46 Responses

1. I’m sorry that was your experience, but I don’t think it’s honest to headline it Lakewood…
   99.99% of Lakewood would never do such a thing…
   Shouldn’t be moitzee laaz on a whole kehilla kedoisha…

2. Huh? I know plenty of people in lakewood none of them have anything against IDF they all donate generously to the IDF now, pray for them and many of them even wear those necklaces. some of them were even dressed as IDF soldiers yesterday! What you experienced yesterday has nothing to do with Lakewood. You just maybe ran into some fanatics.

3. You are correct!
   Their behavior was nauseating.
   But please know there are many Jews that are proud of the Israeli soldiers and we have hakaras hatov to them for protecting our land and our people.

4. This never happened! Israeli flags have been flown in Lakewood and never encountered what you did. Ponevezh Yeshiva flies it without the response you claim. You sound like somebody making up a story to gain sympathy for your agenda.

5. I’m not negating the author’s experience, but this is just not Lakewood.
   Nobody in Lakewood cares enough to create this mob scene that the author describes. “parents encouraged their children to engage us with threatening behaviors” I don’t know anyone or any neighborhood in Lakewood that would do such a thing. Either this was in a very specific area (I don’t know where) or the author is overexaggerating (yes I’m negating) big time.
   I can see a few (drunk) bochurim maybe ripping off a flag, but not as a policy.
   And never would anyone and their family feel “physically threatened!”

6. I do not believe for a second this is legit.
   This person has an outrageous and unverifiable claim.
   This comes down to: video or it didn’t happen.

7. I cry with you, that our hai-l’dicker yeshiva world looks down on people who they think are not as holy as they are. The nazis, ymach shmom, saw all Jews on the same madraigor. It’s a sad lesson that we should all have learned from them. Kol yisrael araivim zeh l’zeh. Am Yisrael Chai.

8. I really dont know what happened here but you mentioned having Israeli flags all over your car. I advise you that you do NOT drive thru Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with those Flags because i believe that you would suffer much more harm then being called all those names. Of course Yidden have to behave the way the Torah teaches us ..Loy sisnu ess uchichu…whichever way you are dressed you should NOT be judged by others.
   Only way we can be Dan Lekaf Zechus that it was Purim and probably those shouters were under heavy influence of Alcohol, i am sure by the time they woke up they probably did Tshuveh and you should be Moychel them.

9. I drove with the Israeli flag and all I got was encouragement around all of Lakewood and surrounding areas Then again if this is want you did and flaunted tzennios or played non Jewish music or played music disturbing the neighbourhood the. It’s YOU not them

10. When did Jussie Smollett become an author for YWN?

11. This story sound pretty bogus to me.

12. The reason we Jews are an easy target for our enemies is because the leftist Jews speak against the religious Jews and Zionism in the mainstream media, in the political arena and on social media. The leftists write books and give out documentaries against Israel and the IDF. That’s a significant percentage of Jews undermining our safety and security of the Jewish people.

    Then there are frum people who “l’shem shomayim” are hateful against our own people with their “shittos”, that has no basis in the Torah, that Jews you can’t defend ourselves against your enemies. That is untrue.

    These “lshem shomayim” people cause immense chillul Hashem because they give legitimacy to those who want to annihilate the Jews. Our enemies were also brainwashed to murder Jews “l’shem shomayim” so if you are anti-Zionist to the extent that you cannot support Jews defending themselves and you bash and criticize Jews who put their lives on the line to fight those who want to kill every Jew including the “anti-Zionist Jews” then just know you are also brainwashed just like the Islamic terrorists and your ideoligy is absolutely not l’shem shomayim!

13. Was probably a bunch of out of towners

14. This doesn’t sound true. Most people in Lakewood are neither so violent not such frothing at the mouth anti-Zionists to attack or even say anything to someone wearing a Tzahal uniform. I even saw a bochur from one of the more yeshivish places in Lakewood wearing a Tzahal uniform .

    To top it all off I myself was wearing a very colorful (non-rainbow) tie that apparently had some connection to a certain movement. No one said anything to me other than one bochur who politely said “If you knew the symbolism behind such a tie, you wouldn’t wear it even on Purim”

15. I as at a Purim seudah yesterday that had a few hundred people come and go over the hours… I witnessed a choshuva yungerman LITERALLY grab a scarf from a mans neck that had an Israeli flag printed on it, burn it with a lighter, and spit on it multiple times. Don’t worry, he didn’t get this amazing chinuch from his parents or family.

    This man will be a magid shiur in one of our yeshivos gedolos one day.

    I was so proud at that moment to be a yid. Really felt amazing.

    Tank you hashem for real yidden like this man, and we finally have yidden who will stand up for whats right and spit on a flag. Not like others for example, Rav Moshe Feinstein, or Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky, or Rav Shach, or the any rebbe under the sun (including the Satmar rebbe for that matter).

    Thank you Hashem for a new dor of young budding gedolim.

16. Extremely strange. YWN can you independently verify that anything like this took place? Really hard to believe.

17. This story is pure sheker. Anyone who is sensitive to klal yisroel would never post on a public forum utter loshon hora. This person clearly has a vendetta against lakewood.
    Ywn should vet these types of stories before posting otherwise you are no vetter than the Asbury Park Press when they report on negative stories coming out of lakewood

18. Whether or not this actually happened…
    How does flying an Israeli flag show love for Eretz Yisroel?
    Is that how the Chazon Ish and Rav Shach displayed their love for Eretz Yisroel?

19. He had a flag of State of Israel, but then gets upset that he showed support for “Eretz Israel”. Medina Israel and Eretz Israel are two very different things. Classic motte and bailey.

20. I’m sorry that as an out of towner this was your Purim experience in Lakewood.
    However, let’s try to analyze and understand their behavior. As you are aware, most Bnei Torah who are learning full time are exempt from the Israeli army. Do you know why? Because at the establishment of the country, the Chazon Ish and Rav Shach stood up against Ben Gurion. They wanted to build a country of “Am Chofshi” free of Torah and Mitzvos. The Gedolim of that time knew the dangers of their agenda and had to fight arm and leg against them until an agreement was met. (Remember what the Medina did to the frum Yemenite Jews who came on mass Aliyah if you question their intentions.) Throughout the generations, the Gedolim had to stand up for learning Torah in Eretz Yisroel as they were aware that without Torah, there is no country. During the Yom Kippur war, many Bnei Yeshiva went out to fight. However, over the years, the Israeli army has been a threat to the learning Yeshiva world. Tzioni? Yes, if you wear an IDF uniform you are associating with them, just like if you wore a US Navy costume. Shaygetz and Mamzer are just applying to the apikorsus ideologies of the establishers of the Israel country like Ben Gurion, and Lapid. Torah Yidden believe and respect Eretz Yisroel because it is a place where we can keep Mitzvos freely and be close to Hashem. Associating ourselves with just the army and leaving out the Torah part may be leading them to see that you only associate with the anti religious culture in Israel. As American Jews, we tend to see things superficially from far as black and white and don’t necessarily understand the history of these reactions.

21. Putting aside whether or not I believe this story ,and as many have already pointed out the Lakewood community I know would not behave the way you’re describing
    There were 2 sentences that stood out to me that I found problematic
    “If you are so repulsed by a public display of love for Eretz Yisroel”
    So let’s understand something, but I think that what I’m about to explain, you on your own understand very well but you were trying to be provocative none the less
    Israeli flags or support for the State of Israel have ZERO to do with love for Eretz Yisroel, do you think you love Eretz Yisroel more than the Satmer Rebbe did ? Yet he was repulsed by the State of Israel and the people who were it’s “leaders”
    So conflating and making as one ,love for Ererz Yisroel and waving Israeli flags or wearing idf gear is ignorant at best and abominable at worst
    You also stated that “we felt in danger both physically and emotionally”
    Seriously???
    You’re going to post this garbage on this site ?, Are you a college campus? ,do you need a “safe space” now because you were in ” emotional danger” ?
    If your story really happened, and I don’t believe you ,you probably went to a “yeshivash” neighborhood hoping for a response or fight
    So shame on you

22. For all those who said this story was made up- keep being in denial. This story happened to our family yesterday. We submitted it. We are not afraid nor are or will be intimidated by Jew-hating Jews (such as the ones who think that this story was made up). What occurred happened not once, not twice, not three times, but around 5-6 times.

    We do not live in Lakewood. We are out-of-towners who wanted to experience the “holiness” of Purim in Lakewood (for the first and last time); we will not name where we live. We have multiple family members who work in Lakewood, support Lakewood in many different ways. We had no ill whims against Lakewood. Until we were woken up to a rather disgusting side. (I want to add that I’m sure not all of Lakewood feels this sentiment but it was painful to wake up to “right next door to where I live” when 1400 of our brothers and sisters were murdered in horrific ways and 130+ more are still in Gaza).

    The first occasion occurred on the corner of Central and where Madison turns into River. A person who looked like a Jew (wore a black hat, had a beard and payos), drove a car like a Jew (older version Toyota Sienna), screamed out the window with his entire family in the car “TZIYONIM!!!!”, his wife mortified at his behavior. The second incident happened at the corner of Jackson Pines and New Central, a couple of assumed inebriated young men tried pulling our Israeli Flag out of our car while screaming “TZIYONIM!!!! Sheigitz!!” The third incident occurred outside a shul in the Hearthstone neighborhood (since you think this is made up feel free to ask the shul and who the Rov is because I can whip up a “made up” name for you [ie I know the shul and the Rov, you idiots]) where a father egged on his young son to scream “why are you wearing a towel on your back?” to one of the members of our family who was wearing an Israeli flag. The fourth incident occurred at the corner of Mark and Pine where two adolescents almost had an aneurysm when they saw the Israeli flag- they screamed “TZIYONIM!”, came out our car with fists.

    I don’t need to go on, I don’t need to provide you with video proof- there were 5 people in the car with us. Believe whatever makes you sleep at night. The Nazis came for you too and so would have Hamas….

23. Nobody in my circles would do anything like that. Many of the most popular costumes this year were IDF related. Many of us have joined fundraisers and prayers for Israel. Sounds like a strange group you bumped into.

24. There’s something off with this. Sorry. Either it’s exaggerated or missing details. But I have a hard time believing that the letter is an accurate description of something that actually happened. (And definitely not in litvishe Lakewood, perhaps you went into the wrong community with wrong garb.)
    Also, the letter doesn’t specify what the costume was. Probably because of privacy. But it might help provide context.
    P.S. just by the way not all sections of judiasm conflate Supporting the IDF with a love of Eretz Yisroel. Not that that is an excuse for any unpleasant behavior.

25. It’s sad that this happened, but it’s even sadder that people conflate love of E”Y with its greatest enemy, the Zionists.

    Imagine if you had worn Nazi regalia and their flag and gone to celebrate in an old age home of Holocaust survivors. Would they find that amusing?

    The Zionists are the greatest enemies of G-d, His Torah and His people (and His land), by a very large measure. If you wanted to express your love of the land, whatever exactly that means, wearing a Zionist uniform is exactly the opposite of that.

    Hostage posters or the like is a different story, but anything overtly Zionist is therefore necessarily overtly offensive to any Jew who cares about the cataclysmic destruction and ongoing fight of the Zionists against G-d and His Torah and people.

26. 1) The story AS TOLD is certainly fabricated.
    there were quite the number of “Israeli soldier” costumes in my neighborhood with ZERO issue. As There presumably were in all other Lakewood neighborhoods as well.

    2) If ANY of this actually occurred. Perhaps the reason was actual behavior rather than Israeli costumes?

    3) Klal Yisroel was B’lev Echad at Har Sinai because even Dasan and Aviram were inspired to teshuva, not because the zekeinim were joining their “chills”

27. These “out-of-towners” are classic RADICAL FANATICS who think that anyone who disagrees with them is radical and fanatic.
    The state of Israel, associated by Zionist symbols, are one of the MOST dangerous things facing the Jewish people today.
    They caused almost all of the problems of today’s generation.
    Yes! There are still some people trying to fight the “tide”. No! Zionism is not related to Judaism and people have a right to protest.

    Assume the Israeli flags were actually “messianic” symbols, trying to convert Jews. You don’t think the “natives” would get upset??
    Saying that the Nazis treated us the same has no “shaychus” to this conversation and is just a smoke screen.
    You are an idiot for driving in a frum neighborhood with clearly visible zionist imagery (and who knows what else??)

    You have no one to blame but yourself.

    Don’t drive through a Jewish neighborhood with a swastika or a cross draped around your back.

28. Imagine if the zionist imagery was replaced with a swastika or a cross, or other symbols offensive to Jews.

    Then re-read the article like that.
    Do you still think the same things??
    Has your opinion changed??

29. Hi Jewish Geography,
    I’m sorry that you had a difficult day in Lakewood yesterday. Please understand that your story is extremely difficult to believe for 2 major reasons.
    1- Lakewood residents are extremely pained by the matzav in EY and have and continue to daven endlessly, donate money etc. to the IDF, displaced Israelis and all affected by October 7. The word “tziyoni” and related retoric does not exist in Lakewood. EVER. Period. Full stop.
    2- Lakewood culture is extremely polite and mild mannered. People don’t yell or otherwise verbally protest anything in Lakewood. EVER. Period. Full Stop.
    The only way this story can be corroborated is that perhaps some inebriated people acted in a different manner than the other 365 days a year. Similarly, if you return to Lakewood tomorrow, or any other day, you will not find children dressed as emojis, butterflies, cherries, farmers etc.
    I hope you understand this. Please come back on another day dressed however you like to see the truth in this post.

30. I remember by the zionist parade in Washington a few months ago, there a was an old nice, calm Neturay Karta man explaining to the media why he was there and protesting.
    Along came a nasty, mean and provocative RADICAL FANATIC, and starting screaming at the camera that this anti-israel protester was a “radical fanatic jew”.

    Really??

    Why?? Because he doesn’t accept the zionist ideas??
    So, you are not radical and fanatic for being zionist?????

    And, by the way, “Sinath Hinam” applies even to the anti-zionists, correct??
    No? Because they disagree with you, right???????

31. Hamas would NOT have come for the Jews, if not for zionism.
    Now it’s too late. The damage has been done and the Jews all over the world are in danger. There’s no turning back now.

    The Rabbis knew what they were saying when they told us not to rebel after Bar Kochba’s failed uprising (the final of a string of jewish rebellions – the jews wern’t yet ready for Golus). They said we need to survive in golus. Rebellions will cause us to all die out.
    The Rabbis did a heck of a job at preserving the jews (and judaism) by portraying them as subdued, in the eyes of the goyim.
    But now, the cat is out of the bag, and we will all have to suffer.
    The goyim will never trust us again. As long one jew survives, the threat of rebellion still lingers.
    Zionism has sealed the fate of all jews forever.

32. Lies!

33. The bottom line is that before visiting a new town, do some research beforehand and be sensitive. Plenty of people dressed up as Chayalim this Purim in NY, LA and other towns with proud viewers. I guess Lakewood has become like Me’ah She’eraim. Torah U’Kedushah B’Makom Echad. Ashrecha Yisroel!

34. You might not be a “Shaygetz” or “Mamzer”, but how can say you are not a “Tziyoni”, when the article CLEARLY contradicts that????

35. My guess looks like someone too bored and probably hanging over, on the YW editorial staff trolled your entire readership as a poor Post Purim shpiel

36. Dear Out Of Towner,
    I’m sorry about your bad experience in our town.
    Frum Heimishe Yidden express themselves with strong feelings when it comes to issues of faith. Zionism is equated with kefirah ib much of the Charedi world. We live with it & even take money from the Medinah, but the medinah is considered treif like chazer. I do not believe for a moment that you were in danger, this is just the way people express themselves overhere. I hope you visit Lakewood again but with the understanding not to irritate the feelings of the local populace on a day like Purim when people feel freeer to express themselves. There’s no place in the world any safer than Lakewood, even for a Tzyoni.

37. To @JewishGeography
    I stand by my comment and I still do not believe the article or the stories as you wrote them. This just isn’t Lakewood.
    Also, calling people idiots is not conducive to getting them on your side.

38. What should have bothered you is, that they use the word, ’Goyim’ as a derogatory term. That is demeaning to every decent person who happens to have been born to a Non Yiddishe mother.
    Then, Hashem brings on Anti Semitism to us.

39. This never happened. The writer is attempting to stir up controversy. Don’t take the bait.

40. I can easily believe everything that every serious person has written in these comments. This family undoubtedly experienced what they wrote about to YWN. What right does anyone have to call them liars? By the same token what they experienced is not Lakewood, not the people of Lakewood or the way they behave on any normal day. Purim is not a normal day. It is a day when our Rabbonim tell us to get drunk. When you get drunk all sorts of filth comes out of your mouth, not because you mean it but because you are drunk. This is undoubtedly what happened. What concerns me far more is why people like this are driving, and may literally kill others, or why they are wandering around in the middle of the road, not knowing whether today is yesterday or tomorrow trying to get themselves knocked over, chas vesholem. The problem is the acceptance of the drunkenness, not the screaming which is a product of the drunkenness.

41. I will assume that the letter writer is offering an accurate portrayal of what transpired. Wearing patently Zioni garb in any ultra orthodox neighborhood is a provocation. If so, mission accomplished. You provoked, they (foolishly and inappropriately) reacted. You are both wrong.
    I am no lover of Lakewood. Never before in my lifetime do I remember a neighborhood that so strongly evokes reaction by its mere mention, mostly, not positive. However, public attacks on fellow jews has never been associated with that town. Ponzi schemes, over the top in your face lifestyles, political chicanery and bribery, sure, but physical attacks, no.

42. I certainly believe that you didn’t make up this story. I’m sure it didn’t go exactly as you described though. But it’s not my point. Apparently you don’t know Lakewood that well. In Lakewood we’re very sensitive to nuances and subtleties. It comes from the fact that we spend a lot of time learning Torah and developing the nuanced side of our brains. When you promote idf gear while you think you’re loving Eretz Yisroel (maybe because it’s the only way you know how to project that) what you’re really doing to the sensitive mind is promoting Zionism. So while you say we are not Zionist the actions you took are zionistic. And in Lakewood that is committed to Torah and nothing else that’s gonna ruffle some feathers. If we were all holding on a level of ahavas yisroel that we should be then even drunkards would react with love even to real zionists. But unfortunately klal yisroel is not holding where we should be in ahavas yisroel and therefore when some people were drunk some feelings were expressed in a way that you weren’t happy with. However to blame the entire town and to judge those people is a lack of ahavas yisroel on your part. So sometimes when we have a problem with someone we need to look in the mirror because that may be the source of it all.

    And finally shame on YWN for posting this letter! Do you have no criteria as to which letters get posted?? When someone speaks against the entire town of Lakewood jumping to conclusions and passing judgement you just post indiscriminately?? You have a rov that signed off on this?? No way or he’s not a rov. Moderator You have my email if you want to contact me to discuss. In my view this is purely shameful!

43. Editor,

    Regardless of what did our didn’t happen. Regardless of who is right/wrong, Happy New Year sounds like an extreme Islamist, any way to delete his comments?

44. If this happened, my very strong hunch is their costumes were not just IDF soldier costumes. Perhaps it was VERY provocative? Idk. But I did notice; the writer never once mentioned what they actually wore. All he/she says is they chose their costumes “carefully”.
    I strongly suspect their actual behavior was maybe not appropriate? Were they not dressed tzniusdik?? I have no clue, just thinking out loud because something is off here. I don’t live in Lakewood, however I used to, and for many years. There are certain negative sides to Lakewood (as there is to pretty much every community) but what this writer describes is VERY uncharacteristic of Lakewood. That’s why I suspect there’s something not being mentioned.

45. Firstly, the feeling of being in physical danger was totally understandable, but equally so, totally unjustified. Having seen thousands of drunk bochurim over tens of years – there has never been a single instance in which a drunk ever assaulted another person. Broken items, maybe. Shouted and screamed – for sure. Hurt another person? Never! (Besides, perhaps, an overly tight bearhug!!
    So if you have seen other drunkards shout and then assult, you had waht to be wary of, but heimishe bochurim have red lines even when drunk.

    Now, with regard to the main issue.
    I can fully understand the disbelief of the deniers, and simultaneously believe that it did in fact happen. It’s the way the picture is portrayed that makes all the difference.
    To explain myself – a different scenario. There are various yarmulkes that would not go down well for a Lakewood bochur, rimless, or with a clip, or too small or knitted…. If a bochur would start wearing one of the above, his friends would be understandably concerned that he is slipping in his Yiddishkeit and not sure where this will end.
    On the other hand, if a chiloni has a chizuk and starts wearing a kippa, even any of the above, he would be commended and applauded.
    Similarly, the sight of a Palestinian flag flying in the high court of the PA would not be particularly upsetting, but if a Chassid (neturei Karta) would fly it from his window it would be nauseating.
    And the opposite is also true.
    If a gentile flies an Israeli flag to show support it is heartwarming, but if a chassidishe family does that it heartbreaking.
    Seeing IDF costumes and an Israeli flag in Lakewood, looks like a local family is promoting the Medinat Israel, and that is really nauseating. It does not look like Ahavat Eretz Yisroel, because for heimishe people, the army and the goverment are just detractors from Kedusha and Mitzvos and Hashem.
    If you are seen as an out-of-town family, as you portray yourselves, then people will appreciate your affiliation with Medinat Israel as a way of affiliating with Judaism and Eretz Yisroel, in which case people will be very understanding and warm.

    If i was an eloquent writer i would have made my point with a few succinct sentences – and i would have made myself well understood. However i hope you appreciate the point. –
    depending on who makes the statement, on how it is received.

46. This letter writer should open up a shemiras halashon and will discover the severity of loshon hora. What toeles is there for this story to be publicized to thousands?