A storm erupted Tuesday evening within the chareidi political world after senior Shas leader Rav Moshe Maya publicly urged participation in Wednesday’s planned vehicle protest, while a spokesman for the party later declared that Shas would not be taking part in the demonstration.

The protest, organized by broad segments of the mainstream chareidi community, including elements of Agudas Yisroel and other groups alongside the Eidah HaChareidis and Peleg Yerushalmi, is scheduled to take place Wednesday and is expected to be conducted in an orderly fashion through slow-moving vehicle processions.

One of the strongest endorsements of the protest came from Rav Moshe Maya, the senior member of Shas’s Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah. Speaking on a community hotline operated by Itche Dzalovsky, Rav Maya called on the public to participate, describing the demonstration as a religious obligation.

“This is excellent. This protest is an obligation. Perhaps through it we will merit to fulfill our obligation to protest.”

Rav Maya praised the nature of the demonstration, emphasizing that it would not involve road blockages or property damage.

“This is excellent because it does not block roads and does not damage vehicles on the side. As you publicized in the media, it involves driving at a slow speed, and it is the strongest protest with the least amount of harm. It is excellent. Not only is it excellent, it is an obligation. From the very first moment they arrested a yeshivah student and put him in prison, I have not been able to sleep at night. Even today I do not sleep well. How can we remain silent? If we are supposed to protest and do not, then we share responsibility for the same sin.”

Quoting the Rambam, Rav Maya argued that failing to protest would carry serious spiritual consequences.

“The Rambam rules, and I am quoting his exact language, that ‘Anyone who disgraces Torah scholars has no share in the World to Come.’ A person must understand one thing: We believe that our entire World to Come is at stake. If we do not protest properly, it is a sin.”

At the same time, outrage spread among supporters and organizers of the protest after Shas spokesman Asher Medina publicly stated that the party would not participate in the event.

According to journalist Avi Moskoff, Medina said during an interview on Kol Barama radio that despite Rav Maya’s endorsement, both Shas and Degel HaTorah would refrain from joining the protest.

“We will not participate in tomorrow’s protest. Shas and Degel are avoiding participation in such actions at this time, whether they involve vehicles or horses, and we will invoke the name of Hashem our G-d.”

The comments sparked strong criticism from those involved in the protest effort, many of whom viewed the statement as a public contradiction of the position expressed by one of the senior members of Shas’s rabbinic leadership.

Sources familiar with the matter said that the remarks were deeply troubling.

“This is a shocking crossing of a red line. The party spokesman is allowing himself to publicly oppose an explicit directive from the senior member of the Moetzes. If the party chose not to participate officially for its own reasons, then at the very least he should have remained silent rather than issue provocative statements that undermine the honor of Torah.”

The controversy comes as organizers make final preparations for the vehicle protest, which they say is intended to express opposition to the arrest and imprisonment of yeshivah students while avoiding the road closures and confrontations that have characterized some demonstrations in the past.

{Matzav.com}