Neo-Nazis Russian Immigrants II /Time

Time Magazine reports:

The last thing you would expect to find in the Jewish state would be homegrown neo-Nazis, but an Israeli court on Sunday jailed eight teenagers for beating up ultra-Orthodox Jews, gays and the elderly, while shouting, "Heil Hitler!"

The same gang of skinheads had painted swastikas and naked women on the doors of a Haifa synagogue. They had also attacked a drug addict in Tel Aviv and forced him to grovel and beg for forgiveness for being a Jew. They videotaped the spectacle and posted it on their website, spliced with clips of Adolf Hitler. And they weren't particularly secretive about their identities, having strutted around the beaches of Tel Aviv showing off their Nazi tattoos. And yet all of these neo-Nazis are Israelis — one of them is a Jewish teenager whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.

Tel Aviv District Judge Zvi Gurfinkel called their crimes "shocking and horrifying" and sentenced the youths, ages 16 to 19, to between one and seven years in prison. The judge conceded that the sentences were severe, but his objective, he said, was to discourage other young Israelis from joining neo-Nazi gangs.

Most Israelis reacted to the presence of neo-Nazis in their midst with a combination of surprise and revulsion, imagining that a country that rose from the ashes of Nazi death camps would be immune to the sort of anti-Semitic thuggery occasionally still seen in Europe and Russia. Israel, after all, has always offered itself as a sanctuary from anti-Semitism. (See pictures of 60 years of Israel.)

Israel's neo-Nazis seem to be rebellious misfits. They are the sons of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came to Israel under its Law of Return, which grants citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent. (The Nazis used the same yardstick to decide who was Jewish enough to be dispatched to the concentration camps.) (See pictures of Kristallnacht.)

More than 1 million former Soviet citizens flooded into Israel in the 1990s, taking advantage of the Law of Return to escape the calamitous economic collapse that accompanied the demise of the Soviet Union. According to sociologists, nearly one-third of those immigrants have no deep sense of Jewish culture or identity. "The young Russian immigrants feel lost here," says Sergei Makarov, historian of Israel's Russian community. "They come from poor families who expected to be appreciated as loyal Jews when they arrived here," he says, adding, "Instead, they found themselves with no jobs and no recognition from the Israelis. They became bitter and frustrated. The neo-Nazi agenda fits them very well."[...]

"Strange Side of History" website / R' A. Broide

I have posted a number of articles by R' Avraham Broide in the last two weeks. For those who are interested in more, he now has his own website http://www.amazingjewishfacts.com/ based on his long running column in Yated Neeman (USA), "The Strange Side of History." In conjunction with the site, a weekly e.mail will contain an abbreviated strange event from Jewish history. Additional features are being added to the webstie at present.

Slaps not abuse say 70% of Israeli Arab women -

Haaretz reports:

Some 70 percent of Arab women in Israel believe women who are pushed, slapped or struck by their male partners are not victims of domestic violence, according to a poll conducted by the Na'amat women's organization.

The organization conducted the survey to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Some 73 percent believe women whose partners curse or humiliate them are not victims of violence. [...]

Blog appearance - Maximized for firefox

After a bit of investigation it seems that Blogger is maximized for Firefox and is not fully compatible with either Explorer or Chrome.

In Firefox I can increase the entire page with the fonts. With the other two - the size of the blog page is fixed and only the fonts can be enlarged or reduced. There are also certain formatting commands that are invisible in Firefox but are displayed in the other two.

If anyone has any way of getting around this problem I would appreciate  the information. In the mean time I will stick with the present template. Consequently the best way to view this blog is to use Firefox.

History - Inquisition & Dr. Nunez

Jewish History No One Knows (But Should Know)
From articles written for the Yated Neeman (USA)

by Avraham Broide
(Jerusalem based translator and journalist.
phone: 02-5856133; email: broide2@netvision.net.il)

What happens when you cannot flee your jailors? Take them along with you!

Dr. Nunez was in a crisis. Would he ever escape the eagle eye of his guards?

Dr. Samuel Nunez of Lisbon, Portugal, was born to a Marrano family that was still passing along the torch of Judaism two centuries after Spain expelled all its practicing Jews in 1492. Nunez lived a double life. Publicly, he was a distinguished doctor serving high dignitaries of the Catholic Church; privately, he and his family were committing religious crimes that could earn them death at the stake.

All went well until the spring of 5486/1726 when Inquisition spies caught him, his wife Rebecca, and his three children red-handed in the middle of a Passover Seder. For most Marranos, the crime of "seeking the L-rd according to their prohibited faith" would have signified torture and death. Fortunately, Dr. Nunez was the private physician and close friend of the Grand Inquisitor who was suffering from an enlarged prostrate gland and reluctant to lose the good doctor's services.

An agreement was struck. The doctor was spared on condition that two Inquisition officials reside at his home day and night, keeping a sharp eye on his activities. Now, severed from his spiritual roots, the doctor felt that life in Portugal was unbearable and plotted a brilliant escape.

Years later, a descendant of one of the Marranos who fled with the doctor recorded how he fooled his jailors:

"The doctor had a large and elegant mansion on the banks of the Tagus and being a man of large fortune he was in the habit of entertaining the principal families of Lisbon. On a pleasant summer day, he invited a party to dinner, and among the guests was a captain of an English brigantine anchored at some distance in the river. While the company were amusing themselves on the lawn, the captain invited the family and part of the company to accompany him on board the brigantine and partake of a lunch prepared for the occasion.

"All the family, together with the spies of the Inquisition and a portion of the guests repaired on board the vessel, and while they were below in the cabin enjoying the hospitality of the captain, the anchor was weighed, the sails unfurled, and the weather being fair, the brigantine shot out of the Tagus, was soon at sea, and carried the whole party to England.

"It had been previously arranged between the doctor and the captain, who had agreed for a thousand moidores in gold to convey the family to England, and who were in the painful necessity of adopting this plan of escape to avoid detection. The ladies had secreted all their diamonds and jewels, which were quilted in their dresses, and the doctor having previously changed all his securities into gold, it was distributed among the gentlemen of the family and carried around them in leathern belts. His house, plate, furniture, servants, equipage, and even the dinner cooked for the occasion were all left, and were subsequently seized by the Inquisition and confiscated to the state."

Soon after his arrival in England, the doctor heard that a group of about forty Jews was sailing overseas to the newly founded English colony of Georgia and sailed off with them to become the second Jewish doctor in North America.

Mr. Benjamin Sheftall, one of the Jewish passengers, described the group’s arrival in his journal:

"The names of the Jews who arrived in Savannah, Georgia on the 11^th day of July, 1733. Doctor Nunis, Mrs. Nunis his mother, Daniel Nunis, Moses Nunez, Sipra Nunez, Shem Noah their servant …. These Jews were the first of our nation who came to this country [Georgia]. They brought with them a Safer Torah with two cloaks, and a circumcision box, which were given to them by Mr. Lindo, a merchant in London, for the use of the congregation they intended to establish."

Yet, even in the relative freedom of America, it took the doctor's family years to shake off the last vestiges of their Catholicism.

"For years after their arrival in this country," a contemporary record reports, "the female members of the family were unable to repeat their [Jewish] prayers without the assistance of the Catholic rosary, by reason of the habit acquired in Portugal for the purpose of lending the appearance of Catholic form should they be surprised at their devotions."

Dr. Nunez left many descendants, the best known his great-grandson Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, the first Jew ever appointed Commodore in the US Navy. True to his great-grandfather’s Jewish principles, Levy was instrumental in abolishing the navy’s vicious punishment of flogging men before the mast.

Bailout money not being used for loans

NYTimes reports:

SO goes the old saw about bankers: they loan you an umbrella when the sun is shining, only to ask for it back when it rains.

But with our economy and markets in a world of hurt, the nation’s banks were supposed to stow their self-interest and help start lending again.

When the Troubled Asset Relief Program of the Treasury Department handed over $125 billion in taxpayer money to nine banks a month ago, they were supposed to lend to small businesses, home buyers and other worthy borrowers to keep the economy’s gears in motion.

At the time, the Federal Reserve Board and three bank regulatory agencies said: “The agencies expect all banking organizations to fulfill their fundamental role in the economy as intermediaries of credit to businesses, consumers, and other creditworthy borrowers.”

Alas, that admonition wasn’t accompanied by any real requirements to lend. When the Treasury gave taxpayer billions to the banks, it attached no strings. So is it any surprise that lending is tight?

Reports from institutional and individual borrowers across the country indicate this. Nervous lenders are demanding that even healthy loans be paid back. Banks and other financial institutions, meanwhile, are reducing exposures to borrowers and doing whatever they can to discourage the assumption of further debt.

Borrowers I have heard from don’t want to get into trouble with their lenders by speaking publicly about their experiences. As a result, they will remain nameless. But their stories are all the same.

The problem is, unless the government puts serious pressure on the nation’s banks to start lending, the value of assets used as collateral will fall as individuals and institutions everywhere are forced to sell. [...]

Lashon HaRah vs saving others

Riva(Vayikra 19:16): One should not stand idly by concerning the blood of your fellow man. Rashi explains that it means you should not stand idly by and see the death of another person - if you could save him.

Another explanation connects Rashi’s understanding with the first part of this verse, “Don’t spread gossip amongst your people.” Even though you are commanded not to be involved in lashon harah – don’t stand idly by concerning the blood of your brother. In other words if a person told you that he was planning on killing someone – don’t stand idly by but go and inform the intended victim so he can save himself…

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ריב"א (ויקרא יט:טז): ולא תעמוד על דם רעך. פרש"י לראות במיתתו ואתה יכול להצילו. י"מ לא תלך רכיל בעמך אע"פ שהזהרתיך על לשון הרע לא תעמוד על דם ריעך שאם אמר לך אדם אחר שיהרגנו אל תעמוד עד שתודיע לו

Neo-Nazis Russian immigrants sentenced

Haaretz reports:

The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday sentenced eight neo-Nazi gang members exposed last year in Petah Tikva from one to seven years in prison.

The court stated that the phenomenon revealed during the investigation of the case is extremely severe, shocking and horrifying - particularly in light of the fact that the suspects were all youths and immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent states.

According to the original indictment, filed last September, the eight defendants - mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union between the ages of 17 and 20 - perpetrated violent hate crimes against Asians, religious Jews, drug addicts and homosexuals.

The indictments included charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, assault, racial incitement and the distribution of racist materials.

The police investigation into the cell began over a year ago, following two incidents of vandalism against Petah Tikva synagogues. Police detectives found neo-Nazi materials on the computers of two suspects.

The video clips found on the computers showed the suspects, along with other people dressed in typical skinhead, neo-Nazi clothes, in the process of assaulting their victims.

These videos led detectives working on the case to suspect that the gang had attacked dozens of people in the Tel Aviv area, mostly foreign workers and drug addicts. In one video, they are seen approaching a foreign worker as he is talking on a public telephone, punching him in the face and breaking a bottle over his head. Violently loud music accompanies each clip, and between segments, the suspects spliced swastikas and other Nazi symbols.

According to the material on their computers, the suspects also planned to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial.

Conversion - Bronfman's views/Garnel Ironheart

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This is a profound analysis of the posting regarding Edgar Bronfman views of conversion.

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His Lordship, Garnel Ironheart guest post:

And this is a story from the fictional JNet.

Wilbur Bronfman, little known half-brother of Edgar Bronfman, today demanded that any person who wants to be a doctor should be allowed into the medical school of his choice and guaranteed an automatic MD.

The strict approach to medical school admissions advocated by universities around the world (with the exception of the Carribean) infuriates Wilbur Bronfman, the man who for nearly three decades led the World Jewish Gefilte Fish Association. Anyone who declares himself a doctor should be accepted to the medical community, he says. Or else the medicine would cease to exist.

With Bronfman at its helm, the WJGFA has fought anti-naturopathy, and extracted funds belonging to legitimate doctors from Swiss banks to help with that. Last year Bronfman was forced to hand over the leadership of the powerful organization to billionaire Pesky Finklestein.

But Bronfman, 99.5, is not ready to retire yet and has found a new platform for his philanthropic energies – Dumbo - the Institute for Easy Medical Training, of which he is now the international chairman.

In a recent interview, Bronfman elaborated on his belief that medicine should be more open and agree to embrace those who wish to become part of it without placing too many obstacles in their way. "I want to change the medical way of thinking," he stated, and pointed out that almost 50% of medical students come from a mixed-marriage family in which one of the parents is not a doctor!

The medical school deans wouldn't agree with you. According to the common sense, only someone who's qualified to attend medical school and completed the requisite training is a doctor.

Bronfman is outraged by this notion. Medicine used to be an open profession, he said, and the medical schools have only sealed the book lately.
 
'You don't have to know a damn thing about the human body to be a doctor!'

Bronfman's son Shvantzy, explained that Dumbo's objective is to introduce people to medicine through education. "We’ll accept anyone who walks in and says he's a doctor… we'll study anatomy and neuroscience with him… teach him how to take out an inflamed appendix."

Bronfman noted that many non-doctors in the United States who are married to doctors develop an interest in medicine themselves, an interest which Dumbo seeks to encourage. [...]

At-risk girls ignored?

JPost reports:

[...] Gershonowitz's and Sander's stories are not the first of their kind. Unfortunately, neither are they the last, as the truth about the growing number of troubled religious girls using drugs and alcohol or suffering from abuse is becoming harder to ignore.

These are the girls who, in some way, do not fit in with the mainstream seminaries that thousands of others attend every year. Even more startling is the fact that these teenagers are actually in Israel "trying to get themselves together," as Rabbi Oded Sher says, but have almost nowhere to go.

"These are girls in crisis, usually from dysfunctional or broken homes, and they are asking for help. They are ready to make changes in their lives and they need guidance," explains Elimelech Lepon, a teacher at one girls' school.

The majority of the girls at these seminaries have always been from the US, but this year in particular there has been an upsurge in the number of American teenagers in Israel. Two renowned schools in New York for at-risk youth closed down over the summer, leaving Israel as one of the only options for these teens.

After Sandler was expelled from the school in Memphis, Tennessee that her mother had sent her to, she entered Monsey Academy for girls in New York (then one of the only institutions for girls at risk in the US). There, she met Oded and Shiri Sher, who later went on to open a school for girls in Israel, Derech Hashem Academy.

"These people devote their entire lives to helping girls at risk, and dedicate their time and energy to doing everything in their power to help us," she said.

As of 2008, there are only three places in Israel (Tzofiah Machon Rivka in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Derech Hashem in Tiberias and Tikva in Jerusalem) that answer the call to help these girls - within a religious framework. But these institutions struggle with dwindling funds, even as the number of at-risk cases escalates.

Contrast this to the dozens of yeshivot that address the problem of at-risk boys - each of which is a recognized institution in its own right, or is affiliated with a reputable program, and therefore has no shortage of funding - seemingly ready to accept every boy who comes off the streets looking for help.

The schools that take care of girls emphasize the mental, emotional and physical well-being and quality of life that the girls can achieve. "The structure is religious, we teach them according to a Torah perspective, but we encourage them to choose their own way of life; whatever will make them happy and healthy," says Shiri Sher from Derech Hashem, which will not reopen in 2009 due to a lack of funds.

Tzofiah, the largest of the three institutions for at-risk girls, was founded in 2000 and is headed by Rabbi Raviv Shaked and his wife, Basy. The school offers religious girls an alternative way to fend for themselves by giving them an "opportunity to re-explore Judaism" while receiving top-quality therapy, obtaining a high school diploma and a certified vocation.

The main challenge these schools face is money. "It costs thousands of dollars a year to run a place like ours," explains Shaked, who says a $30,000 per-girl, per year budget would be ideal in order to give the girls the greatest possible benefit. This figure is due to the fact that unlike other schools and seminaries, Tzofiah not only offers, but requires intensive therapy for each student. Besides the compulsory individual and group therapy, these schools also schedule a multitude of lessons, field trips and activities to keep the pupils supervised while ensuring that they feel free, as well as entertained.

In contrast, the estimated cost for a boy's year at yeshiva comes to about $17,000, mainly because programs for girls are more home-based than those for boys, and these particular teenage girls require a tremendous amount of supervision which also needs to be "fun," leading to increased expenses.

But donors are more hesitant to lend a hand when they hear that their money is going toward a school that deals with "wayward frum girls who shouldn't even be in this position anyway," Lepon says.

The feeling that "we are not getting the best bang for our buck" is prevalent, according to Rabbi Boruch Smith. As former education director of both Tzofiah and Tikva, and current co-principal of Michlelet Esther for girls, Smith continues by describing the increasingly obvious reality that the religious community still finds it "irregular for girls to stray so far from Judaism and family."

When it comes to at-risk male teens, the solutions seem to be much more clear-cut, giving the sense that "we can help with this problem - we follow steps a, b and c, and problem solved," says Sher. With troubled teenage girls, there seem to be a lot more intricacies involved, resulting in only a few people willing to fight this battle; a few singular individuals willing to step into this mire and start pulling the girls out, one by one.[...]

Conversion - Bronfman demands accepting all

YNet reports: [see Garnel Ironheart's in depth analysis]

The strict approach to conversions advocated by the rabbinic institutions in Israel and abroad infuriates Jewish billionaire Edgar Bronfman, the man who for nearly three decades led the World Jewish Congress. Anyone who declares himself Jewish should be accepted to the Jewish people, he says. Or else the Jewish people would cease to exist.

With Bronfman at its helm, the WJC has fought anti-Semitism, helped open the gates of the Soviet Union for aliyah and extracted funds belonging to Holocaust survivors from Swiss banks. Last year Bronfman was forced to hand over the leadership of the powerful organization to billionaire Ron Lauder.

But Bronfman, 78, is not ready to retire yet and has found a new platform for his philanthropic energies – Hillel, The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, of which he is now the international chairman.

In an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth held in Jerusalem this week, Bronfman elaborated on his belief that Judaism should be more open and agree to embrace those who wish to become part of it without placing too many obstacles in their way. "I want to change the Jewish way of thinking," he stated, and pointed out that almost 50% of Jewish students come from a mixed-marriage family in which one of the parents is non-Jewish.

The Orthodox rabbinate wouldn't agree with you. According to the Halacha, only someone whose mother is Jewish, or who converted according to the Halacha is Jewish.

Bronfman is outraged by this notion. Judaism used to be an open religion, he said, and the rabbis have only sealed the book lately.

'You don't have to believe in God to be Jewish'

Bronfman's son Adam, Hillel's vice-chair, explained that Hillel's objective is to introduce people to Judaism through education. "We’ll accept anyone who walks in and says he's Jewish… we'll study Tikkun Olam with him… teach him how to celebrate the Jewish holidays."

Bronfman senior noted that many non-Jews in the United States who are married to Jews develop an interest in Judaism themselves, an interest which Hillel seeks to encourage.[...]

Chareidi Politics - Gerrer Chasidim

The following is an article that appeared in the Israeli newspaper Maariv concerning Gerer Chasidim and the recent election. I was told that it is an accurate description and that rabbonim recommended that it should be distributed.

כניסת השבת: עם הגערערס לא מתעסקים

מאיר פרוש היה יכול לקחת את הבחירות לעיריית ירושלים, אלמלא היה לו סכסוך הרסני עם המעצמה של חסידות גור. עם אויבים כאלה, מי צריך חילונים

אבישי בן חיים | 14/11/2008

"הטאליבן יגיע לירושלים!", זעק הכיתוב מתחת לתמונת החרדים במועדה שהופצה ברחבי ירושלים. "עוד ועוד שכונות מתחרדות!!!", נכתב שם (סינמי הקריאה במקור), "פרוש מבטיח להם". הייתה שם גם תמונת חרדים שורפים דגלי ישראל, עם הכיתוב "דגלי המדינה ישרפו ביום העצמאות מתחת לבית שלך". ותמונות מבעיתות חילונים נוספות עם כיתובים כמו: "חרדים קיצונים ישרפו לך את הפחים ברחובות", "איומי ועדות הצניעות גם בשכונה שלך!!!"
ש

ניר ברקת הפליא לנצח בירושלים בלי לשלוף את נשק השנאה המפתה, בלי לנצל את פוטנציאל ההסתה שיכול היה להבטיח לו יציאת אלפי מצביעים חילונים אל הקלפיות. ובכל זאת נולדה המודעה הזאת. איך? לא ברור. אבל דווקא חרדים ממתנגדי פרוש נראו מפיצים אותה. על פי העברית במודעה, "נשים ילכו עטופי רעלות‭,"‬ למשל, מותר להעריך שידם של חרדים הייתה גם בעיצובה.

זה לא נגמר בזה. מתנגדי פרוש מקרב החרדים שלחו במיוחד מכוניות עם רמקולים שיסתובבו בשכונות חילוניות ויקראו במבטא יידישאי לצאת להצביע, כדי להבהיל את החילונים אל הקלפיות. ואם כבר יידיש, ימים ספורים לפני הבחירות נחשפה ההקלטה של מאיר פרוש מכריז בכנס סגור בפני חסידי בעלז, ביידיש: "אנחנו מתרבים בקצב מהיר, בעוד עשר שנים לא יהיה שום ראש עיר חילוני, אולי רק באיזה כפר נידח‭."‬ ההקלטה והתרגום, מיותר לציין, הגיעו לאוזניים החילוניות בעזרתם האדיבה של מתנגדי פרוש החרדים. כך זה עבד. עיריית ירושלים הוענקה לניר ברקת על מגש של כסף בסיוע מתנגדי פרוש החרדים.

אין כבודו מחול

התבוסה בירושלים פירקה את הציבור החרדי לחתיכות. מבחינתם, הקרב מול החילונים פינה מקום לקרב קשה הרבה יותר - מלחמה פנים חרדית. אחרי חמש שנות שליטה בבירת ישראל הם לא רק איבדו את ראשות העירייה, אלא גם הפסידו מכוחם במועצה: יהדות התורה האשכנזית ירדה מתשעה מנדטים לשמונה, ש"ס מחמישה לארבעה, ותיאורטית אפשר להקים במועצת העירייה קואליציה חילונית־דתית - בלי חרדים.

בשנים האחרונות הפך מאיר פרוש למוקד כוח אדיר בציבור החרדי. אל מול הליטאים והחסידויות הגדולות, ובראשן החזקה מכולן, חסידות גור, הוא גיבש תחת סיעתו "שלומי אמונים‭,"‬ קואליציה ענקית של החסידויות הקטנות. הוא נישא על גלי התמיכה מהצלחה להצלחה, הביס את הליטאים ואת הרב אלישיב בבחירות בביתר עלית ועשה תרגילים שנתפסו כפגיעה בכבוד האדמו"ר מגור. אלה ואלה טענו כי מדובר במערכה על דמותו של הציבור החרדי, "האם הרבנים גדולי התורה מנהלים את הציבור החרדי, או עסקנים‭."‬ קבוצה מנאמני הרב אלישיב המשיכה לנהל נגדו מערכה עד הרגע האחרון, למרות קריאתו של הרב אלישיב שהחליט למחול על כבודו והוציא הנחיה להצביע עבורו.

נינו של הרב אלישיב, שמוליק אלישיב, הקים את מטה "כבוד התורה‭,"‬ שפרסם את תמונת הרב אלישיב עם הכותרת "אין כבודו מחול‭,"‬ ברוח המימרה: "רב שמחל על כבודו אין כבודו מחול‭."‬ עיתון מיוחד הופק במטרה לקרוא לחרדים לשים פתק לבן בקלפי, וכיכבה בו הכותרת: "פרוש פוגע בגדולי ישראל‭."‬

בין היתר נכתב שם: "ביום ג' הקרוב ננקום את עלבונה של תורה‭...‬ נצביע בפתק לבן של מחאה שתבקע מסוף העולם עד סופו‭...‬ גדולי ישראל כאסקופה הנדרסת, נעלבים ואינם עולבים. אנו, תלמידיהם, את כבודם לוחמים‭."‬

במטה פרוש טענו לאחר הבחירות כי כ-‭2,000‬ ליטאים, בניגוד לפסיקת הרב אלישיב, לא הצביעו לו. אבל ההסתבכות האמיתית של פרוש הייתה עם ה"גערערס" - חסידי גור. בראשית שנות השמונים הם הכו את אביו, הרב מנחם פרוש, לאחר שלטענתם פגע בכבודו של האדמו"ר דאז, אביו של האדמו"ר הנוכחי. הפעם הם שוב התגייסו למערכה על כבודו של רבם והבהירו כי למיתוס הנאמנות הטוטאלית של חסידי גור לאדמו"ר יש על מה להסתמך. "אצלנו מספרים על חסיד גור בפולין‭,"‬ הסביר אחד מהם השבוע מה זה בשביל גערערס הגערער-רב'ה (הרב של גור, א"ב‭,(‬ "שאמר 'אני מפחד מהקב"ה שלא יספר מה עשיתי לרב'ה‭."‬

הצבא של גור התגייס למערכה לחיסול סיכוייו של פרוש להיבחר לראשות העיר. לפני חודש אף אחד לא האמין שהגערערס ילכו עד הסוף, וההנחה הייתה שהנזק יסתכם בכ-‭3,500‬ פתקים לבנים שחסידי גור הירושלמים ישלשלו לקלפיות ואולי גם באובדן צבא גור המיומן כל כך בהפקת מערכות בחירות. העסק התחמם ככל שמועד הבחירות קרב והמערכה כבר לא הייתה על ירושלים, אלא על כבודו של האדמו"ר מגור. יומיים לפני הבחירות נלחשה הפקודה מפה לאוזן: מכפילים את הנזק לפרוש - מצביעים לחילוני.

לשבש, להטריד, להרוס

הגערערס לא הסתפקו בזה. ביום הבחירות התגייס צבא החסידים. מי שידועים כמנוע מאחורי הצלחות החרדים בבחירות התגייסו לעבוד נגד המועמד החרדי. הם ניצלו את הידע הפנימי על דרכי פעילות החרדים בימי הבחירות במטרה למוטט את המערך של אנשי פרוש. יעד ראשון היה קריסת מערך הטלפונים. מצוידים במספרי הטלפון של הפעילים המרכזיים של פרוש ושל המטות השונים הם לא חדלו להתקשר ולתפוס את הקווים. לעתים בשאלות סתמיות ולעתים בקללות נמרצות. אחד ממקורבי פרוש ספר בסלולרי שלו 92 שיחות שלא נענו בין השעות שלוש בלילה לשמונה בבוקר. אחר קיבל טלפון אחר טלפון עם שאלות באשר למכונית הטויוטה שאין לו ושהוא כביכול רוצה למכור. אנשי פרוש נאלצו להחליף את כל מספרי הטלפונים.

גם מערך ההסעות של פרוש סבל מהטרדות, כולל הודעות פיקטיביות על ביטולן ואיחורן של ההסעות וקריאות פיקטיביות לשלוח רכבים לבוחרים שלא היו ולא נבראו. רשימות בוחרים שבהן מפורט מי עדיין לא הצביע נעלמו באורח פלא, רכבים חסמו את היציאה מהמטות, פשקווילים נגד פרוש חלקם עם ההכרזה "אשריך ר' מאיר שניצחת את גדולי ישראל" הופצו בשכונות החרדיות והתנופפו תחת גלגלי האופנועים של שליחי הפיצות, שהוזמנו לשווא למטות פרוש ברחבי ירושלים.

"מילא זה שהם הצביעו לברקת, שזה דבר חסר תקדים בתולדות הציבור החרדי‭,"‬ אמר בכיר במטה פרוש, ועל אף שהנתונים היבשים מעידים שגם בלי המחלוקות החרדיות היה ברקת מנצח הוא התעקש: "הם גם דפקו לנו את כל יום הבחירות ובסופו של דבר חיסלו את הסיכויים של פרוש לנצח‭."‬

לרסק את המשטר הישן

"רחמנא ליצמן, לאן הגענו‭,"‬ אמר השבוע פעיל חרדי. אבנים נזרקו על רכבו של נציגו הבכיר של האדמו"ר מגור הרב יעקב ליצמן כשהגיע ביום הבחירות לעיר החרדית אלעד. נאמני פרוש בעיר שבה שרוליק פרוש, בנו של מאיר ונציג הדור הבא בשושלת העסקנים של המשפחה התמודד על תפקיד סגן ראש העיר הסתערו עליו. גם הרב יצחק גולדקנופף, מבכירי החסידות וממובילי מאבקי השבת של החרדים, זכה להסתערות המונים בשאגות בוז כשהגיע לבניין העירייה בכיכר ספרא. הם הוסיפו קריאות לעגניות "שאבעס" והצהרות שיותר לא יצטרפו למאבקים שמובילה החסידות, שפתאום תמכה במועמד מחלל שבת.

גור היא הגורם המוביל במאבקי החרדים הגדולים, נגד אל על, נגד שפע שוק ונגד הסלולריים הלא כשרים, כמו גם מאבקי ההחמרה בצניעות והוועד לטוהר המחנה. רבים הצהירו בימים האחרונים כי בפעם הבאה שגור תנסה להוביל מאבק, אנשיה ואדמו"רה ימצאו עצמם לבד. החסידות, שלא נבהלה והלכה עד הסוף נגד שאר הציבור החרדי, ניצחה את פרוש ובדרך חשפה את כמויות האיבה שיש בציבור החרדי נגד גור, נגד האדמו"ר ונגד נציגו הבכיר, הרב יעקב ליצמן. השנאה לגור איחדה לרגע חרדים חדשים, שמתים לרסק את המשטר הישן עם בני תורה, וחרדים ישנים מפעם מהסוג של פרוש עצמו, שאומרים שאי אפשר יותר עם ההגמוניה של החסידות החזקה. "אני אחתן את הבת שלי עם חילוני ולא עם בת של גערער‭,"‬ שאג חסיד סלונים על חסיד גור אחרי הבחירות. ופעיל חרדי בולט הוסיף: "הייתי היום בהר המנוחות, היה גשם שוטף, ראיתי חרדי שרוצה לתפוס טרמפ, כשראיתי שזה חסיד גור, אמרתי לו 'אותך אני לא לוקח‭."'‬

תהליכי עומק מתחוללים בציבור החרדי ומחלחלים פנימה. זה לא רק הערכים הדמוקרטיים שפתאום קוסמים לחרדים גם בתוכם פנימה. תהליכים שהובילו, למשל, להקמת רשימה מפתיעה בשם "טוב‭,"‬ של ליטאים שלא מתייצבים למרותם של רבני "דגל התורה" ולא מוכנים יותר שיסווגו אותם ואת ילדיהם כסוג ב' משום שאינם אברכים אשר תורתם אומנותם, אלא יוצאים לעבוד. אך סמלי הוא שהיום מציינים שבע שנים לפטירת המנהיג הליטאי הרב שך, שעיצב את הציבור החרדי תחת שני מושגי היסוד "דעת תורה" ו"גדול הדור‭."‬ מושגים שהפכו למגדירי חרדיות, ומכוחם שלטו הרבנים בציבור שחונך לציות עיוור לדעת גדולי התורה גם בעניינים שאינם הלכתיים מובהקים.

יש בציבור החרדי כבר מי שמתחילים לעכל שיכול להיות שזה נגמר, שבערכי הציבור החרדי של היום אין יותר גדול דור אחד שדעתו היא "דעת תורה‭."‬ מספיק להקשיב לביקורת הפנים חרדית הקטלנית על גדולי הרבנים ועל המתנהל בחצרותיהם כדי להבין את גודל המהפכה. לאחרונה קמו מערערים רבים על ה"דעת תורה" של מנהיג הציבור הליטאי הרב יוסף שלום אלישיב, עכשיו מתרחשת מערכה אדירה לריסוק מעמדו של בכיר האדמו"רים החסידיים - האדמו"ר מגור. "שמתי סיר עדשים ענק על האש‭,"‬ התקשר ערב הבחירות אידיאולוג חרדי חריף והסביר את פשר תפריט האבלות, "אתה מוזמן לסעודת אבלים מחר. נראה לי שפרוש מפסיד וגם אם הוא ינצח, הציבור החרדי צריך להתאבל על מה שקורה לנו‭."‬

יציאת השבת

עד איפה מוכנים חסידים ללכת בשביל האדמו"ר שלהם? רחוק מאוד. מעשייה חרדית מהשבוע מספרת על שיחה עם חסיד שהצהיר שהוא מוכן לעשות הכל בשביל האדמו"ר שלו, כולל הצבעה לברקת. "אני מוכן לשבת בכלא בשביל האדמו"ר‭,"‬ הצהיר. "אני גם מוכן להצביע למועמד מחלל שבת בשביל האדמו"ר‭."‬ "אבל איך זה ייתכן‭"?‬ שאלו אותו, "להצביע למחלל שאבעס? אתה לא מפחד מעונש משמים? אתה לא חושש מגיהינום‭."?‬ והוא השיב: "בשביל האדמו"ר אני מוכן לשבת גם בגיהינום‭." ‬

Blog appearance - vote

You might have notice that the appearance of the blog has changed several times recently. After the original template was corrupted I changed to a simple white blog. I was told that this was a big improvement in readability but that it didn't look professional. I just changed to a 3rd template. Which template is better. The simple white one which has no borders or this one?

Chareidi Politics - Internal conflicts

JPost reports:

The Ashkenazi haredi political establishment is undergoing a major shakeup. Normally a bastion of stability and unity, haredi politics has abruptly been engulfed in a period of uncertainty and fluctuation.

Internecine violence is the most obvious sign that the once cohesive haredi political leadership is in turmoil.

Last Shabbat, haredi men shoved and threw kugel at MK Ya'acov Litzman, the most powerful politician in Agudat Yisrael, when he showed up at a family celebration in a hall belonging to the Slonim hassidic sect.

Meanwhile, Israel "Srulik" Porush, son of MK Meir Porush, who heads the Shlomei Emunim faction in Agudat Yisrael, was knocked to the ground and beaten this week.

Perhaps in haredi enclaves, moderate violence - such as fisticuffs and food-throwing - is more common than in secular circles. After all, friends and enemies live in close physical proximity. There are plenty of opportunities to strike out at one's foe. Also, strong religious convictions and loyalties breed righteous indignation that can spark violence. Finally, in haredi circles there appears to be little fear that pushing, shoving and fistfights will deteriorate into shootings or stabbings.

Nevertheless, the recent violence is uncommon. And it reflects a major rift between two major groups making up Agudat Yisrael.

On one side is Shlomei Emunei Yisrael, headed by Porush, which is made up of a patchwork of small-to-medium-size hassidic sects usually named after the East European towns where they were founded. Some of the sects represented by Porush include Arloi, Slonim, Karlin-Stolin, Seret-Viznitz, Sadigora, Belz and Boston, one of the few hassidic groups named after an American city.

Pitted against Porush's Shlomei Emunei is the Gerer hassidic sect, the country's largest. Until the recent confrontation, Gur, under the aggressive leadership of Rabbi Ya'acov Aryeh Alter, effectively controlled Agudat Yisrael. Now Shlomei Emunei and Gur are waging a power struggle.

The groups clashed in the Jerusalem mayoral race. In a brazen move that undermined haredi unity, Alter refrained from supporting Porush, the only haredi candidate, in the election.

There are contradicting accounts on whether or not Alter ordered his hassidim to vote for Barkat. From an analysis of election booths located in areas heavily populated by Gerer hassidim, it appears that many did. There are also eyewitness accounts of Gerrer hassidim openly campaigning against Porush, shouting slogans such as: "Save Jerusalem from the Taliban."

"They broke all the rules in the book," said a Porush aide this week. "Things will never be the same again. This is World War III."

NUMEROUS POLITICAL scenarios are in the offing. One possibility is that Porush will attempt to create his own independent list. Agudat Yisrael is controlled by Gur, claim Shlomei Emunei sources. Other voices, other rebbes, are not being heard enough, they say.

Porush has already taken steps to set up a daily newspaper that would compete with the Gur-controlled Hamodia. During the Jerusalem mayoral elections, Hamodia ignored Porush's campaign. His name barely appeared in the paper.

Immediately after the elections, Porush's followers launched an anti-Hamodia campaign, calling on readers to cancel subscriptions and sign up to receive the new newspaper. Yanki Berger, a Porush supporter who is organizing the newspaper initiative, said this week that he has already signed up over 4,000 potential subscribers.[...]