Letter From Beit Shemesh: Haredi Extremists Terrorize Residents

A 15-year-old girl remembers a roar of male voices, a blur of bearded faces and being kicked from behind as she was pelted with raw eggs.

In Beit Shemesh, residents struggle to counter violent religious coercion
By Dina Kraft

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel (JTA) -- The 15-year-old girl remembers a roar of male voices, a blur of bearded faces and being kicked from behind as she was pelted with raw eggs.

She was with two other girlfriends who, like her, are Modern Orthodox, and they had been walking on a Friday night through a fervently Orthodox neighborhood of Beit Shemesh known for being hostile to outsiders -- including fellow observant Jews like themselves.

But things had been quiet for months and the girls shrugged off any concerns. Then a mob approached.

“They were screaming at us, ‘Shame on yourselves! Get out of here!’ ” said the girl, who did not want to give her name. “There were about 50 men screaming on the top of their lungs.”

The incident was among the more recent examples of violence by a pocket of fervently Orthodox Jews in Beit Shemesh who employ sporadic violence, threaten business owners and post street signs warning women not to walk on certain sidewalks to impose an uncompromising brand of religious fundamentalism on their community.

In Beit Shemesh, a city of some 70,000 approximately 30 minutes from Jerusalem, it is the neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet (Beit Shemesh Heights B) that has become a flashpoint. Though the thuggish elements are relatively small in number -- as few as several dozen, some say -- their use of gangster tactics has sown fear among Beit Shemesh residents, who range from haredi, or fervently Orthodox, Jews to Modern Orthodox.

The neighborhood has a mall that stands only half built after some haredim threatened a boycott if separate shopping times for men and women were not designated. Stone-throwing riots erupted when the owner of a pizza parlor, who had received threats warning against allowing boys and girls to congregate together, took down a sign calling for “modesty.”

Two years ago, a woman and a male soldier who tried to protect her were beaten when the woman refused to move to the back of a public bus. The police who arrived at the scene reportedly were attacked by the crowd.

One haredi rabbi who lives in the neighborhood and spoke to JTA on condition of anonymity said that most of his neighbors, like him, oppose the behavior of the violent haredim, but they are too intimidated to act against them.

“Most rabbis definitely do not accept what is going on,” he said. “But as for coming out in public, I believe they are afraid to because if they do so, they, too, would be attacked.”

Although it has been relatively quiet in Beit Shemesh for the past year -- a calm some credit to local mediation efforts -- the attack on the three schoolgirls reignited tensions.

“An abomination has happened in Israel,” read a flier that was posted throughout the neighborhood after the attack. “We will not let this pass quietly.”

Written with the help of haredim who were outraged by the attack, the fliers -- known in the haredi world as pashkivilim and used to disseminate information in religious communities where members rarely watch TV, listen to the radio or read newspapers or the Internet -- were the result of an outreach and mediation effort launched by a group of local Modern Orthodox Jews.

Community members said the response was welcome -- and surprising.

Residents were “shocked that for the first time anyone stood up to the” fundamentalists, said Rabbi Dov Lipman, a Modern Orthodox immigrant from Maryland who has been at the forefront of both confronting and mediating with the more extreme haredi sects in Beit Shemesh. “As much as we are protecting ourselves, we are also freeing those who live in the community who are under siege.”

The haredim causing trouble are mostly transplants from Neturei Karta and Satmar haredi communities in Jerusalem who migrated to Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet, like many suburbanites, in search of more affordable housing.

For years Beit Shemesh had been known as a sleepy working-class town populated mainly by Moroccan immigrants and their descendants. But in the past decade or two the demographics of the city have shifted dramatically as Orthodox Ashkenazim, ranging from haredi Jerusalemites to Modern Orthodox new immigrants from North America and England, have moved in.

Menachem Friedman, an Israeli sociologist and expert on haredim, said the haredi violence in Beit Shemesh is far more extreme than the haredi protests in places such as Jerusalem because Beit Shemesh lacks an established rabbinic authority. In larger cities, he says, rabbis generally rein in the rogues.

The extremists “think they live in an area with weak local government and a weak local population, and that lets them feel that they can maneuver and spread power and dare to act violently,” Friedman said.

A haredi who identified himself as Yisrael and hails from the more extreme haredi faction, is among those who has been meeting with Lipman. Yisrael attributes the violence to “provocations,” saying he and his cohorts will not be silent when their religious way of life is threatened.

Lipman, who teaches at a local yeshiva for American students, admits that some view as naive his efforts to broker an understanding with the extremist elements in the city. He says it’s about taking communal responsibility for his town.

“This problem is something we could not have ever imagined as we sacrificed so much to make aliyah, and we are enraged,” Lipman said. “But the problem won't simply go away by itself. We feel that we have a responsibility to do something about it both for ourselves and on behalf of our native Israeli neighbors who understandably don't want to take up this battle."

New York-born Rachel Lisbon, who immigrated to Israel two years ago with her young family, lives in a neighborhood that borders on Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet. Soon after moving into her newly built apartment, she received a threatening note in the mailbox from neighbors across the street who said they could see the family’s television from their apartment across the road.

The note said that TV watching was immodest and, “Should anything happen to your family, we will not be responsible.”

Lipman helped Lisbon talk to the neighbors, and an apology was issued, but not long afterward another of Lisbon’s neighbors received a similar note.

Lisbon also participated in a gathering of her fellow English-speaking Modern Orthodox neighbors and some of their more hard-line haredi neighbors. But she left wondering how much mutual understanding was forged.

“We are just as human as they are, just as religious as they are," she said, "though we may do things differently.”

Related Posts.

[Hat Tip: Joel Katz.]

Comments

[Yochanan Lavie]

Keep Yesha, give back Beit Shemesh.

[MisterApikoros]

Where the hell are the cops?

These scum who intimidate need to be tried, convicted, and locked up in Israel's most hard-assed prison for a long, long stretch.

[Michael Makovi]

Isn't there an issur to look through someone else's windows into their apartment? (Oh, sorry. The Gemara speaks of looking into your next-door neighbor's YARD. But looking into their windows is permitted. We have only what our authorities have said, and nothing more or less.)

[Ben]

What is the difference between Haredi modesty squads, Iranian modesty squads, Saudi modesty police and Taliban modesty terrorists?

I'm all for modesty, but the methods chosen make me reexamine certain convictions.

[Ben]

These guys seem to me just as destructive for social fabric as prostitutes on the corners.

[Shlomo]

Growing up in a post holocaust environment I cant believe that so called chasidim (pious ) could possibly act like this. Even according to their own arguments they seem to only care about themselves. Perhaps because they have so many external expressions of their religiosity they ignore everything and everyone else?
What has happened? this kind of thing makes me feel terribly sad

[shmuel]

Arrest. Prosecute. Imprison. For a long time. Solves lots of problems, believe me.

[justayid]

"The haredim causing trouble are mostly transplants from Neturei Karta and Satmar haredi communities in Jerusalem who migrated to Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet, "

ive never heard of this in KJ or Williamsburg or even Mea Shaearim (where the issue is usually actual tziniut)

Sounds like its a few loonies, and the haredi community is acting appropriately.

[Neandershort]

Shmuel - Right on. And if the police won't do their jobs (politics - not like NY), then perhaps Army veterans trained in hand to hand combat will have to take care of these goons. Ben is right and we cannot and will not let Israel be Talibanized.

[ah-pee-chorus]

who is to say their knowledge of god's desire is less likely than others? if you believe the torah is gods word this behavior is quite acceptable. non-virgin brides may be killed, homosexuals may be killed, your daughters may be sold as sex-slaves, so a little beating to coerce more "GOD-LIKE" behavior is reasonable.
it is only when all people realize that all books were authored by man that this behavior will cease. until then, anyone who believes the torah is the literal word of god but these guys are just crazy is deluding himself.

[Asa]

You may be right, APC, but no book can implant behavior in a person that is foreign to that person. Such behavior, such inclinations to violence and hooliganism must, I believe, be already extant in a person, and then, of course, the Torah is used for expression of those inclinations rather than for the suppressing of them, though, I must admit, the Torah lends itself easily and most readily to the promotion of such violent tendencies.)

[Neandershort]

The Torah is the word of God but the people in charge are evil people, and none of us dares call a spade a spade.

[Andrew]

This is also a result of what happens when you don't work and have too much free time.

These loafers have no direction and like a "rebel without a cause" bring meaning to their meaningless lives by becoming so extreme and recking violence on those productive citizens whom they secretly envy.

If they're not learning full time, draft them into army.

[Asa]

"Whom they secretly envy"

Wow, I never thought of it that way.

[ah-pee-chorus]

: Neandershort:

if the torah is the word, these people are not evil at all. they are good and moral. the torah is filled with things we now recognize as evil. it is you who is having trouble calling a spade a spade.

asa:

i have interacted with people who agree with these actions and they are nice good people. they just believe that they have no choice but to follow gods word.

[justayid]

"who is to say their knowledge of god's desire is less likely than others? "

anyone who has read the torah, and seen what it says about how to treat others, how to use proper judicial procedures, etc, etc. A fortiori if they have read the Talmud.

You can critique the literal text of the Torah all you like. Thats relevant to a discussion of fundamentalist Protestantism. Not Judaism.

[Asa]

Thing is they enjoy it. No choice implies coersion, as if their hand were forced. I with my extremely limited knowledge know to what great lengths even the Talmudists went to ensure no murder, no violence, even when allowed or sanctioned by the Torah. They don't? These people enjoy it, and very sadly they need not look far for promotion of their enjoyment. Believe me, if they didn't want to do it they'd look through every letter of every text to find some reason to behave otherwise.

[justayid]

"i have interacted with people who agree with these actions "

seeing as even the majority of Satmars in Beit Shemesh seem from the article not to have agreed with the, I wonder where you meet those people.

[Asa]

God knows they look through every letter of every text to find ways out of work and for the various political actions they take.

[justayid]

"Thing is they enjoy it. No choice implies coersion, as if their hand were forced. I with my extremely limited knowledge know to what great lengths even the Talmudists went to ensure no murder, no violence, even when allowed or sanctioned by the Torah. They don't? These people enjoy it, and very sadly they need not look far for promotion of their enjoyment. Believe me, if they didn't want to do it they'd look through every letter of every text to find some reason to behave otherwise"

I think you have it right.

APC is just repeating his shtick.

[ML]

This shows that the Israeli government and institutions use the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the same way they accuse Arab governments of using it, as a distraction from tackling the real issues inside their countries.

[ah-pee-chorus]

justayid : the "halacha" when the temple is rebuilt will require that homosexuals and sabbath violators be put to death. the punishment for rape is that rapist must marry the victim. the talmud had NO OBJECTIONS to men having sex with three year olds. you apparently are unaware of the torah and talmud if you think this argument is restricted to protestants. wake up from your delusion.

as far as interacting, i never said i interacted with people who agree with these specific people and their actions, i said i interacted with people who AGREE with these (types of) actions. so don't play silly games to question my integrity. you either have trouble with english or don't mind twisting words to suit your goal. you should apologize if you have integrity.

[David Willig]

How about if girls are trailed by veterans carrying Uzi's? Defense of others is legitimate throughout the world. If some of these terrorists were wounded or killed they would not be so anxious to attack teenage girls. Perhaps security cameras might enable the police to arrest and jail the suspects.

[justayid]

Find me a quote where the talmud says its okay to have sex with three year olds - an omission you find cited on some antisemitic site doenst count.

I dont think theres any agreement what the halacha should be iin the event the temple is rebuilt - thats a rather abstruse and impractical area of Jewish law. The evolution of Jewish law has focused on more pressing concerns. Given that its fairly clear from early rabbinic sources that there was debate over the frequency of application of the death penalty for murder, I cant imagine why anyone would think the authors of the Talmud would have expected it for other crimes.

You said this "type" of actions. This action is particularly surprising, as its against MO who happened to walk by, and there was no issue of Tziniut, etc. I read like is meaning just like that. Not any thuggish coercion. If we want to discuss that we may. I oppose that also. And that also is a violation of Torah.

If all you wish to do is make banal Millsian points about theistic ethics, please find somewhere they havent been made before, or at least dont make them more than, say 3x per week.

[Asa]

As well as I can remember the Talmud portion in question teaches that a man who's broken a three-year-old hymen (or younger) has not sinned. I might be WAY wrong, but I don't have the source before me at the moment. anyone correct me if I'm wrong.

[ah-pee-chorus]

+++Find me a quote where the talmud says its okay to have sex with three year olds - an omission(sic) you find cited on some antisemitic site doenst count++=

Posted by: justayid | July 14, 2009 at 02:17 PM

i don't consult antisemitic websites because i love jews. even you. unfortunately, one need only learn our own gemarra to find morally challenged halachic discussions. and i dont rely on anybody elses interperetations, i make my own leining on a blatt gemarra as i did in yeshiva. so nice try. if you were familiar with the talmud you like to mention when you claim it deliteralizes the torah into something moral and beautiful, then you wouldn't need me to provide a source, but i will provide it for you, nonetheless.
and while i have quotesd it before, it bears repeating until misconceptions like yours are cleared up. the gemara (niddah 44b) says a girl of three is mitkadeshet b'beeah, which means intercourse. and it discusses all the ramifications of various partners who may have chosen to have sex (rape) with a three year old, including a yibbum, and whether her having had sex with various pessulim negates her from certain bat-cohen privileges. if this were assur, or even considered disgusting, one of the many rabbis in the gemara had ample opportunity to say so. but what concerned these moral fools was whether the blood she bled is considered dam nidah or the normal virginal blood. they never considered the obvious choice that she bleeds because a three year old raped by an adult is experiencing vaginal tearing.
and lest anyone try to claim the old "they must have matured much earlier then" defense, as archie bunker has attempted in past, this very same gemara on 45a has rebbe being asked when a woman can conceive, and he replies 12 years and one day. just about the same as todays average girl.
so, yes, it was common in those days to rape children, and the halacha permits it, while calling for consenting homosexuals to be put to death as it is an abomination. the real abomination is that anyone still looks to the torah and gemarra as a source of morality.

[ah-pee-chorus]

++dont think theres any agreement what the halacha should be iin the event the temple is rebuilt - thats a rather abstruse and impractical area of Jewish law+++

please cite me a source for one orthodox rabbi who says that we will be free to ignore the torah prohibition and punishment for gay sex. you are misinformed.

+++Given that its fairly clear from early rabbinic sources that there was debate over the frequency of application of the death penalty for murder, I cant imagine why anyone would think the authors of the Talmud would have expected it for other crimes. +++

they argued over how often it had been applied. what does that have to do with whether or not it should or will be applied post beis hamikdash moshiach?

+++and there was no issue of Tziniut+++

where did you get that proclamation from? many if not most MO girls wear clothes considered far too revealing or even colorful for the haredim. they were quoted as saying,"shame on yourselves" the implication i take from here is that the haredim were in fact bothered by their dress for one reason or another under the umbrella of tsnius. otherwise why would they have been attacked? was it a drug turf gang issue?

++If all you wish to do is make banal Millsian points about theistic ethics, please find somewhere they havent been made before, or at least dont make them more than, say 3x per week.+++

i'll make them where i see fit and i give you permission to ignore them. just as i ignore many theistic arguments and comments. or would you like to censor my words as the haredim censor peoples' wardrobe.

[ah-pee-chorus]

if my comments are incorrect, you are free to debate the points and make me look silly. otherwise, it appears as though they are accurate and the truth troubles you perhaps.

[WoolSilkCotton]

APC, strong work.

[Dr. Dave]

Let's follow the chareidi example:

How about taking baseball bats to anyone wearing a long black coat like the 18th century polish nobility for violating b'darkom lo taileichu.

How about throwing eggs at anyone in a sheitel for violating the rulings of numerous rabbis on tzniut.

They are not just violent chareidi assholes, they are hypocritic violent chareidi assholes.

[ah-pee-chorus]

WSC: thanks, buddy

[maven]

The issue with BTs, violence, etc in Israel has much more to do with social class than with religion. It is a frequent phenomenon that when highly Westernized "outsiders" suddenly move into a poor underdeveloped area,that the kinds of clashes seen in Bet Shemesh occur (they never happen in Har Nof or other wealthier communities). Religion is always a convenient excuse, but the core concept is not always religious in nature, as with the Charlie Bitton phenomenon some years ago. Generally this reaction takes on, like in the US, an anti-science, anti-medicine/research tone, a hatred of the "elites" and their "corrupting influence" (a la Palin). Much like at the end of the last election here, the resentment can begin to get ugly and take on a violent nature, as it did in Bet Shemesh and Kiryat Sefer and threatened to in the US. Those of us who are part of the health care establishment in Israel deal with this virtually daily, and in the US as well (remember how in the inner city the "elites" were accused of creating the AIDS virus to target the poor, etc?).

This ties in to the other excesses detailed here, such as the Elior Chen story, where as part of their anti-Westernism, they will proffer herbal/homeopathic/spiritual type healing based on "belief" and "holiness",etc. Interestingly, a common occurence is that when these same Westerners go "native", they are easy prey to "easterners" like Chen who can claim "authenticity" and native traditions, etc, all too often with tragic results.