When I wrote last week that Israel's haredi so-called modesty squads, thugs who beat and terrorize haredim to force them to conform to ever stricter modesty rules, were closely connected with the Ger hasidic movement.
Buried deep within a new Ha'aretz report on these thugs is the identity and affiliation of the thugs' leader, Rabbi
…Yitzhak Meir Shpernovitz.
Who is Rabbi Shpernovitz?
…When Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Shpernovitz sits in his office toward evening, it is hard to see him as the infamous mashgiah (spiritual supervisor) of the Gur Hasidim's yeshivas, who reportedly terrorizes hundreds and thousands of young boys. "You probably thought you would arrive in a dark cave here," he told the visitor.
Shpernovitz asserted that what is now being attributed to the modesty patrols is nothing more than journalistic myth.
"Once, there was such a thing as the modesty patrols," he said - perhaps defensively, or perhaps waxing nostalgic about days gone by. "Today, there are no such things. The things that the police are attributing to [Binyomin] Meirovich [who allegedly helped beat and abuse a haredi woman suspected of having "illicit relationships" with married haredi men] are nonsense. After all, a Haredi person cannot engage in such activity."
Ha'aretz notes earlier in the piece that Meirovich used to frequent Rabbi Shpernovitz's modesty squad office. It also points out that insiders say this particular attack may have been a "local" attack ordered by a family member to avenge or protect family honor – in other words, a freelance job not under the direct orders of Shpernovitz and the rabbis he works with.
Ha'aretz also notes there is a Mea Shearim-based gang called the Sicarii, named after the Zealots who helped bring about the destruction of the Second Temple. That gang is thought responsible for the buring of an mp4 store and other attacks.
Why is a man like Shpernovitz the mashgiach (spiritual guide) for thousands of students in Ger yeshivas? Should a boss of thugs hold such a position?
Perhaps in Ger culture, thugs are venerated. Ger certainly has many other oddities to 'distinguish' it. And a succession of Gerrer Rebbes have allegedly protected alleged pedophile Avrohom Mondrowitz. (And here.)
How does Shpernovitz's group operate?
…Cudgels and tear gas have also been used in other attacks on people suspected of sexual licentiousness in Haredi neighborhoods.
In an article on the modesty patrols published in the Haredi weekly Mishpaha in 1995, these weapons were mentioned as a key part of the patrols' arsenal.
The article also addressed a more interesting question: What is the group's mandate? A "veteran activist" told the newspaper: "There are no spontaneous blows, every blow requires permission from a Torah sage ... We have instructions in particularly severe cases to break arms and legs, not to kill."…
But at least one death is linked to these thugs:
…In June 1990, the body of Avi Edri was found in Jerusalem's Ramot Forest bearing marks of severe of violence. The police then declared that the murdered man had been a victim of modesty patrol members, who suspected him of carrying on an affair with a married ultra-Orthodox woman.
Though the police believed the attackers had meant only to frighten Edri, not to kill him, they were convinced that they had finally cracked the modesty patrols. But their investigation did not yield a single indictment.…
Police are confident their current investigation will lead to several indictments. Ha'aretz isn't so sure.
I have a friend who, in the very early 1990s, sold his home in a haredi suburb of Jerusalem and moved to Kfar Chabad.
Why?
The modesty squad.
My friend's then-teenage daughter, extremely tall, blonde and pretty, liked to take walks with her girlfriends on Shabbat afternoon. The modesty squad objected.
Why? The girl was modestly dressed and there were no issues of bad behavior.
The modesty squad had decided that, because the girl was so beautiful, she would be a "stumbling block" to men. Therefore, they ordered her to remain inside her home.
My friend sold his house and left town as fast as possible.
Ha'aretz on the haredi modesty squads.
Police believe they've exposed Haredi modesty patrol - Haaretz.pdf