The media has an influence and reports in Holland about Rabbi Eliezer Berland and his chassidim are being aired almost daily. According to a report in Israel, the reports seem to focus on the rav’s chassidim, depicting them as “dirty, unruly and inconsiderate”. The reports explain that are loud and dirty and conduct themselves in a fashion that is unacceptable in Holland.
When the rav arrived in a local police station to sign a form as he is required to do daily to show authorities he has not fled, he was called in by an officer for a private discussion. He asked the rav to tell his followers in his own language to please leave Holland quietly and avoid unwanted events concerning his followers.
When the rav returned home he summoned chassidim and instructed them to travel to Uman and remain there and for the time being. He explained only a few chassidim will remain with him. He instructed them to avoid coming in large groups and arriving without obtaining prior permission, explaining their presence is not benefiting him.
The rav this week was mesader keddushin for a couple that arrived in Holland to have him marry them.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
a friend of mine is dutch and reads some of holland’s news sites – what a terrible chillul hashem this whole episode is, hashem yerachem, it’s just awful
I recently read an interesting article entitled “The media war against Rabbi Berland”.
It explains how the same people who created the lies in the first place are getting the anti-Semitic media involved in order to make it difficult for the Rav and his followers wherever they may be.
One can clearly see by the way the media reports on Israel that sometimes what is written can be the furthest from the truth. As an example, the recent terrorist attack in the Ammunition Hill train stop in which a convicted terrorist drove into a group of people waiting for the train killing a baby and a young lady until he was finally shot by police was reported by AP with the headline “Israel police shoot at Palestinian man in east Jerusalem”, they turn around the entire story to strengthen their anti-Semitic point of view. As is seen in the coverage from YWN here http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/267268/bias-on-steroids-this-ap-headline-explains-why-so-many-complain-about-media-coverage-of-israel.html
I am not Dutch but have been in Amsterdam many times. Before throwing around the usual charge of anti semitism, David Cohen and others like him should realise that the Dutch way of life is so totally removed from the way Rabbi Berland’s followers behave, that the Dutch really do find them “dirty, unruly and inconsiderate”. I can imagine the tremendous chillul HaShem that has been created, not only be the allegations against Rabbi Berland but by the behaviour of his followers. It makes me cringe just thinking about ir.
The article David (#2)refers to is written by the followers of Rav Berland and appears on their website! Totally bias. I’ve spoken to several Dutch Frum citizens and they have described a total bedlam with large groups of people sleeping in local parks and their starving children roaming the streets begging for food. One of the Israeli news sites showed an extract from a Dutch television program where the chasidim are been seen settling in a park. When the interviewer tries to speak to them she gets shouted and cursed at in front of the non-Jewish neighbors. If that doesn’t cause a Chilul Hashem, I don’t know what would.
I saw the television program and actually that “park” which they “settled in” was a vacation resort in Belgium where the chassidim were for succos, it was rented out for them and paid for in full.
The place is far from any other residential area but they were nonetheless harassed by the media during the entire succos who were stopping cars passing by and asking them what they think about these Zionist Jews settling in their country, and yes, they got nasty responses by the Belgium people, who are known to be welcoming of Jews.
You say she gets shouted and cursed at actually the words spoken to her after 4 days of harassment were “It’s very cold in Belgium, you seem warm on the outside, but you are very very cold on the inside”.
Unless you are talking about a different video which I haven’t seen.
To: Imanonov
The gentiles in Holland do not really love the Jewish people. It’s irrelevant if you are Breslov or you belong to a diff. group. All Jews are in 1 category. I think we can assume, that the interviewer, from the very begining was planning to write an unfriendly news article. Maybe she was talking to them in an unfriendly manner.
David (#5): It doesn’t make much of a difference but the TV program was not from Belgium (as stated by the Israeli site which posted the film) but from a small, rather aggressive, Dutch TV news program called PowNews which is broadcast from a Studio in Amsterdam by the public broadcaster PowNed. The park is obviously also not a vacation resort but in the middle of a residential area as you can clearly see the street signs and also from the fact that the neighbors who live there complain that they can hear them sing and dance from their adjacent houses. The chosid complaining about the coldness does not mention the word “Belgium”.
Avraham (#6): Of course Eisav Soneh es Yaakov, but as a frequent visitor to Amsterdam I must say that I have not noticed any Antisemitism. On the contrary when I wait to cross the road, cars stop to let me cross and people on the street often wave or greet. And with my hat and beard I definitely look Jewish. This is true even in the Center of town