I don’t blame them for being upset.
Their peace is once again going to be disturbed by a bunch of gawking tourists. Big time! Meah Shearim is a huge tourist attraction for just about anyone. Whether Jew or Gentile, Charedi or modern Orthodox… for anyone who visits Israel, Meah Shearim is a must. It is in fact quite a tourist trap. Let the buyer beware! (…Although if you’re careful you can get a pretty good deal on silver there.)
Every holiday brings hordes of tourists to this cramped little corner of the word. People of every different kind dressed in all manner of dress come there to see the ‘quaint but charming’ people who live there. It is a world of one or two hundred years ago almost perfectly preserved.
It is quite a sight if you’re not used to it. Long side curled and bearded Chasidim dressed in striped or black… or even gold Bekeshes (Chasidic frocks), shapeless women whose shaved heads are entirely covered, some with a turban type hat. Tourists from every segment of Jewry tend to see them as strange and ancient relics. The more modern one is, the more like relics these people might appear to be.
The Chasidim who live there must feel pretty disgusted. No one wants to be perceived by others as weird. They know what many of these tourists must be thinking.
I kind of get the same feeling (to a much lesser degree) on Simchas Torah in Chicago. This is the time when many Reform teachers take their suburban Hebrew school students on a field trip to see how the Orthodox world celebrates the holiday. That day I am on display. Not a particularly good feeling.
Ordinarily one might think this to be a good Kiruv opportunity. But it really isn’t. We are the animals in the cage. The teachers who accompany these students come uninvited and just gawk at us. There is no contact between us. The kids are only there because they have to be. They would much rather be at home watching TV. So there they are staring at us. We dance. They watch. It is show for them. I don’t really appreciate being on display like an animal at the zoo.
So too must the residents of Meah Shearim feel. Only multiply the gawkers a hundredfold. On top of that the level of Tznius they are accustomed to is violated by many of these tourists. Occasionally in the extreme.
So I don’t really blame them for being so upset by the hordes of tourists every time a holiday comes up. One must indeed evaluate this behavior from the correct perspective. It is one of near desperation. What are they supposed to do?
Well, not this.
They have adopted a ‘we’re not going to take it anymore’ approach. They have decided to declare war on tourists! According to an article appearing last week in Ynet:
Ynet has learned that participants devised a plan which includes wide-scale actions against tourists beginning next Tuesday when Jews around the world light the holiday's first candle. Eighty locals have already volunteered to enforce the program.
Under the framework of this planned "intifada", volunteers will attack tourists with eggs, diapers full of goodies, and whatever else they can get their hands on.
I don’t know what happened last night or earlier today the first day of Chanukah, but I wouldn’t be all that surprised if they made good on their threats. I can’t really think of too many ways a bigger Chilul HaShem can be made than that. It doesn’t really matter how upset they are. The solution to their problem is not to alienate fellow Jews who were at worst indifferent to Torah law until now.
What if that was my reaction to those Reform students who come to gawk at me as an ancient relic on Simchas Torah? What if I took a carton of eggs and dirty diapers and started throwing it at them. What would they come away with? ...that they were wrong in gawking at me? Of course not. They would think that not only am I an ancient relic but that I am a sick ancient relic who ought to be locked up! They would come away from that experience hating the Torah instead of only being indifferent to it.
Let’s even say that my tactic worked and they never returned. What did I really accomplish? Yes, I may feel better about never being gawked at again. But at what price?! That is what those vigilantes in Meah Shearim should be thinking about. But of course they don’t.
It is true that these eighty people are but a very tiny segment of the population. But they are only the most aggressive of a community that quietly approves. They are quietly 'sanctioned' vigilantes. No one is going to stop them. Instead what will likely happen is what usually happens. Lip service will be paid by leaders of that segment of the Torah world in condemning their acts while privately being happy that something is being done to solve their problem. The vigilantes know it too. They are never punished. They are in fact quietly if not overtly cheered on. That’s why we see this happening so often.
Lo Zu HaDerech. This is not the Torah way. I don’t know what the rest of the Torah world can do to prevent this kind of behavior. Vigilantism seems to be an the rise in that world. I have been screaming at the top of my lungs for rabbinic leaders to unite on this issue. Chilul HaShem is no joke. It shouldn’t matter what one’s Hashkafa is.
When innocent people come to visit the holy land and want to see how religious people live, they should not be rewarded by having dirty diapers and raw eggs thrown at them. Most tourists don’t realize just how upsetting their presence is. Or how upsetting their manner of dress is. They don’t understand why a woman wearing slacks, or short sleeves, or a red blouse, deserves to be egged… or have bleach sprayed on them (as has been done in the past.)
It is my considered opinion that those people are criminals who are even capable of murder. They are the ones who will torch cars ...or clothing stores ...or riot in the streets of Jerusalem. They are the same people who will gang up and beat a woman to a pulp on a bus. If they can do that, they are fully capable of murder too!
How do I know that the rest of that community sanctions it? Because the Rebbeim of the younger ones gave them a day off after they rioted in Jerusalem against Gay Pride. If the Rebbeim did that instead of punishing them, well… end of story. They are just as guilty, if not more so than those children. Those Rebbeim reflect the will of their people. They instill in each child the values of their parents.
At this point I don’t know what to do about this problem but looking the other way isn’t it. Neither is saying that they are just a minority and don’t truly represent the Charedi world. I know they don’t. I appeal to every Torah leader, right to left to no longer just condemn this behavior but to try and change it. This is an area where we can truly find Achdus and where being united may in fact have an impact.
Many people say that these vigilantes are incorrigible and don’t listen to anyone. That doesn’t matter. There has to be a way that this problem can be solved and if the entire Torah world unites to find a solution, they will be stopped.
