HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rabbi of the Kosel and holy sites, was attacked on Friday night by dozens of Chareidi extremists on Shmuel Hanavi Street in Jerusalem.
Every Friday night, following davening at the Kosel, Rav Rabinowitz makes his way home from the Kosel to his house in in the Ezras Torah neighborhood. The Rabbi makes his way with his family and two bodyguards who go with him for fear of his being attacked. This past Friday night, that fear became a reality.
Dozens of fanatics emerged from the Meah Shearim neighborhood and lay in wait for Rabbi Rabinowitz on Shmuel Hanavi Street. When they clearly identified Rabbi Rabinowitz, they fell upon him screaming and shouting while his family stood around him and his bodyguards placed themselves in between the fanatics and the Rabbi.
According to a report that appeared on Kikar Shabbos, that background for the attack was the work that is being carried out in Meron near the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The fanatics screamed at Rabbi Rabinowitz that he is “desecrating Meron.”
The fanatics continued their shouting and screaming against Rabbi Rabinowitz accompanying him and his family to the Ba Ilan intersection, at which point other residents of the Bar Ilan neighborhood came out of their homes to the defense of the Rabbi. That is when violence broke out between the two groups.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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28 Responses
And than we wonder why Moshiach is not coming.
Its good for a change that the world will see how crazy these fanatics are. While it would be unfortunate if the Rav or his family were hurt, the routine attacks on members of the IDF or women who the deem to be not sufficiently tzinuah have become routine. If Israelis wake up motzi Shabbos and read about a chashuvah rav like R’ Rabinowitz injured in an attack they might finally be prepared to squash these animals.
We have lost our way
It’s admirable to have such emotion for. Holy sites however to terrorise a family a Ben Torah et al is retzach bedam Kar
Why must YWN report every negative opportunity they can against Chareidim? This story is disturbing and disgraceful but at the same time what purpose did it serve other than to paint the Chareidim in negative light! Isn’t that Lashon Hora d’Oraisa? Is that the best Yeshiva World on Motzaei Shabbos Mevorchim Elul?? C’mon, clean up your act! It’s ridiculous and disgusting.
extremists are usually nut cases. Rabbi Rabinovich is one of the best persons in the rabbanut and probably will be chief rabbi one day.
the idiots in Meah Shariim have nothing to do all day, so they need some form of excitement, so they go out to yell and scream and threaten people….
for sure payment for his opposition to an egalitarian section at the Kosel. WoW – women of the Wall or BoB – Boys of Batlanis, take your pick. meanwhile, i was late because of the beautiful tefillos of chazzan weiss at the real Beis haMikdash, the great synagogue 🙂 .
The fanatics screamed at Rabbi Rabinowitz that he is “desecrating Meron.” Did these corrupt fanatics believe that in “tit for tat” they could hence “desecrate Shabbos”?
How to reign in the fanatics is the question
Where are our leaders?
This is absolutely horrifying to read
No good can come out of violence,and it is totally unfair and cruel to do this in front of his family on the holy day of Shabbos.
What a kiddush hashem
Why didn’t the bodyguards call for Yassam anti terrorist police backup? The extremists could then have been hauled away in police vans to spend their Shabbos is a lock up.
Yasher koach to the local residents who defended him, but the sheer evil of these extremists is revolting:
In 2018, with tens of thousands of chareidi men learning whatever and whenever their hearts desire, the rav of the Kosel HaMaravi can not make it home without profesional bodyguards to protect him from other chareidi jews.
> avreimi
Maybe calling in the police would entail more hilul Shabbos?
Yaapchik
These arguments, machlochos, difference of opinions between various sects has been the legacy of Klal Yisroel, whether in Israel, Europe, or America plus.
The difference is the age we live in, violence, arm to arm battles, razor blade rhetoric, verbal & physical abuse is the added component. Unless there is a path/plan to mitigate injury or death we will all be held “guilty of bloodshed”.
My only need with this story us the headline. I think it should have said “Rav attacked by meah shearim thugs on Friday night”.
So its ok to characterize an attack by these animals against a chashavuah rav as a Kiddush hashem?
These Meah Shearim hoodlums are WORSE far, far WORSE than any Reform Yid.
These hoodlums are intentionall mechalal Shabbos and have major mental problems.
@yaapchik: You complain that YWN only wishes to paint the charedim in a negative light. Although, most charedim are wonderful human beings who would stop at nothing to help a fellow jew, in todays generation, we have an onslaught of charedi thugs. They wear the garb, but underneath, there is zero yiddishe neshama. And iit starts with their “rabbonim”. I, for one, do not give a rats behind how long the beard is, how long the payos are, or what kind of bekitche they wear. Any rav who can instigate an support any kind of violence against another jew, or to inconvenience thousands of people on a regular basis, is NOT A RAV! What is lacking today is true leadership. Most of todays “gedolim” could lead us off a bus.
Sadly, there is so much bad behavior among todays young charedim, that there is no way to paint them in a positive light. From spitting at girls, to tearing posters off buses, to blocking roads, etc. etc. These are not learning boys. And yes, if they are arrested for blocking the roads, into the army you go. NO SECOND CHANCES. Scrub latriness with your own toothbrush. Just a bunch of leideigers following leidigeir rabbonim.
BoysWork….. You da MAN
If one of these “chareidi” thugs had inflicted so much as a slight bruise on one of his victims, he would have been mechallel Shabbos d’oraisa, b’ferhesyeh and b’meizid. Al pi halacha he would no longer qualify as a shomer Shabbos Jew.
About this and other such “events” , there’s stone silence from most ravs/rebbes …
Lo Soguru Mipnei Ish is a d’Oreiseh, and not just for paskening din Torahs, but to stand up and speak out if you think it’s wrong and harmful…
If you won’t, then please get a regular job, pack some tuna on a roll, and punch a clock like the rest of us working zhlubbs.
Spare me photos, of chometz burnings, Chanukah lightings, Mayim Shelonu song & dances, ,Lag B’Omer fires and chumras…
ZionGate: 100% agree! Its very important to see hundreds of pictures of every rebbe and their chasidim fressing at another dinner every night. Very important to see the rebbe vacationing in Switzerland or Swahili with a bunch of chasidim standing around them with their tongues hanging out. Being a Rebbe today is nothing more than having the correct DNA. The rebbes’ entire life is one big vacation built on government and other peoples money.
BoysWork and Zionflag, I hear your frustration and your points are well made! But why, I always ask, must we all know about this bad, cruel behavior from these misguided individuals or groups! Our Yiddishe world has so many problems and issues that are out in the public – why must we publicize more and more! Why can’t we adhere to the Chofetz Chaim, who I hope you agree is clean, and just not talk about this detestable activities. We can’t fix it! All we can get is avayros of Lashon Hora! It’s bad! It’s very bad! It’s detestable! But we should not be involved because all we’re accomplishing is more avayros! Can’t you agree??
@yaapchik… Shtika kehodaa. If we are silent, then it means that we condone this behavior. Its bad enough that the “rabbonim” not only remain quiet, but they encourage it. Shutting up accomplishes nothing. If you have daughters, do not allow them to date or marry any one of these ausvorfs. The rabbonim themselves have completely forgotten that derech eretz comes first. To me, all their learning is worthless. Be a mentch first. And, I would tell it to their faces.
Yaapchik:
The Torah and Nach record numerous instances of aveiros of individuals and, or parts parts of the tzibbur openly, and then specify the consequences that resulted from them. Would this be called loshon hara?
I get your point about ordinary loshon hara among people, friends who gossip, slander and otherwise farshmutz other people, in which case Chofetz Chaim’s ban is understandable.
But here we have a case where individuals, openly & befarhesya…. in public without shame or remorse… without conscience, harass and attack a rav, DAVKA in a public street..
So, you’re comparing apples & oranges…
As I wrote on the other thread, silence and whitewashing openly criminal behavior, then G-D forbid paying a price down the road, can lead to people to question Hashem’s hashgacha….” Where’s justice from the Almighty…? Why the suffering if we did nothing wrong?”
This stuff, along with publicized bizyonos against rabbonim with whom they disagree, publicly shaming IDF frum soldiers, throwing them out of shul, printing pakshevillin with words “Yemach Shemo” against opponents MUST be reported….These people don’t want to do this B’Tzinuh… They do it in public on purpose, can’t you see that??
Why does the gemarrah record the Kamtza bar Kamtza story? Why weren’t they silent about it? Furthermore, the gemarrah openly criticizes those talmidei chachamim who were present and said nothing… Is that also lashon hara??
continued to Yaapchik……. The Torah, of course, also calls Am Yisroel, Kodosh, as you wrote on the other thread, yet calls them out when necessary…And when lediigeiers , “Das Torah’nicks” disrupt people’s lives, block ambulances, destroy property in public, befarhesyah, with the intent for it to be publicized all over the world, should we be silent? What kind of logic is that??
I hear you both! So what are you able to do to fix the disgraceful problem? Furthermore, you are not Chazal nor are you in their capacity to decide what gets publicized and for what purpose. These responsible, disgraceful activities are the actions of a minority, albeit, seemingly too large a minority! But since you, who are not the halachacally authorized authority to publicize the stories, and since all it could accomplish within you is feelings of hatred and disgust for fellow Yidden, to what end is the publication of the the story!
Furthermore, according to your logic, YWN should publish the names of the individuals- this way you have developed sinaah for everyone who lives there because you don’t know who is guilty and who is not!
What’s worse throwing stones on shabbos or excavation in Meron
Me thinks throwing stones
Especially as the stone throwers know halocho