These videos make me sick. I live here, I see it, and it’s sick.
Talk to the chassan and kallah who had a half empty wedding because guests couldn’t make it past the hafganos. Talk to the woman in labor who was delayed on the way to the hospital. Talk to the frum soldiers who are afraid to go home for shabbos in uniform because they live near chareidi neighborhoods. Talk to the businesses in Yerushalayim who are suffering because people are avoiding sitting in hours of traffic to go out at night. Talk to the families who cannot go to the kotel to daven because of the hours of traffic. Talk to the secular college kids who will not get that inspiring Yerushalayim visit, because they were delayed in hours of traffic and shaken by the unruly protesters. Talk to the garbagemen who have to clean up. Talk to the police captains who are struggling to keep their young policemen calm, day after day after day of protests – while being calling vile names, spat at, and mocked by those who chose not to serve.
There is a limit to everything. If things cannot be calmed down quickly, they will chas v’shalom boil over.
I cannot believe that the gedolim are aware of everything that is going on, and continue to support this. It just doesn’t “pass”. Someone is misrepresenting this, and in doing so is taking a tremendous weight on their shoulders.
Name withheld upon request – Sanhedria, Jerusalem. (Earlier version said Lakewood in error)
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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21 Responses
PLEASE CHANGE THE TITLE TO “PEACE FULL JEWISH PROTESTERS ARE ATTACKED IN THE JEWISH STATE BY VIOLENT POLICE”
There is very little danger of it “boiling over” for several reasons. Unlike the more extreme zionists who are centered in the settlements in the West Bank, and who are well armed and well represented in the armed forces, anti-zionist hareidim are unarmed and have no access to arms. One can not get a civil war if only one side has guns (note this is why most countries have gun control), and if there is no danger of a military mutiny. It will further alienate secular Jews, but not only are relations with the hilonim virtually non-existent to begin with, but any actions taken by the zionists against the anti-zionist Jews could seriously backfire since in the rest of the world, conscientious objection to military services is often considered commendable, and unarmed civil disobedience is considered praiseworthy — and “crushing” those who refuse to serve in the military and engage in unarmed resistance is considered tyrannical and an affront to human rights. If the zionists were uncharacteristically clever, they would ignore the protests, tie all programs that support yeshiva students to military service, and exempt hareidim who don’t want to serve in the army as consicentious objectors (rather than sticking with the “fiction” that they are too busy learning Torah).
The de facto goal of the protests is to to force the government to treat the non-zionist hareidim the same way as they do Muslims, exempted from compulsory military service even if that means giving up the economic benefits that come with military service. The big losers in this would be the “hareidim” who support the medinah who want all the economic benefits but without the duties (particularly military service).
I am not Satmar.
I am not Chassidish (dispite my username)
I am not Litvish.
I am a plain and simple yid, who knows a little what is going on.
The Satmar Rebbe apposed many years ago to the State of Israel, because he saw the future. There is no denying that! These Peleg protest are done by litvishe, who till the draft of yeshiva bochrim, voted and supported the state. They people from Mea Sheorim, Satmar, Toldos Aron, Brisk don’t have any issues. (they join the protests because they are too against the state, but they aren’t the ones who were arrested for not enlisting) Because they distanced themselves from the state from the start. They said loud and clear “We don’t want anything to do with the state of Israel”
These Litvishe Yeshivos, who till recently were voting in elections, recognising themselves with the state etc. they only have themselves to blame. They got themselves involved with the state so now the state is coming for them.
Had we listened to the Gedolim 70 years ago who ALL (before the state, after it was made was another argument to deal with what is already done) apposed to the state, we wouldn’t have this problem.
“Talk to the woman in labor who was delayed on the way to the hospital.”
That’s okay, because they are doing it L’shem Shomayim.
But we have lots of Charaidim blogging – how terrible it was to stop a speeder on a dark country road for 9 minutes, because the wife was in labor!!!
It is ironic that these people do this massive hishtadlus to protest army-related matters. If they think that the yeshiva bochrim’s learning and tefillose are enough to protect their families and friends from enemy nations, then those zechuyose should also be enough to change the minds of the government. If hishtadlus is really necessary, then it’s necessary.
The writer mentioned that the Gedolim are supporting this. I think that they are very nervous and scared that someone might hurt them. Also the Gabaaim are afraid of flat tires. We are living in a generation with a lot of extremely violent creatures. Pikuach Nefesh comes first.
And talk to the Dati Leumi people who serve in the military. These protesters insist that they are exempt from defending the Jewish homeland that they live in, because their time is better spent learning Torah. Where do they find the time to protest and attack the people who are protecting them?
Those who walked with a beard and payos, a hat and jacket in the streets – have a bigger obligation to act respectfully – these people think it gives them carte blanche to make as big a chilul hashem in public, as possible, to act as vile thieving criminals – they are nothing more – and should be treated as such. Would the Israel government tolerate the deliberate closing of streets by arabs – by the reform movement, by gay and lesbians – by anyone other group – other than these animals – the answer is no. Why do they get a special pass? They dress like they’re so pious – where does the Torah or Shulchan Aruch permit stealing from the public because some people want to protest. They should be treated like all others….
This letter is out of context. I wrote this. It was a comment on another story.
It seems someone else has taken my comment and sent it as their own letter. Maybe they thought I expressed these ideas well. That’s nice, but by submitting it as their own thought they show a lack of integrity.
I do not live in Sanhedria or Lakewood. And I did not send this in the mailbox.
I want to be very clear. I am not criticizing Torah, leaning, kollel or gedolim. I am questioning the manner in which some people are protesting.
farrock: the Dati Leiumi are not having 2nd thoughts to their complicit collaboration in the Zionist army, as their men are becoming less religious after returning from IDF service since the IDF forces them to shave, sleep in the same rooms with women rachmana litzlan, listen to kol isha, forced to do “training” on Shabbos and have compromised kashrus. The only zechus the Zionists have for living in Eretz Yisroel is the Torah learned by the frum, all chareidim should be exempted by fiat like the Zionists other non-servers Israeli Arabs.
akuperma you keep on using the terms Zionist and non Zionist in discussing the 2 sides.
I thing those terms are incorrect. The only real zionists are the national religious (Dati leumi)
It’s really the secular who are interested in the army so they don’t get killed by their many enemies and those that want zero contact with the army because it poses a real danger to their religious way of life.
This has nothing to do with zionist vs non zionist that’s why the peleg has no issue taking govt money.
TAYchusid the reason why mea shearim etc are not the ones getting arrested is because they unlike the peleg do in fact register for the draft exception it has zero to do with the reasons mentioned in your post.
I live in Eretz Yisrael and am fed-up about the protestors’ inconsiderate blocking traffic for hours, and delaying our return home from a long day of learning and working in Yerushalayim.
Their Torah is not protecting us — as they are protesting, and not learning Torah. Most of them don’t have rabbinic leaders — but are merely interested in some “excitement” in their lives.
The Peleg punks even fabricated a story that a chareidi girl was being held by the IDF induction center on Rashi Street for not enlisting, something the IDF totally denies.
With all the Chillul Hashem of the Peleg protestors — Frankly, I’m not interested in receiving the spiritual “protection”. I think these bunch of lunatics should either return to the beis medrash or enlist in the IDF and learn how to deal with other people who may not express the sames views as theirs.
The IDF is not the Czarist army. It is not shmad, as the Peleg protestors falsely claim. The IDF provides mehadrin kosher food and tzitzis for those who request. And frum bochurim serving in the IDF probably learn more Torah than some of the Peleg protestors just sitting in the middle of the highway.
Avi Kane: Very well stated!
Akuperma is probably right, things will not boil over, but he may just be very wrong. All it will take is someone to chas vesahlom have a cardiac arrest when he is protesting and all bets will be off. The behaviour of the protestors is despicable and thoughtless. That says nothing about their cause just their way of relating to their fellow Yidden. Their way is not the derech of the Torah. The Torah forbids stealing from and harming other Yidden.
“The Satmar Rebbe apposed {sic} many years ago to the State of Israel, because he saw the future”
Which future ? He predicted 60 years ago that the State wouldn’t last another 10 years.
Please keep him out of the discussion, lest we have to reprise the story of how the Zionists saved his life in Budapest, his early decisions in Transylvania vis-à-vis fellow Jews during German occupation , etc. You want to get into that ?
Of course, then we have to put up with a pathetic rebuttal of revisions, lies, out-of-context shkorim and such ,coming from his fanatical defenders and revisionists.
Talk to the boy who was thrown into prison with violent thugs because he wanted to learn Torah.
Talk to the father who saw his son naively speak once to a recruiter, then roll down to full blown enlistment, threw away his kipa and hangs out with girls.
Talk to me, that all of my friends joined the IDF, and all of them, every single one, either left Judaism completely or partially, and now I am alone. (SOme of them actually came back to teshuvah a few years after the Army was over)
The draft is an open attempt to annihalate us. It is a battle, and if we don’t fight, we are guaranteed to lose. If you don’t like the civil disobedience protests, please suggest a more effective way.
Talk to god!!!
Abu Kane please learn the facts before posting…
Everyone knows that the army is legitimate shmad and that’s definitely the reason of the government the whole fighting is should you go to get exemption or not but when one of our brothers are sitting in jail for whatever reason we must do everything we can to help him and if this is the cost that’s what should be done
Boker tov . It already boiled over. These ladigayers and organizers know only one language. Prison for a long time and or stopping government welfare.
Dear Eishsheli,
I am very familiar with the facts. Without the IDF, we would be slaughtered by the Arabs and certainly wouldn’t be able to learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael.
And please don’t tell me that we don’t need an army, as the Torah protects us –which is true, but we still need to do hishtadlus. Don’t you agree that the Dor Hamidbar was on a higher spiritual level than our Dor? Moshe Rabbeinu was our leader — and we still had an army of holy yidden fighting Amalek and the seven nations who inhabited Eretz Canaan at the time.
I, myself, volunteered in the IDF during Bein Hazmanim and did not suffer in ruchniyus. In fact, I think that I personally gained spiritually, as I needed to set an example. However, I heard of stories of bochurim who did not fair well. Then again, these bochurim were probably suffering in ruchniyus before joining the IDF.
I think that the bochurim who dare to block traffic and the lives of thousands of citizens should suffer the consequences by being arrested and imprisoned. I believe in a person’s democratic right to protest — even if I may disagree with his agenda. But I don’t believe in gezel harabim by the protestors’ blocking traffic and breaking windshields of Egged buses.. And a potential protestor should think twice before protesting if he never showed his face at the draft board — otherwise, he will be imprisoned for going AWOL.
The facts are that these protests do nothing to change the mandatory draft law of our country. And they just get other frum people and not yet frum people to despise Chareidim.
the facts are clear. the situation is embarrasing and a great chilul hashem. peoples lives are being destroyed physically and emotionally. shame