A political activist wearing a Meretz T-shirt caused a storm of outrage in Israel after he desecrated a pair of tefillin from a Chabad stand at the entrance to a voting station in Netanya on Tuesday morning.
The Chabad volunteers had asked the man if he wanted to don tefillin and instead, he grabbed them and was mevazeh them in the most brazen manner, rubbing them against his body. Someone videoed the incident and it spread on social media.
A witness told Arutz Sheva that the other people standing there were so outraged by the man’s actions that “if a police officer wouldn’t have been standing there, they would have killed him.”
His disgusting action sparked a storm of horror-struck reactions, with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri posting a video, saying in an agitated voice: “A neveilah was done in Israel. A Jew stands in Eretz Yisrael, desecrates the tefillin kedoshos which we guarded over thousands of years. Our forefathers were moiser nefesh for these tefillin. They went to Auschwitz and we know what happened to their tefillin there. And a Jew in Eretz Yisrael, a Meretz activist, desecrates the tefillin in this manner. Rabbosai, our only answer is the voting booth. A Jewish state and not an ‘Israeli’ and secular state. Everyone should go to the voting stations to protest against this neveilah and this entire left-wing government.”
Shortly later, the man was arrested by police and according to a police spokesperson, he was questioned for allegedly desecrating a religious object. However, he was released shortly later. The B’Tzalmo right-wing organization sent a letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara demanding that the man be prosecuted for the actions since the police lack the authority to do so.
The Meretz party issued a statement saying: “The man is unknown to any of the Meretz activists and is apparently an imposter who is attempting to harm the party.”
Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon retweeted a photo of Chabad volunteers helping Meretz activists don tefillin, with the caption: “These are the people of Meretz.”
אלה אנשי מרצ https://t.co/MZ3Phk5Plm
— זהבה גלאון (@zehavagalon) November 1, 2022
Meretz director MK Michal Rozin also condemned the man’s actions.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
24 Responses
hitler
ימח שמו
did not know the difference between meretz and Chareidi.
No reason to publish this news and increase the chillul Hashem.
Any politician using his tefillin to try to get votes bothers me, whether pro-tefillin or anti-tefillin. Please don’t use any tefillin in any publicity stunt.
This is the product of Zionism.
agree that this news went no where….Bennet and Lapid always trash our Torah and ways, I don’t see you in arms way…..remember that when talking with our Creator……
this in the so called Jewish state. Goes with meretz who want to change judaism.Even a non jew would do such a thing.A real chilul haschem.I hope meretz will get ot of the gouverment. Worser then the goyim
another student of the Zionists school.
Even Lee Zeldin agreed to don Tefillin on 1 of his campaigns, when offered to do so
@ujm
No, it’s the product of religious vs secularism fights within Israel.
The product of Zionism is a successful state that has brough back millions of Jews of all types from around the world in a major Kibbutz Galios, supports the learning of 10,000s of people and has brought a place of safety for millions of jews worldwide after the holocaust. Or we can focus on one crazy leftist in Israel and call that an example of Zionism despite him being arrested and would most likely be criticized by almost faction in Israel.
Shmendrick,
No one used his tefillin politically, read the article
“The Chabad volunteers had asked the man if he wanted to don tefillin and instead, he grabbed them and was mevazeh them in the most brazen manner, rubbing them against his body.“
And to gal-on, was this imposter religious or not? Religious people would never do that to tefillin and use it to frame another party, that’s an idea only thought of by your ilk
Oh, how I wish I was there. There are soooo many nerve points on human body! I’d LOVE to explore them on this creature!
@avraham
it’s not so pashut. The nazis did not TOUCH the karaites, because he knew they arent jews. Neither did the Russian Czars, knowing they arent the “real” jews.
Only the reformed and converted jews were killed, because deep down they really are jewish – just covered up. But, this meretz guy, and secular zionism today, might be classified like the karaites – who are not touched by the goyim because they are not jews
Next up: Meretz advocate publicly mevazeh his circumcision, like the Kohen Gadol Jason, brother of Menaleus.
Shmendrik- You think ‘trying to get votes’ for the Torah is some game? Gedolei Yisroel have instructed it is a chiyuv min HaTorah to vote for the Haredi parties! -It is avodas HaKodesh!!!
Getting votes whilst kissing teffillin ‘bothers you’ but reform giyur, chillul shabbos, abolition of kashrus, kedushas Hakosel Maaravi, giyus beney yeshivos doesn’t ‘bother you’?????
Avraham, Hitler is not our posek. Hitler made no distinction between someone with a Jewish mother and someone with a Jewish father. But the fact is that the first one is our brother and the second one is nothing to do with us.
Freedom Lover, I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of Meretz members in Israel are actually Jews, as are the Egyptian Karaites with whom the Rambam fought, but unlike the Crimean Karaites, who are descended from gentiles who converted to Karaitism.
So I’m just gonna dan everyone lkaf zechus and assume that either the video does not show the desecration or that no one watched it. I, personally, am not going to take the chance and click on it.
Anybody who watches such a desecration willingly has no chelek belokei yisroel.
@avraham: Please, I know you mean well; we’ve seen that with your other comments… but please, keep to logic. Please. What in heaven’s name does Hitler have to do with our chiyuvim to despise resha? Please, cease and desist such silliness.
@Millhouse: pashut pshat the Krimchaks are from Egypt originally
@Yashar: my comment was directed at this idiot. I am hoping maybe maybe someone will show him my comment.
I wanted that he should know that he is Jewish. Maybe reminding him what happened in WWII, he might come to his senses.
@Yashar
“Anybody who watches such a desecration willingly has no chelek belokei yisroel.”
So we are making up halachos now? I agree it would be distasteful to watch such a thing but I doubt there is even an issur to do so. Certainly, one is not being taken out of being bchelek elokei yisrael.
In the morning he thought the election would vindicate his party’s struggle to purge Torah for Israeli life, and today his party is no longer in the Knesset, and the people he wants to cancel are taking over the government.
Freedom Lover, first of all the Krimchaks were the Orthodox Jews of the Crimea, not the Karaites. There were three separate communities in the Crimea: Krimchaks, Karaim, and Sefardim.
Second, the Crimean Karaim did not come from Egypt. They are native Turkic people whose ancestors converted to Karaism. Since their conversion is worthless, they are not Jews.
@avraham: I get it now. That makes sense. I’m sorry.
@Marxist: You’re right, that was uncalled for, and a bizayon to Halacha.
One point no one raised: Once again Chabad is in the news! How is it that Chabad is always in the front and center of the yiddishe news? In the news from Ukraine, Russia, USA hurricaine, collapsed condo in Miami, etc etc etc Chabad is always there and everywhere. How is that possible? Enough already!