I could really title this article as “Ditto.” What I would really like to write about is the great schism in Israel, supposedly about Judicial Reform but really about reforming Judaism. I also felt it important to point to the fact that the silence coming from our Orthodox organizations, as they watch Orthodox Judaism under attack in Israel, is more than deafening. It’s pathetic. All the non-Orthodox in this country speak loud and clear while we are afraid to whisper.
But I’ve referred to this theme so many times I would get tired of writing about it, let alone read it. Nonetheless, it must be noted. Sometimes, I wonder why I bother writing about this topic since it seems to go nowhere.
Yet, I may be wrong. Am I being presumptuous in assuming that I may have had a small effect on the issue of Huwara and the organizational reaction to the Arab terror coming from there and the Jewish rioting in the aftermath? You will recall that so many organizations condemned the Jews with almost the same passion as they did the Palestinian terrorists, painfully including an Orthodox one.
Both Shmuel (Seth) Sackett and I took this up in recent articles. Now I see that the Orthodox organization on their website actually has a statement condemning Huwara exclusively for the most recent terror emanating from there. I’d like to think that my writing had something to do with it. But I am not that naïve. It’s still a thought that allows me to indulge in believing my writings have some kind of effect.
What is new to write about is the unexpected kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name) by the reaction of the Orthodox in Israel.
Some of the worst vitriol in Israel, unfortunately, is saved for the chareidi community. We saw the dripping hatred that was spewed from various individuals as documented last week. Respected Israeli writer Zev Chafets wrote a nasty piece on his blog about the “Black Hats.” Would he dare write the same about Muslims and their “Striped Kafias”? An excellent response to Chafets was written by Zev Bell, a 20-year-old yeshivah student in Har Etzion, in the Times of Israel on March 24.
The leftist protestors decided to bring their wrath to Bnei Brak, headquarters of the yeshivah/chareidi world. So, they marched in huge numbers through the town, giant Israeli flags and all. To these protesters the source of all evil in Israel is the chareidim. Never mind that the main push behind judicial reform is coming from secular Likud and the Religious Zionists. The chareidim are easy and popular targets.
I would have expected the yeshivah boys to come out screaming and throwing eggs at the protesters (despite their cost). Instead, they came out with drinks and refreshments, including cholent, that Thursday night. An unforgettable scene was that of an older secular protester who was overwhelmed to tears when he heard the song Shalom Aleichem played over the sound system. It suddenly brought a flashback to him as he recalled his father singing that song upon his return from shul Friday nights. Classic pintele Yid being revived. Shalom Aleichem...peace to you, indeed.
Earlier today, a woman who is active with Jewish causes asked me where the Jewish leadership in the United States is. I told her that we have come to expect no leadership from our leadership, but I asked her, why is nothing being done by the right wing in Israel? Why haven’t they taken to the streets?
Almost as soon as I finished that exchange, I started receiving videos from her and other sources showing me, baruch Hashem, the huge pro-right rally in the streets of Yerushalayim. The estimates are 200,000 people, bli ayin ha’ra.
So now we are out of excuses. We need to rally here to support our brethren in Israel who won the election fair and square. We need leadership. On that, all I can say is…ditto.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.