They had their rally. Over 1500 people in Ramat Bet Shemesh, most of them modern Orthodox… have spoken. And the message: The violence must stop.
And what did they do in that rally? They bashed in the heads of all the Chasidim who so richly deserved it. Rocks were thrown at passing cars. Innocent Charedim were hurt. Blood was spattered all over the place. They burned trash cans and over-turned cars. They beat up Charedi women and spray painted bleach all over the clothing of innocently onlooking Chasidic women.
What? You don’t believe that? Why not? Could it be perhaps… because it didn’t happen?
Of course it didn’t. This was a peaceful demonstration against these very tactics by civilized people. Not the Toldos Aharon and Satmar types that have used the very tactics described above.
My only disappointment is that I saw very few of the moderate Ramat Bet Shemesh Charedim who I know are just as opposed to that violence as the modern orthodox residents are. Perhaps they were there, but the photos I saw showed a predominantly Kipa Seruga crowd and the article described the protesters that way. And that takes away from the impact of the protest since the modern Orthodox segment is looked at by the extreme Charedim and Chasidim almost as disdainfully as the secular segments.
On that note, my fear is that the next great conflict will be between the modern orthodox and the Charedim in the more moderate Aleph. As the Jerusalem Post points out, that seems to have begun:
(T)he latest point of contention is over a national religious school complex being built on the border between the haredi and Modern Orthodox neighborhoods. The plot of land, which will house both a boys and a girls school, is seen by the haredim as encroachment on their turf.
It’s a turf war now? …Charedi turf? … Dati turf?
But… back to the issue at hand. At least those Charedi criminals who pass themselves off as the righteous defenders of the faith now know that there is a strong opposition to their tactics by people who will not just sit idly by and take it. This should send a message to both those thugs who do this and the police that this kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated.
Those who are guilty will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. And that their rabbinic leaders should not try to ‘get them off’ or to cry 'police brutality'. As Mrs. Miriam Shear put it about her own violent encounter with these kinds of people… Enough is enough!
