The Jerusalem District Court has sentenced a member of the Vaad Mishmeres HaTznius to 3.5 years in prison for his attack against a woman, reportedly for her opting for a non-frum lifestyle.
Elchanan Buzaglo was sentenced to prison for the assault, apparently acting as an agent of the vaad. Additionally, the court ordered him to pay compensatory damage to the woman in the amount of NIS 10,000.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
17 Responses
I cant wait to read the comments on this article!!
I agree w/ #2, 3 years is not enough. These guys cause massive chilul Hashems caliming to do G-ds work, and Sinas chinim as well. His punishment above will hopefully make up for the shortfall down here.
As they say in Yeshiva- “zurich iyun.” Need to get full details in this to even begin to think about what happened here. As a responsible news portal for the frum world- you should make a fuller post.
I definately agree that the vaad hatzniyus is trying to impose ther very right wing views on others which is not legal and should really done through a Bes Din, according to their own resoning. On the other hand 3.5 years and a 10,000 nis fine is excessive. Especially relative to other other scentences which I have heard of. Assault is bad but its not like she was severly injured; there are people assualted all the time w/o recieving this amount of jail time + fine.
The fact is that the police and court (i do not mean this in an anti-zionist way) are looking to throw the book at the Vaad Hatzniyus for all the trouble they cause….and especially recently when their violent activities have picked up.
Why haven’t they prosecuted those who paid him?
If the person arrested for attacking someone was part of a larger organization, one can be certain the Israelis would have rounded up the rabbanim associated with the organization. Israeli law, unlike American law, lacks many protections for those accused of crimes and was designed to allow for politically motivated prosecutation. That they haven’t done so, suggests no evidence supported the accused’s assertions, which would suggest a personal motive was involved, and rather than saying he beat up someone over a personal grievance, he claimed that he was acting on behalf of a group of rabbanim.
I googled his name. It is certainly NOT “G-d’s work” to hunt a woman down in her apartment, beat her up and threaten to kill her. How does one not judge if this was a severe injury? Do you think there’s ANY chance of this woman doing tshuva after what was done to her by “religious” men??
Member of ‘Modesty Police’ Receives Jail Time
Reported: 14:46 PM – Mar/15/09
(IsraelNN.com) The Jerusalem Magistrates Court sentenced a Jerusalemite man to four years in prison on Sunday for attacking a woman while a member of the ‘Modesty Police.’ The Modesty Police is a Jerusalem based group which attempts to increase the level of modesty in Haredi neighborhoods.
The convicted man admitted to the plaintiff’s claims that he was part of a group that entered the woman’s apartment, knocked her to the ground, attacked her, and threatened the woman with death, all because she refused to live a religious lifestyle. He expressed remorse and the judge agreed to give him a ‘light’ punishment.
# 8 … ” knocked her to the ground ” … what about ngiya ? think we need the vaad hatznius to go after him now .. unless he knocked her over with a stick or broom of course .. then it’s cool .
wow , these crackpots need some sort of outlet to keep them busy .. cant we schedule a couple more of those sing-along tishe’s .. always seems to get them rockin and rollin ( judging from those videos ive seen ) .. definitely a good outlet to let off some steam .. might decrease the chance of women getting pummeled a little more..
In jail, he’ll be in company of a lot of un-tznius individuals.
We have to start collecting funds for Pidyon Shvuyim right away.
At least one Mitzva will come out of this whole affair.
I think 5 & 7 you miss the point, the court could only go after him for the specific crime that someone filed a complaint about, but everyone who has lived in jerusalem knows, that this is a seriously under reported crime. seminary girls whoes sweatshirts have been bleached are not filing police reports, and neither are most other people, but when someone does, the court has every reason to throw the book at the individual who commits the crime and set and example to other.
The only attempt to stop fringe and extreme groups working ‘L’man Hashem’ is to have a zero tolerance attitude. Bullying at voting booths, destroying public property that is anti- torah (or just female faces), rock throwing and garbage burning is UNACCEPTABLE, and your children will not be accepted into schools, you can not get an aliyah or daven from the amud and especially no entrance to mikveh use. Get rid of these sickoos, whether in child abuse, woman abuse or so-called Torah protectors—they should be treated as outside of the frum machenah.
#11 – if the attacker were doing so in conjunction with and at the behest of any group of rabbis, the Israeli police would find out – it isn’t like they like Hareidim. Remember, “civil rights” in Israel are taken from the version of British law that was “export-only” (limited right to counsel, no rule against self-incrimination and forced confessions, no jury, no habeus corpus, all evidence is admissable even if unreliable). The event sounds more like a psychopath claiming to be supported by someone he imagines – but whom the police couldn’t find a trace of. Nothing would make the Israeli police and prosecutor happier than to arrest some gedolim (and under Israel’s anti-terrorism laws, they would have an easy time prosecuting him and anyone associated with him).
The idea of any frum man physcially touching a woman as described in the article suggests a psychopath, not a zealot. A zealot would find a way to harass without violating halacha.
Pashuteh Yid – CONGRADULATIONS!!! Until your comment I felt no need to put my two cents in. HOWEVER, although I agree with your Ahavas Yisroel statement, I’d like to know what Ahavas HaMedinah has in any way to deal with this?
Are you saying that if you oppose the Israeli (Anti-Torah) government then all of a sudden you hate Non-religious Jews? Give me a break!
Let me give you a list of some of these horrible Anti-Zionist that you are talking about:
Rav Shach, the Brisker Rav, Rav Chaim Zonnenfeld, the Chozon Ish, the Steipler, all the Solovechik family (beside HaRav Yoshev Ber), Reb Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenensky (and family), Rav Dovid Porvarsky, Rav Chaztkel Levenstein, the Ponivitzer Rav, Rav Simcha Wasserman, Rav Yeruchem, All of the Mir Roshei Yeshiva, All the Roshei Yeshivas of Chevron Yeshiva, All the Roshei Yeshivas of Brisk, Rav Nachman Bulman, Rav Henoch Leibowitz, Rav Wolbe, Rav Aurbach, etc ztl.
(Lihavdel Bein Chaim LiChaim): Rav Elyashiv, Rav Moshe Sternbuch, Rav Wosner, Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Sheinberg, The Belzer Rebbe, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rav Don Segal, Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, Rav Shteinman, etc. shlita.
ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO TELL US ALL THAT ALL THESE TZADIKIM LACKED AHAVAS YISROEL BECAUSE THEY WERE AGAINST THE MEDINA?! ARE YOU NUTS!?!?!?!
The Chazon Ish ZT”L felt that terrorism for frum causes is Yedei Eisav, and not the Jewish way. He supported rallies for torah causes when the rallies were well-organized and would not degenerate into hooliganism. same for the Brisker Rav. I’m sure the Chazon Ish ZT”L and the Brisker Rav ZT”L were more pained by pritzus than these thugs, but they would never resort to yedei eisav.
These crackpots are not above the law. theyre just like the neturei karta retards. I hope they all end up in jail. maybe even in a japanese jail. this is what the chachamim call a “chusid shoiteh” a prime example.
Pashuteh Yid – I’m sorry to say, but your response was quite predictable. 🙁
1) The point I was “clearly” bringing out was that Ahavas Yisrael and Ahavas HaMedina do not go hand in hand. It is clear to anyone who reads the small portion of a list of Anti-zionist gedolim that I listed that you can be both one of the sweetest, warmest, most caring individual and still be against the Medina. If you deny that about these gedolim listed them you are clearly not worthy of being called frum and have no business being on this website.
2) I hate to break it to you, but I know Reb Sheinberg, Reb Henoch, and Reb Aurbach personally and can tell you as a fact that they are against the Medina. Reb Moshe clearly stated that in all matters pertaining the Medina Rav Shach is the authority. Reb Moshe would not paskin any shialot regarding Eretz Yisroel w/o consulting Rav Shach.(See the Biography of Reb Moshe, Artscroll)
What did Rav Shach say?
(In reference to Satmar and the Eide) “We agree fully with them in regards to the Medina. Our only difference is on how to respond.”
I use to go to Rav Wolbe’s lectures. It is clear to me from his lectures that he also was vehemently against the medina. (You can ask his talmidim to verify.)
I’ll admit that I don’t know as a fact that Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg is anti, but it is my understanding that he is against the medina. Opening your arms to chesder bachrim is not a stira to being against the medina. Look at both the leviyas and hachnasas sefer torahs of Yeshivas Merkas HaRav. You can’t deny that many Black Hats attended both.
[Not that it means anything here, but I have great admiration for both Rav Kook and Reb Aryeh Levin. You also forgot the Cheif Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank whom even Rav Blau had such admiration for that he was the only Rav of the Medina that Rav Blau would not come out against publicly.]
The point being is DON’T MIX POLITICS WITH AHAVAS YISRAEL!!!! IT BREEDS SINAS CHINAM!!!
I’ll end with a short story I heard from Rav Bulman, ztl.
A zionist electrician that Rav Bulman knew once came running in to Rav Bulman’s house.
“Reb Bulman, Reb Bulman… I don’t understand!”
“Don’t understand what, Reb?” (Rav Bulman used to chepper him by calling him “Reb”)
“There was a little frum boy outside and I started to ask him if he loved Eretz Yisrael and he said YES.”
“So?”
“Then I asked him if he loved the Medina and he said NO.”
“and…?
“So then I said to him that that is impossible. How can you love the Erezt Yisrael w/o loving the Medina and that it must be that if he truly loved Eretz Yisrael then he MUST love the Medina. He then repeated his words that he loved Eretz Yisrael, but not the Medina and I repeated my question.”
“So what happened?”
“So then the boy stood up to his full height, and then said to me, Sir, listen clearly. ONE, I LOVE ERETZ YISRAEL! TWO, I HATE THE MEDINA! YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?!” (Reb Bulman has a tape on Zionism that you should listen to)
Ahavas Yisrael and Ahavas HaMedina. Don’t be a fool and mix politics with Ahavas Yisrael!
Pashuteh Yid – I see unfortunately that you carry a big chip on your shoulders. I see you have deeply rooted “Sinat Chinam” for Jews that don’t agree with your hashkafot. This is evident from the fact that you are still mixing apples and oranges even after I’ve tried to explain to you twice that I am not trying to debate Zionism at all, but rather trying to state that Zionism and Ahavas Yisrael are not reliant upon each other.
YOU HATE CHAREIDIM! Yet you still LOVE the Medina. I LOVE YIDDEN EVEN THOSE THAT ARE FAR FROM YIDDISHKEIT AND/OR THOSE WHO’S HASHKAFAS GREATLY DIFFER FROM MINE!
HOPEFULLY THIS WILL HELP YOU:
1) I am not saying that a Zionist can’t be equally as dedicated to Hashem as the Charedi (as we can clearly see in the Talmidim of Merkas HaRav).
2) I am saying that the key factor in this article is that the approach that the (wicked) Vaad HaZnius uses is deplorable and come from a lack of understanding and apathy. The proper approach is as you said, we need to apply Ahavas Yisrael. [However, Ahavas Yisrael is not like you think it is. True Ahavas Yisrael is when you feel the next person is 100% wrong, but you still feel a love for him. This is the type of love that Rav Kook and Rav Zonenfeld had for each other. I feel you have a long ways to go to truly call yourself an Ohav Yisrael. You need to stop hating Charedim and start trying to see their side. Not in order to change your political views, but rather in order to change your views of people. You right now HATE Chereidi Jews (it’s written all over between the lines of your comments). It may be difficult for you to see that now, but if you try to be honest with yourself you might just one day see what I’m saying. STOP HATING!]
3. I know that you are trying desperately to pull me into a political debate about Zionism and you are right that I am avoiding ALL your question in this regards. That is because I HATE politics and I could care less who you vote for and what your politic views are. I don’t speak politics. To be honest I’ve NEVER seen anything good come out of speaking politics. Therefore, I refuse to get into petty arguments in those regards. You want to speak Torah? I’m all ears! 🙂 Politics? Sorry, I’m deaf! 🙁