Last week, the rabbis of the Shuvu Banim community were called to the residence of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a—the character of Jerusalem is at stake.

Ahead of the fateful elections for the Jerusalem Municipality that will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, the 18th of Adar I, the Rabbinical Committee of the Shuvu Banim community was called last week to the residence of our teacher, the Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a. He requested that they act with all their might for the success of the election campaign and influence as many people as possible to vote for the "Gimmel" list—Agudat Yisrael. During the conversation with the community's rabbis, the Rav clarified the importance of these elections, as he wrote in a Kol Koreh (public proclamation) published this morning here, stating that if there is no strong Charedi (ultra-Orthodox) influence on the city council, then the character of Jerusalem will pass to the "other side" (the forces of secularism), G-d forbid, and businesses will open on Shabbos (the Sabbath), and public transport on Shabbos will even be promoted, may the Merciful One save us (rachmana litzlan). Our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, spoke extensively about how it is possible to influence even those Jews who do not keep Torah and Mitzvos (commandments) living in the Holy City to vote for the Gimmel party. He brought several stories proving that even the greatest so-called heretics returned in teshuvah (repentance) at the end of their lives, such as Shai Agnon, Teddy Kollek, and many others.

At the conclusion of the lesson, the Rav shlit"a wrote an additional Kol Koreh (public proclamation) that has not yet been published, in which he calls in an unequivocal manner to vote only for the Gimmel party and for no other party. Surprisingly, our teacher, the Rav shlit"a, asked the Rabbinical Committee to sign after him. The community's rabbis approached with awe and trepidation (be'dechilu u'rechimu), joining in to add weight to the proclamation alongside the holy signature of our teacher, the Rav shlit"a.