Politics
He later became active in politics under the guidance of the then Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Simcha Binem Alter. Over time he became known as the rebbe's right-hand man, a role he continues under the present Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Arye Alter.
In 1999 the present rebbe asked Litzman to join the Aguda slate for the legislative election held that year. He has since served as the leader of the Agudat Yisrael faction in the Knesset, in which role he consults the Gerrer Rebbe on a daily basis.
Litzman served on the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee from 1999–2001, and as the Deputy Chairman of Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee. As part of the coalition agreement with the ruling government of Ariel Sharon in 2000, Litzman was appointed chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, a position he held until 2007.
Litzman is quoted as saying that "in some respects, I envy the low profile the Haredi community in the United States has been able to retain by staying out of politics". He also said that, in Israel, the media attention makes for misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the Haredi community.
Read more about this topic: Yaakov Litzman
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country—and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.”
—Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950)
“The Germans—once they were called the nation of thinkers: do they still think at all? Nowadays the Germans are bored with intellect, the Germans distrust intellect, politics devours all seriousness for really intellectual things—Deutschland, Deutschland Über alles was, I fear, the end of German philosophy.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)