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Feb. 7, 2005 12:38 | Updated Feb. 7, 2005 18:40 Elyashiv, Barak support referendum By GIL HOFFMAN, NINA GILBERT, YAAKOV KATZ Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Photo: Hatzolah Jerusalem Degel Hatorah's preeminent halachic authority Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv said Monday that he would support the Disengagement Implementation Bill if it includes a national referendum. Elyashiv's statement comes a day after the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee spent a day heatedly debating making the bill contingent upon the results of a national referendum, as long it goes hand in hand with a new basic law limiting such a referendum to relinquishing...

Jan. 5, 2005 17:43 | Updated Jan. 5, 2005 18:51 Rabbi Elyashiv gives UTJ green light to join coalition By GIL HOFFMAN United Torah Judaism spiritual mentor Rabbi Shalom Yosef Elyashiv on Wednesday bestowed his approval for the haredi party to join the coalition, allowing a Likud-Labor-UTJ government to be formed, UTJ MK Avraham Ravitz said. The Ultra-Orthodox party's inclusion into the coalition is conditional however on a three-month "wait-and-see" approach relating to the Likud negotiating team's promise to provide funding to haredi educational institutions. UTJ MKs Avraham Ravitz and Moshe Gafni will not fill any positions in the government...

A senior Israeli rabbi with influence among almost 150,000 American Jews ruled Tuesday that they should vote for President George W. Bush in the upcoming US elections, his office said. Rabbi Shalom Yosef Elyashiv, responding to queries from Americans residing in Israel, has decided that Bush is better for Israel than his competitor, John Kerry, said an assistant to the rabbi, Haim Cohen. Elyashiv's opinions are respected by large ultra-Orthodox communities, especially in Israel and the US. Elyashiv has strong influence over about half of all haredi Jews of European origin. "Apparently George Bush loves Israel and thus we need...