Open Letter to Ron Kobi, Mayor of Tiberias

I considered starting with the customary 'Hello and Blessing.' But I paused at the word 'Hello.' I realized I had a problem. Even from a halachic perspective, and you, who take pride in coming from a family of rabbis, surely remember some halacha related to this issue. Otherwise, I have no explanation why you do everything to divide and cultivate animosity, damaging long-standing good relations between sectors in your city and beyond. I also find myself in a serious quandary with the word 'Blessing,' as if you harm the holy Shabbat, the source of all blessings, it seems blessings are not something you care about, 'and he loved not blessing and it was far from him' (Psalms 109:17).

So, I will open with a polite question: How are you feeling? Do you rest occasionally? Why am I interested, you ask? Simply because I care about you. You work hard, sweat a lot for Tiberias. While other mayors sit in their town halls or tour the streets, running between various government offices to develop and ensure the prosperity and welfare of their cities, you cover many kilometers, hopping from studio to studio and channel to channel, spreading your message to all of Israel. I wonder when you actually have time for Tiberias. I heard you are not spoiled, whoever invites you, you accept eagerly. The media is thirsty for people like you. You provide them with material, amuse them. And in general, you're a perfect fit, like a glove for their pseudo-liberal outlook; they haven't met someone like you in years, someone who knows exactly what he wants, who stops at nothing, trampling everything in his path. True, they also know most of your claims are baseless, and in secret, they already suspect you are not very stable in your views. But as long as someone delivers the goods, excellent.

Writing with Many Errors

Did I write that you're unstable?! Offended, huh?! Before you make a video against me, let me explain: It's quite simple. In one sentence, you manage to contradict yourself two to three times, like writing with many errors. Here's a fresh example. At first, you boldly and defiantly launched a bus line on the last Shabbat, continuously inciting against those who observe Shabbat in your city, whom you accused from the start of religious coercion, despite you and your city's residents knowing this is far from true. Tiberias has always been one of the most tolerant cities in Israel. You said, and I quote: 'I don’t see this as defiance against Shabbat. I love Shabbat no less than them. I come from a religious family, from rabbis...' Ron, do you ever listen to yourself?! You claim you love Shabbat more than the religious? It sounds like a child declaring love for their parents while simultaneously disrespecting them. You trample and desecrate Shabbat, a precious gift given to us by Hashem, and still call yourself 'a lover of Shabbat'? With 'Shabbat lovers' like you, who needs enemies?! You committed the additional sin of calling on all other mayors to learn from your reprehensible acts and to stop fearing Deri... In your words: 'Other mayors are afraid and subservient to Deri.' Interesting, we observe Shabbat and never knew Deri gave it to us. Deri has indeed brought us many good things...

You claim over and over that you come from a religious family, from a family of rabbis, which may very well be, associating you as a descendant of a very great rabbi. Well, what do you think your Shabbat-observing ancestors would say about your disgraceful actions? How much sorrow are you causing their pure souls?! And if you had sacred and righteous ancestors, does that allow you to do whatever you please? Do you think you have some immunity? Do you see yourself understanding Judaism more than those who have preserved it unchanged for thousands of years?

You further stated: 'I remember a different kind of religion, rabbis who behaved differently, not making curses, not distributing flyers.' Remind me again - what else do you remember from religion? Where did you encounter it closely, if from your youth you were educated in secular institutions?! You remember rabbis, who are they? Whose hands did you serve, at whose side did you pour water? Go ahead, tell us a bit of what you’ve seen from their sacred behaviors. Serving in a greater capacity is better than learning.

Regarding curses - it's not true! I checked thoroughly. A group of good Jews decided on their own to visit the grave of your grandfather Rabbi Makhlouf Kobi, of blessed memory, who served as a teacher and member of the religious council in Tiberias. They performed rounds, recited chapters of Psalms, and prayed for your wandering soul to return in full repentance. A sight that touched anyone with a beating Jewish heart; to see the ultra-Orthodox residents of Tiberias, whom you daily crucify in the media and blame for all the city's ailments and woes, praying for you with a loving heart, without incitement, without curses, without any threats of curses, and then you run to tell the media that they cursed you?!

I'm surprised at you, you're quite strong with videos, filming yourself endlessly. Did your bizarre haste to create an underdog image and become persecuted not allow you to watch the short ceremony until the end and see that there was no curse or any seriousness to it? Regarding curses, I really don't know what you are referring to. In any case, as the kids say: 'Look who's talking!' Every common resident of Tiberias knows your language is not among the cleanest in the world. The entire country knows and hears how insults and slanders are your bread and butter towards anyone who doesn't please you, like your political rivals, the ultra-Orthodox, and others. Even the general media called you 'the Trump of the North...' and you surely understand the context. As for flyers - you may not disperse leaflets, but the poison and hatred and incitement you spread across private and public media surpass in their hateful and inflammatory effect any flyer.

The sleepy and pleasant city you received in your hands, a city that knew how to respect all sectors within it, is experiencing severe storms – and of course, you have a significant part in that. We are not talking about cities where somehow we got used to having hidden or open tensions. Even in Tel Aviv and other cities considered more secular, we haven't found such behavior. And I fear if there's no one to say stop to the corruption, your behavior might turn all cities in Israel into quarreling ones among themselves. I'm very surprised that no one at the political leadership above, not even the Prime Minister and President, sees you as a public danger. Why are you not tried on charges of spreading hatred and incitement against sectors, against entire communities, and against individuals? Imagine if you behaved this way towards the Arabs or any other sector the media favors. You would've filmed them, entered their temples, removed ads, blamed them for Tiberias's woes, incited the residents against them, and wished they wouldn't multiply – there would have been a tremendous outcry shaking the foundations. And here, strange silence.

Beware – But Not of the Religious

Indeed, in one sentence you are correct: you need to be careful. Very careful! But not from us, the ultra-Orthodox and Shabbat-loving public, which includes many who do not appear religious, whose ways are of pleasantness and all paths are peace, and who denounce all forms of violence. You need to be careful of the Shabbat you harmed, that it doesn't demand its honor from you; you need to be careful of the embers of Torah scholars and emissaries of the rabbis whom you insulted, as Hashem demands their honor. Not from us and our kind.

You even pointed to who you think is to blame for these threats: 'There is only one responsible for all of this, and his name is Aryeh Deri. The Shas party understands that Ron Kobi threatens its status in the next Knesset...' You also added and stated that Shas will soon disappear from the map. Listen, Ron, you made me laugh like never before. Deri is to blame, Ron Kobi threatens Shas... Frightening. What do we do? Declare a fast, call a rally. I'm trying to remember if Minister Deri even said anything toward you – to no avail. I understand you desperately need his attention, and it's not happening. So, what, start blatantly inciting against him?!

Behold, we have had quite a few like you. You'd be wise to learn from their experience. If you don’t change your ways – your (political) end will be like theirs, a fleeting curiosity, discarded to the recycling bin of history. The day will not be long when the city's residents, many of whom I know closely as quiet and good people, will grow tired of you and realize you’ve only been using them.

Recall, not long ago you incited and poisoned disgracefully against the ultra-Orthodox. You said in an interview that you want 'the ultra-Orthodox to continue developing – but outside Tiberias.' You added and said that currently, the ultra-Orthodox in Tiberias stand at about 22% of the population, and they must not reach 30%. You also commented sarcastically on low municipal tax payments, although this has no relation to the level of Orthodoxy of the residents, but rather to their income level, as determined by law. It's permissible to assume that even among your city's non-religious residents, considered periphery in terms of income per capita, you do not see high income from municipal taxes. So why roll over only the ultra-Orthodox, because it's popular?! And when asked about the paralyzed municipal departments, you claimed it wasn't as bad, not forgetting to mention sarcastically: "You know what's the problem with the ultra-Orthodox public in Tiberias? There’s one committee that doesn’t exist, naturally, the municipal tax relief committee. That’s what they’re upset about"... And then you tell everyone you have no issue with the ultra-Orthodox. You film the Chasidim coming to spend Shabbat in Tiberias, warning the residents of the 'Ultra-Orthodox takeover.' You then run to a ‘Tish’ anniversary managed by one of the Rabbis and tell everyone you actually love the ultra-Orthodox and have no problem with them living in the city. Thank you so much for the heartfelt hospitality.

Tiberias, if you haven’t checked yet, is one of the four holy cities mentioned extensively in Midrash, Mishnah, and Talmud. There lived and were buried Tannaim and Amoraim, and our great rabbis like Rambam, the Great Eagle, Ramchal, the Shla, and even in later years, great sages of Spain such as Rabbi Chaim Abulafia I and II, among others. Also, the great Chassidic leaders like Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and his comrades in the years 1776-1777 chose Tiberias as their seat, and there lies their honored resting place. The city was built by ultra-Orthodox and Torah observant starting from Rabbi Chaim Abulafia the second, who renewed the settlement and the disciples of the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. It's very possible that your grandfather on your mother's side is from that—they say: ultra-Orthodox are the city's old-timers for generations. And you and your kind are the 'new faces' in the city that has changed its character. If anything, you are our guest, not the other way around. So, learn to respect.