In First Post Election Meeting, ‘Achdus Team’ Shows no Achdus
In the first post election meeting members of each side sat down with Rabbi Avrohom Rosenberg in the offices of the Vaad Hakohol to discuss the elections and its outcome. Members of the ‘Achdus Team’, who were the ones to call for the meeting, gave various suggestions from remaining in office throughout the summer, to calling for new elections, and even refusing to work with individual Vaad members.
The ‘Achdus Team’ was ousted in last weeks elections by a resounding vote from a record turnout, but has since remained in office and showed no signs of willing to move out and move on.
Before the meeting began a number of residents and activists turned up for the meeting, but the Poltorak group refused to come in to the meeting if it was open to the public, and even attempted to cancel it just hours before. Rabbi Rosenberg would not hear of it and ordered that the meeting go on as scheduled.
After arguing back and forth both sides agreed to close the meeting and have only a number of representatives from each side attend along with the candidates.
Rabbi Abba Paltiel, a Mashpia sided with the Poltorak group, was the first to speak and raised a number of issues, first calling the Zabl”o Beis Din’s jurisdiction into question on the matter of them being allowed to call for elections. He also called the Beis Din’s authority to override the bylaws into question, and accused them of bowing to pressure from Rabbi Osdoba who he claimed threatened to boycott the elections if he did not get his way. He concluded with taking issue with Zaki Tamir’s statement regarding woman being allowed to vote. Paltiel concluded with saying that the entire elections need to be voided and the Poltorak Vaad should remain.
Rabbi Rosenberg responded and refuted each one of his claims, saying that the Beis Din did in fact have the necessary jurisdiction to call for the elections, and that according to the psak they identified issues with the bylaws that need to be addressed, and that there was never any such pressure from Rabbi Osdoba.
Each side then suggested ideas what to do for the interim until the newly elected Vaad can be established by a runoff elections. One of the fantastic suggestions came from Elie Poltorak who said that his Vaad should remain until after the summer, when the runoff will take place. And he added that they would be willing to include Tamir in their Vaad.
Tamir said that it did not make sense to work with a Vaad that has an open challenge to working with him, and it would render him useless and unproductive.
Another idea was raised recommending that Tamir along with all three runner-up’s, Yossi Hackner, Fishel Brownstein and Shea Hecht, all take office immediately and once there is runoffs the looser will just drop out of office.
Speaking for Brownstein, Poltorak said that he will not sit in any interim vaad alongside Shea Hecht, nor will he take part in any runoff alongside him. Brownstein then stood up and walked out. Mendy Hendel followed Brownstein, and returned a short while later with him and informed Rabbi Rosenberg that he actually didn’t make up his mind yet. He was given till 6:00pm today to make up his mind.
The issue of the recount was raised again with the Osdoba side demanding a recount of the ballots, stating that there is no harm in recounting, and if not for the late hour Monday morning when the first tally was completed they would have recounted on the spot. Poltorak argued that the bylaws are not clear who can demand a recount, and objected.
Poltorak raised another claim stating that the elections were unfair to him and his running mates and they were at a disadvantage because the Beis Din did not vindicate them, and allowed for a campaign calling him and Chanina Sperlin Mossrim. Rabbi Rosenberg responded in saying that the matter was not part of the Din Torah, and it was not their job to vindicated him or not, and that alone would take weeks and months to determine if they are Mosrim or not.
One of those who was present at the meeting told CrownHeights.info “it is obvious what Poltorak’s tactics are, they want to stall and try to remain in office as long as possible.” Adding that he hopes Rabbi Rosenberg sees through it and will finally seal this chapter for good.
The meeting concluded at around 4:00pm and Rabbi Rosenberg is set to decided on the following issues later on Monday:
• Will there be recount
• Will there be a runoff, and that will depend on Brownstein
• Will the runoff be on July 6th or will it be delayed till after summer
• And how will the Vaad run until the runoff
The decision will be made with the entire Beis Din by conference call and we will post the rulings tomorrow.
After the meeting Shea Hecht released the following statement “Once again I want to state that I am willing to work with anyone and everyone for the betterment of our Shechuna.
The rumors that I was told that Fishel Browstein is planning to step down I believe are only rumors, he is not going to step down and people are just using it for manipulation to change the results of our elections.
And regards to the situation with the runoff, the bylaws are clear that there should be a runoff, there is no reason the runoff should not take place immediately, after all the candidates are known to all the people.”
And Zaki Tamir released the following statement “I only heard tremendous things about Rabbi Paltiel, and that I know that he has a following in CH, and in his opinion he represents a lot of people.
Considering all that I am hoping that my representation that I am going to make to him is not going to be to prove that I am on a specific level but I am moving steadily in the right direction.”
1. So? wrote:
So the whole elections was all for nothing??!!