The writing on the wall
Is Israel headed toward a religiously extremist future?
The latest report about growing religious extremism (having nothing to do with nationalism or politics) in Israel comes from, of all places, Abu Dhabi's The National newspaper:
Faced with what they see as the threat of modern culture, sections of the Haredim are demanding a more rigorous enforcement of Jewish religious laws, or halakha. Under the label of "modesty patrols", groups of ultra-Orthodox men are turning into vigilantes, targeting in particular Haredi women whose behaviour they disapprove of.Reports of women being attacked on the street or in their homes have been steadily rising in the local media.
In one widely publicised incident over the summer, a 14-year-old girl from Upper Beitar, a large ultra-Orthodox settlement in the West Bank south of Jerusalem, had acid poured on her face and body in what is believed to have been the work of a modesty patrol.
The girl told a paramedic treating her that she had been repeatedly threatened before the attack. According to local media, the girl was wearing loose-fitting trousers at the time of the attack.
Several rabbis have denounced women as immodest for wearing trousers. One of the most prominent, Rabbi Shlomi Aviner, ruled last month: "In general, a woman must always wear modest clothes even when she is alone and in the dark."
Last week an ultra-Orthodox man, Elhanan Buzaglo, was indicted on suspicion of breaking into the home of a woman in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Jerusalem along with six accomplices, armed with a bat and tear gas. The woman, divorced from a Haredi man, was beaten and told that she would be killed if she did not leave the area.
Share
Facebook
5 Comments
haredim,
Israel,
Religion
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
I am a Torah-observant Jew who goes to shul most every day of the week; some days I go several times. I attend a Daf Yomi class. I have a sister who, along with her two children, their spouses and a total of twenty-one children (my sister’s grandchildren) live in Bnei B’raq. My mother lived and died in Bnei B’raq. I tell you this so that you will know from where I come.
If, in fact, there are crazy people in Eretz Isroel who are doing such horrible things in the guise of the Jewish religiosity, they are guilty of one of the three most heinous crimes a Jew can commit—Chillul Hashem—which carries a mandatory Biblical death sentence. Since we don’t have a proper Bais Din to enforce this law, all religious Jews should petition the Israeli secular courts to consider such acts a hate crime and impose a minimum twenty-year—no-parole—sentence and a confiscation of all assets owned by the criminal. These should be given to the victim(s) as compensation. Additionally, Israeli law should provide for the right of victims to sue anyone who helped the perpetrator of these crimes to carry them out or attempt to escape punishment for them as well, of course, making it a crime to do so.
The pain and suffering inflicted on the victims of these “modesty patrols” (in other countries they are referred to as Taliban) is shocking.
More obscene, but in a different way, is the damage being done to the image and substance of Judaism, as these things are supposedly being done in the name of religion.
Grave harm is also being done to the image and fabric of the State of Israel, which cannot continue to appear feeble and powerless in the face of this lawlessness.
The worst is that this phenomenon could easily have been nipped in the bud, and can still be brought under control with a little resoluteness from the forces of law and order in Israel.
The Israeli police need to set up a unit dedicated to combating ultra-Orthodox criminality, staffed by people who understand the sub-culture. Rewards need to be offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the assaults. The statements of the rabbis who appear to be provoking the attacks need to be examined, and criminal charges laid where incitement is suspected.
Public order policing needs to be rigorously applied to any gathering where the ultra-Orthodox are attempting to impose their mores on wider society and violate the law in the process. Where such gatherings do flout the law, they must be broken up by force, and using whatever methods are appropriate for any illegal gathering. The law must also apply (and be seen to apply) to those who look like Zaide.
There needs to be a single authority responsible for law and order in the whole of Israel, and it needs to stamp its authority, even on those who believe they answer only to a higher authority.
Down the other road lies anarchy, chaos and the eventual dissolution of the state. “Not with a bang, but with a whimper.”
I am glad to read Jacob Farkas commentary and explanation of Halachik (Jewish Law) rules. Where is the Rabbinate commentaries? I am a secular diaspora Jew of Orthodox grandparent heritage. It appears that there is an unacceptable political lack of enforcement of morality and legality. I never before was ashamed to be a Jew! It appears we are creating a generation of Jewish Antisemites.
Leave a Comment
To leave a comment, you must first be logged in to JTA. If you are not registered, please click here.
Already a JTA member?
Need to know? Get JTA's free e-newsletters!
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Claude S. on Connecting the dots: Susan G. Komen, J Street and Bill Clinton
- Yaakov Cohn on Connecting the dots: Susan G. Komen, J Street and Bill Clinton
- Herbert Kaine on Times travel writer on Israel: ‘A politically iffy burden’
- Lloyd Trufelman on Netanyahu doth protest too much?
- ASC on Times travel writer on Israel: ‘A politically iffy burden’
Joel Katz
09/09/08 08:11 PM
Although the article in appears in Abu Dhabi’s The National newspaper, the source of the article is a British-born freelance writer living in Nazareth since 2001 - Jonathan Cook.
According to his website, his books include “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East” and “Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State”.
By the way, if one tries to register on The National website, scroll down the “Select Your Country” toolbar. Wouldn’t you know, Ireland is followed by...Italy.
Joel Katz
Religion and State in Israel