The number of participants in the Beit Shemesh rally in support of women’s rights and condemning chareidi extremists was significantly less than the thousands organizers hoped would attend.
The event was held under the banner “to expel the darkness” and among the speakers were a number of women who were victimized by extremist elements who identify with the chareidi community.
Perhaps the height of the evening came with a song performed by Tanya Rosenblit, who was recently labeled the “Rose Parks of Israel” after refusing to move to the rear of a mehadrin bus. Rosenblit is not Shomer Shabbos, and she is a journalist, a fact that was not reported by many news agencies following the incident. Also addressing the forum were opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni and Labor party leader MK Shelly Yacimovich.
Beit Shemesh Mayor Rabbi Moshe Abutbul convened a press conference ahead of the event in which he condemned anyone lifting a hand to another, explaining the extremist element is causing significant damage to the good name of the city. He called for apprehending the small group of sikrikim, the hoodlums, and placing them behind bars. He added that thousands of chareidi families have moved to Beit Shemesh, and by and large, the community is not one that is problematic, but quite the contrary, blaming the present day events on the small band of thugs that is terrorizing everyone.
The mayor’s remarks however may be a case of too little too late, for the dati leumi community and others feel he has been too complacent in the face of the deteriorating situation, and now that there is a growing momentum demanding Interior Minister Eli Yishai dismiss the mayor for simply not showing a capability or will to address the alarming situation. Both Yishai and Abutbul are members of the Shas party.
In a related matter, senior police officials met today, Tuesday, December 27, 2011 with Gavaad Eida Chareidis, HaGaon HaRav Weiss Shlita, who expressed his opposition to anyone using physical force against another towards achieving one’s goals.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
This is just the usual Israeli chatter. The Interior Minister can’t just recall the democratically elected mayor. He’ll have to be defeated at the polls.
Abutbul should have been condemning the extremist violence before it became a national scandal. He can start taking aggressive steps against the crazies, or he can let someone else do so.
Let me see if I understand Rav Weiss position.
He express his opposition for physical force.
Name calling and intimidation must be OK because he didn’t comment on it.
So it is safe to say according to weiss that Harassing 7 years old girls is OK as long as you don’t get physical with them. hmmmmm… is spitting consider physical or intimidation and harassment?
Sound like weiss is playing games Either he is against the zealots and must clearly say so and if he doesn’t say anything than he is for the zealots and agrees with all their tactics except for getting physical with 7 year olds.
As long as Israel pretends to be a democracy, no one can force him to resign as he is the duly and democratically elected Mayor. And since the same Chareidi majority that elected him still constitutes a majority of the Beit Shemesh electorate, the anti-frum have no hope of dislodging him from the mayorality even in the next election.
To David from Modiin
Rav Wiess shlita should be called with his due title
Please respect our sages
We are a respecting nation
He is a huge talmid chacham & a very genuine soft, good person. The Rav Hagoan doesn’t deserve your lack of kavod
#1 and #4, the Minister of the Interior can (as can governors in the US) remove an elected municipal government for corruption, gross mismanagement, etc. In fact, some years ago the municipal governments of Bene Beraq and Yerucham were removed and replaced with special masters who put the cities in the black for the first time in memory. I have never been to Yerucham but I have been to Bene Beraq before and after and I can say that the physical appearance of the city also inmproved tremendously.
corretcion: improved tremendously
To Dovid_from_Modiin:
With all due respect, we do live in a democratic society.
One is allowed to show their opinion in any legal manner towards another person.
That is what allowed the demonstration to take place last night.
On another note: :Perhaps the height of the evening came with a song performed by Tanya Rosenblit”
Has the “Date Leumi” world thrown out Kol Isha? Another side to this entire Anti-Woman issue in Israel has been in the army, where the same “Dati Leumi” soldiers have risked going to jail to avoid Kol Isha. I don’t get it!!
That is one of the reasons why I, a resident of BS, did not even consider going last night.
Another being, that I knew, and was right, that the demonstration was just going to turn into an Anti-Charedi, event which I will not take part in.
Some groups wanted to get rid of him from the day he was elected since he is charedi. Bottom line, he is doing a much better job of running the city than his predecessor.
#5 It is a sad day when we give exaggerated titles to rabbis who have not earned it unless you drink kool aid.
It is clear that Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss agrees with the tactics of the zealots. They just shouldn’t use physical force against a little seven year old girl.
He has a history of being on the wrong side of issues and the sooner the rest of the Charadi communities comes to term the sooner that this chillul hashem that will stop.
He has supported a charadi mother who starved her own child, leading to months of Charadi riots against Hadassah Hospital.
He has supported Yisroel Valis who murdered his own handicapped child at the age of 3 months. Yisroel Valis would slap the infant, bite him and pinch him, eventually shaking him to death because he would not stop crying.
He has supports convicted Rabbi Israel Weingarten who was convicted of repeatedly raping his own daughter.
He has supported countless violent demonstration/riots that has caused injuries, damages to private and public properties.
What disturbs me is that on these haredi sites people are more concerned about “anti-Haredi hate” than about the attempts to force out dati-leumi, take their school building etc.
Maybe the hasidim who are harassing the schoolgirls will finally get arrested now.
#8 – Yoni_Chardal
I don’t know why you would assume that I would listen to Kol Isha, for the record I don’t. I wasn’t at the demonstration last night. I don’t who organized it, I think it may have been some secular groups.
It is a democratic society and one can demonstrate in any legal matter. However, we are Jews who follow the Torah that doesn’t give us the right to intimidate other people especially little girls.
I don’t have any problems with most Charadim. I do have a problem with the Zealots. I also have a problem with the Charadi Rabbonim and Charadi leadership because they had the power to put a stop to this many years ago but choose to ignore it in effect they became the enabler because they liked the results.
Yoni after they are done with the Dati Leumi they will work out the Chardal community.