It is difficult to understand just how distanced a school principal in Eretz Yisrael can be from Yiddishkeit but the following story says it all.
“A” attends a school in Modi’in, the growing city located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He and a number of friends decided to put on tefillin daily, using an empty side room to do so during breaks, not wishing to make a ‘big deal’ over the event. One day, the classroom was unavailable, so they entered the library and asked for assistance. They were directed to a side photocopy room, which satisfied their needs for privacy.
The following day, upon their return to the library, they were instructed to report to the school principal, Nurit Zak, who had harsh words for their “missionary” actions, adding their putting on tefillin represented “religious coercion” which she would not tolerate, adding there are parents unwilling to have their children exposed to such religious symbolism.
For the parents of “A”, immigrants from France, they were shocked; explaining they never thought the anti-Semitism experienced in France would be apparent in Eretz Yisrael as well. They expressed surprise over the harsh punishment given to their son for his insistence fulfilling this daily mitzvah.
Principal Zak was unwilling to comment on the report and the Modi’in Municipality released a statement that no one is preventing any student from putting on tefillin, explaining that “A” should avoid trying to persuade others to join him.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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7 Responses
Maybe they will prohibit Yiddishkeit itself? May we all be zoche to the Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
um…that is prohibiting yiddishkeit itself!
the brisker rov said that the zionists, shem reshoyim yerkav, were real amalekim – they keep proving themselves to be the true enemies of yidden and G-d on a daily basis…and this is happening at a time when chinuch atzmai, perhaps the most important organization for the benefit of torah observance in eretz yisroel today, is near bankrupcy r”l – these boys are amazing for what they wanted to do; and they show how much we need need chinuch atzmai now more than ever
Hashem yishmareinu
What is the world coming to???
rabbiofberlin, what story are you reading? It doesn’t say anything about them being given a classroom. They used an empty room, without anybody’s permission; the problem came up when one day that room was being used, so they needed to find somewhere else, and thus came to the administration’s attention.
This event should be publicized more extensively. This act should never be allowed to take place again in Eretz Yisroel.
The principal is a good zionist, following the “post-zionist” philosophy that motivates those who won the last Israeli elections. The goal of zionism has been, and is, to be an “Am Hofshi” from the yoke of Torah. The reason frum Jews often have problems in Eretz Yisrael is that many naively believe that zionism was based on yiddishkeit. Why do you think almost all major rabbanim opposed zionism, until forced to tolerate it in order to get Israeli patronage. SO WHAT’S THE HIDDUSH???