While reading a recent Op-Ed here on YWN from attorney Rabbi Dov Halbertal, I was heartened to see him expound on ludicrousness and abhorrence of calling the Israeli Police “Nazis”, “Amalek”, and the like. I fully agree with these sentiments; terms like these should never be hurled around, especially at our fellow Jews.
Then the author launched into a tirade accusing the Peleg Yerushalmi protesters of being murderers.
While I do not support the actions of the Peleg Yerushlami protestors, I did find R’ Halbertal comments to be just as ludicrous and abhorrent as those that he was railing against. The term “murderer” also should never be hurled around, especially at our fellow Jews.
I do believe that the Peleg Yerushlami protests are ineffective, and even counter-productive. Inconveniencing and insulting people simply will not convince them of the right righteousness of your argument; if anything, just the opposite. But hurling equally ludicrous and abhorrent insults back at them will also make things worse, not better. R’ Halbertal’s actions are just as counter-productive and condemnable as the actions of the Peleg Yerushlami protestors.
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12 Responses
Don’t the Arabs in Knesset say this all the time and no one cares?
You know its bad when the Satmar rebbe is condemning these protests!!!
Didn’t R. Yoelish call the Zionists “Amalek”?
When these nutcases reach the level of Reb Yoelish’s toes, maybe they can have a de’ah.
I think the chufetz Chaim said they are zera amalek
so does r elchanan in koivets maamorim
When these nutcases reach the level of Reb Yoelish’s toes, maybe they can have a de’ah. – not sure what u mean they follow these gedolim its not their own deah
What does the Gemara say about checking into the Yichus of someone who degrades another Jew’s yichus?
I think that the point of Rabbi Halbertal was that if one police officer or chayal is injured or C’V worse bec. of idiotic statements referring to Jews as amalek, the blood would also be on their hands. Incitement is considered a serious crime and does not fall under the right to free speech
Rav Yoelish, Z’TL, was an apostle of non-violence and never would have endorsed these mindless demonstrations as has Peleg. He did use strong words in condemning tzionim and the medinah as an institution but on a personal level would have been moser nefesh to help another yid whatever his politics.
60 years ago there was a saintly rabbi in Williamsburg by the name of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum I vividly remember his Saturday night speeches where he had the foresight to worn the world that the 1948 UN declaration in forming a Jewish state was far from a salivation for the Jewish Nation on the contrary he bitterly denounced this act. I remember very clearly that he said unfortunately a Pious and religious Jew will not be able to dwell in this state. At the time most of the Jewish world laughed at his words. Now all the world recognizes that his words were like words from a prophet and all can see that day by day it is getting more difficult for a true Torah Jew two live in eretz Israel. There is no plausible solution to this confrontation between religious and non-religious Jews in Israel. We have no choice but except the galute and wait for the true Redemption that we are praying for the last two thousand years
Why does it take so long for you to post a comment by the time you post a comment the original article is almost not there.
emesyid: very simple, have all the chareidim leave eretz ysroel and move to Brooklyn. Eretz yisroel will be safer and Brooklyn will be more interesting.
to #6 crispandrefreshing
Rav Elchonon was killed by the Nazis before the establishment of the State, but his son, Reb Simcha, who I knew personally, moved to Israel and lived and died here.
He enjoyed the state of Israel since it was a state of Jews and was for bringing more yiddisheit to it by opening more yeshivas and for dealing in pleasant manners with other Jews.
He confessed to me once that he believed that inter frum hatred is the worse thing he witnessed in his life.