Porush. Personal security detail
Photo: AP
Litzman. Associates say no connection with events
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Personal security guards for haredi party's leaders
On backdrop of conflicts in ultra-Orthodox world following MK Meir Porush's run for Jerusalem mayor, leaders of United Torah Judaism party hire personal security details
Personal security guards are becoming a regular installment in the United Torah Judaism party. Three of the party's leaders – Meir Porush, Yossi Deutsch, and Yaacov Berger – have been assigned personal security details recently. The security details have been supplied by the police.
Sources in the haredi community claim that the backdrop for this move is the Jerusalem municipal elections, in which the haredi bloc lost the mayor seat. The Gur Hasidism movement, led by MK Yaakov Litzman, opposed the election of Porush to the position of mayor.
During the time of elections, anti-Porush propaganda was published. Gur Hasidism was accused of printing the propaganda, but the claims have never been proven.
Litzman's camp insists it has no connection whatsoever to the anti-Porush propaganda.
Recently, two of Porush's party leaders have been walking around with security details due to threats made to the party, on the backdrop of thousands of leaflets and posters that were distributed, supposedly by Porush supporters, in haredi population centers against MK Litzman.
Many haredi circles declared that they would vote for Shas rather than UTJ in the upcoming elections because of their anger at the Gur Hasidism movement. Shas election offices were even set up in many haredi cities that typically vote UTJ.
Internal circles in UTJ claim that the Gur Hasidism movement is responsible for the negative campaign against Litzman to Porush supporters. UTJ leader Berger said that he has been flooded with malicious telephone calls recently due to the tense situation between the two camps.
"Anonymous callers are calling my house, threatening to beat me up and kill me," Berger testified.
According to him, it is clear that the day will come when he will be assaulted. "I am certain it will come. In the meantime, the police have assigned me a security detail, but I am not afraid and continue to work for United Torah Judaism," Berger asserted.
