MK (Bayit Yehudi) Moti Yogev was a lone voice, joining Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan in condemning the hooligans who were holed up in the Amona shul. Veering from Erdan’s words, who just targeted the youths, Yogev added the entire matter of the eviction from and destruction of Amona was a chilul Hashem. However, despite being in the dati leumi party, he has the mentschlichkeit to call it what it was, a chilul Hashem. Yogev expressed outrage over their behavior, the chutzpah to attack police and create the chilul Hashem on such a magnitude as the event was being covered by world media. One French station aired the eviction live on YouTube!
Clearly the government and police were sending a message, this evacuation would not be a repeat of the bloody 2006 evacuation of Amona under PM Ehud Olmert. Police arrived on day two with the same sweatshirts, no body armor and no helmets. There were no batons and no weapons visible. What was visible is that on day two of the eviction, unlike day one, police were wearing protective eyewear after some were injured a day earlier when youths hurled bleach at them.
Day two was worse. Police began by repeatedly calling on the 50-100 youths in the shul to come out and avoid violence. Police waited hours, playing the cat and mouse game but it became clear the youths wanted a confrontation. Many were amazed how senior commanders permitted hours to pass, giving these hoodlums far more attention then they deserved. It was reported by the Amona resistance leaders that most of the youths in the shul were no residents but those who came to “support their battle”. In fact, it was many of the so-called Hilltop Youths that are so often the subject of praise from dati leumi rabbonim. These are youths who live with one another, living off the land, dropouts from school and society. Back in the 70s they were referred to as “juvenile delinquents” and in essence, they are the dati leumi tzibur’s ‘sikrikim’ nothing more. They are not role models or anyone that one wishes to have one children emulate chas v’sholom. They have their own Torah, which is often based on their own interpretation. They reject the government, the state, military service and what we call ‘normal life’.
They are products of a failed education, one that inculcated them with an ideology teaching the land is more important than the Torah HaKadosha and life itself. They have lost sight of any baseline of normality and they claim to be builders of Eretz Yisrael. They provoke violence and worse among Arabs, and has total disdain for government authorities and agencies.
Other than their dress and affiliation, they share a great deal with the sikrikim, who will often be found at violent protests just for the sake of protest. They are committed to nothing other than disobedience and defying authority.
How shameful it is that prominent rabbonim and talmidei chacham praise these misguided youths, who are the victims of their hashkafa, that when it comes to Eretz Yisrael, the rule is יהרוג ואל יעבור, even if this means throwing caustic agents at unarmed Jewish police, or throwing a fire extinguisher at unarmed Jewish police, or metal rods, glass and flammable liquids. They have no limits for this is what they have understood from the settlement movement; the land is even more important than Torah and Halacha.
Yes, MK Yogev was correct. The eviction of Jews from their homes in Eretz Yisrael was a chilul Hashem, but it was their High Court of Justice, and their Zionist government and their Achalta D’Geula behind it all. Perhaps it is time for these prominent rabbonim to rethink for soon, or perhaps it is already too late, their hilltop sikrikim will take over and act as the Meah Shearim sikrikim do, threatening the elder rabbonim and burning the neighborhood down at will. They are all out of control, all creating Chillulei Hashem, and all should be ousted from their respected communities to protect the good name of those normal members of those communities.
The video taken on site says it all. How dare Jews do what they did to this shul and then have the unmitigated chutzpah to point an accusing finger at anyone. If there were any policemen involved in the past two day’s events in Amona who respected or admired settlers, one can rest assured the next time he confronts them, his baton will be ready for action and the Amona resistance leaders are to blame.
Avichai Bentzvi – Yerushalayim
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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14 Responses
The chillul hashem was yidden kicking yidden out of part of eretz yisroel. It’s ossur to give over land in EY to goyim, and any writer here should know about that. And to defend freie yidden forcibly removing frum yidden from homes in EY is itself a chillul hashem.
Why would you stoop so low and bring in a disgraceful article full of lies and motzi shem ra better suited for Haaretz, written by misguided radical leftist thugs. The fact is the EXPULSION was a huge chillul Hashem by your so-called supreme (with what?) court and you’re making a chillul Hashem by calling holy Jews ‘hooligans’ or ‘settlers’.
This “Author” is using the same “Fake news” blame method that the liberal media is using on Trump.
Full of liberal inaccurate hate filled allegations.
“Yeshivaworldnews” staff is directly responsible for this “op-ed” article since it does not have a name.
Please remove this offensive un-researched hate filled liberal “op-ed’ and issue an apology.
Moderators Note: It has a name — not like you — hiding behind your screen-name , blabbering about hate while your boss thinks you are supposed to be getting work done.
Mr Bentzvi, You make the cops sound like tzadikim “Many were amazed how senior commanders permitted hours to pass, giving these hoodlums far more attention than they deserved” patient and nice.
THE BAD GUYS,RESHOIM, ARE THE COPS THAT ARE EXPELLING YIDDEN FROM THEIR HOMES JUST LIKE GOYIM ALWAYS DID TO US!
THEY ARE GUILTY, THEY HAVE BECHIRAH!
They are not!
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/224327
Look at the way they locked and tied themselves to the benches in the bais medrash …. off the derech kids wouldn’t be crying …..
As frum as I am, here ywn is wrong
Moderators Note: YWN can’t be wrong, or right. YWN has never (besides once) ever written it’s own views in 13 years. Nice try though! Feel free to send us your own views along with your name and we will be glad to publish it.
This op-ed is spot on. How any frum group can consider delinquent youths who attack unarmed Jewish police to be heroes is beyond me. These dangerous and violent extremists should be condemned, not praised.
At the of the day the fact is that however it was achieved, a whole village of Yidden was uprooted in Eretz Yisroel and a shul was forcibly closed. All this on the order of a secular court not in the slightest way committed to Torah. Is this the zionist dream, to uproot committed Yidden from their homes and forcibly close their shul? Sounds more like what happened in Germany and its satelites to me.
The Government and its agents are trying to lead the Jewish yishuv to destruction at the hands of our enemies. Hashem blesses and will bless those who are moser nefesh to protect the yishuv by refusing to retreat from the gvul and allow our enemies closer to the interior. The writer of this article is mechalel shame shamayim and endangers the Jewish people.
While we all identify with certain communities of hashkafa, I can’t help but think that all these labels only facilitates the sinas chinam that appears rampant (of course the bad stuff is what usually is reported on, as that is what grabs your attention).
Of course kicking Jews out of their houses in Eretz Yisroel which belongs to us, is totally wrong, but there are correct ways to protest and those that create a chilul Hashem. Creating violence and damage is no way to attain such a goal.
I have to agree with the author that I do not see a difference between the “sikrikim” and these youths. These are most probably the same people in the following incident:
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/394938/10-indictments-in-hate-chasanah-investigation.html
Do you object to what was done there?
These people, just like the sikrikim, think that they are standing up for what they believe is the halachically correct thing to do by promoting violence and damage. I would hope that more Rabbonim would speak out against both of these groups, so we can learn how to protest and disagree where the message will actually resonate.
While I don’t wish any violence on another Jew I also have a really hard time feeling pity for these police officers who participated in this criminal act. Think of the horrifying shame they will suffer after 120 when the beis din l’maala questions them on why they were willing to risk stones to the head and bleach to their eyes just to see through the task of kicking fellow jews out of their homes during the freezing cold of winter?
I know it’s a lot to ask of them to risk their livelihood or even getting thrown in jail themselves for refusing orders, but if those orders include destroying Jewish homes and ruining their fellow Jews’ lives perhaps some painful lines should be drawn in the sand? We just recently read about how the shotrim in Mitzrayim were willing to get whipped by their Egyptian overlords rather than hurt their fellow Jews for not meeting their quota of bricks and in the zchut of that Hashem elevated them to become the elders of Am Yisrael
Sadly, I must concur with the author.
The hilltop youth are our only hope
The conduct of those who used violence was a Chilul Hashem, and unfortunately drew all the attention away from the vast majority of protesters who were peaceful. They damaged their own cause – now all opponents will just point to the “violent settler youth”, rather than the dignified and peaceful protesters (yes, including most of the youth there) who stood up against an injustice.
I’d have chosen a more nuanced tone than the author (I know a number of “hilltop youth” that are wonderful people), but I agree that those who are violent and out-of-control are no better than the Sikrikim.
an Israeli Yid
It’s sad that this article bashes hilltop youths, it seems like the author is only familiar with them through the left fake news media.