I’ll bring a big bucket of toilet cleaner with me, because so many of us voted for Mayor Bloch. And we did so unreservedly. As someone said to me with great surprise before the election…. you will go against your Rabbis?
Yes. And what’s more, so did my husband, because they don’t know how much we have suffered because of the corruption that they & Abutbol perpetrated. Let the Rabbis stick to Ruchnius & Torah & leave the welfare of the community & the gashmius to honest experts.
when we have rabbis who act and speak like disgusting money hungry sleazy politicians, then we vote seek out honest politicians who act like the rabbis should have acted
The recent elections is a sad low for frum jews. Daitch a fine upstanding candidate who had years of experience lost thanks to degel and their politics . And beit shemesh suffered too. Its terrible that frum jews can’t get along
Never knew the Tidy Bowl man was a Bloch supporter. Live and learn.
Beit Shemesh residents want to live in a clean city with clean toilets.. Good decision. Put an old mayor in charge for clean kosher toilet paper for public toilets.
He has to support his family.
I guess the Rabbi never hear of Derech ERETZ Kodma Latorah. Time for him to go back to Yeshiva while Alisa brings Derech Etrez back to Beit Shemesh
See Ya!!!
I don’t understand what he is complaining about. Eliza Cohen is a woman and it’s a woman’s job to clean the toilets. No-one expects a charedi man with a black suit and Fedora hat to get his hands dirty doing such a demeaning task.