Nachum Barnea, one of the nation’s most prominent journalists, who is not shomer shabbos, came out on Thursday in defense of the chareidi community regarding the predawn attack against an Arab taxi driver in Geula.
According to statements made to Ayala Dayan of Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), Barnea reports the attackers were not dressed in chareidi garb but they did have black yarmulkes. He stated they were youths who live on the fringe of the chareidi community. He saw youths lighting fires in the streets to halt traffic.
The taxi stopped for a traffic light he explained, and once the driver was identified as an Arab, they began throwing items at the vehicle, kicking the doors, striking the driver and tearing off the side view mirror from his door. The rear window was smashed completely and the windshield was badly damaged. The driver’s face was covered in blood.
He went on to describe that someone did actually try to help the driver, a man dressed in the stripped coats worn by Toldos Aaron Chassidim. The man was carrying a towel or rag and tried to wipe the blood [from the driver].
He described that the most militant chareidim are the chassidim of Toldos Aaron, telling Dayan they are easily identified by their stripped garments, “known as zebras” he explained, adding “when the Arab exited the vehicle, no one tried to hit him, they mainly shouted at him”.
Whatever the case may be, the incident prompted the Eida Chareidis to releases a kol korei to the tzibur to refrain from violence, to distance themselves from acts of vandalism and that future shabbos protests against Karta parking lot must be held peacefully.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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5 Responses
Police inciters and provocateurs blending among protesters, dressed like chareidim and throwing stones is quite common in Israel.
Suddenly there are no comments! It would behoove some of those that felt a need to denounce the Eidah over this incident to reflect on being Dal L’kaf Zchus. Never mind the fact that it doesn’t make sense that Eidah constituents would beat an Arab.
to #3
no one will accuse the Eidah of promoting violence against Arabs, however when you turn the spiget on it is not so easy to turn it off. If the “boys on the street” are given the green light to curse out police and other authority figures, and it becomes OK to do whatever you want, people will get hurt. As we saw last Shabbos, if enough people throw themselves in front of moving cars, eventually someone will get run over.
#1, you make a good point. I would even imagine our own agencies like the FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security are involved to manipulate world opinion against Jews and create greater hatred.
In America, corruption and the like happen all the time. Political corruption, mafia (Italian, Russian, Chinese) run enterprises are all over the place, but if the media finds a wrong by a frum person, it is NEVER on page 3 or 12. It goes right to the front page with the biggest, clearest picture they ever put on the front page.
Shame on all american jewry that you have a group who is so vocal in their hatred of israel and so full of garbage.
Shame on the Eida that it needed to come to this, and that some of their supporters didnt know how to behave otherwise!
I was at a demo. at karta and most were behaved but some sad misguided people were not. Best behaved were the police i am ashamed to say.
Eiruv Rav that you are the time has come to give up your seeming need to seperate from the Klal and bring shame to Am Yisroel with your lack of unity.
I say Korach or Eirav Rav – not sure which!