Gerrer Hasidim Riot In Arad Synagogue

One woman, age 54, was struck in the face by a chair; her 19-year-old daughter was hit in the head by a table. According to eyewitnesses, Gerrer hasidim hurled the furniture directly at both women while cursing them and calling them “whores.”

Gerrer Chassidm Escalate Violence
Two women were lightly injured and four men were arrested Saturday afternoon at the Arad Central Synagogue in violence sparked by women entering the men's section after prayers had ended. A mob of at least 100 Gerrer Chassidim reportedly hurled chairs and tables at the two women who had entered the men's section between the afternoon and evening services to get in out of the rain.
Chabad.info

One woman, age 54, was struck in the face by a chair; her 19-year-old daughter was hit in the head by a table. According to eyewitnesses, Gerrer Chassidim hurled the furniture directly at both women while cursing them and calling them “whores”.

The women, who spoke on condition that their names be withheld, said the head of the local Chabad boys' school had told told them they could enter because prayers were over and  it was the closest entrance into the building.

“It had begun to rain and we were getting wet. Everyone else had already left the room and had gone into other side to start seuda shlishit, the meal between the afternoon and evening services,” explained the older woman.

The mob also broke down two of the doors leading to the smaller room where the meal is eaten, both of which were locked during services. There was other damage to the building reported to the police by one of the synagogue's sextons as well. 

Disturbances were also reported Friday night, when Gerrer Chassidim reportedly formed their own prayer circle in the middle of the services already in progress, loudly chanting their own prayers and singing to drown out the rabbi. 

Eyewitnesses said the provocations continued Saturday morning, with Gerrer Chassidim creating disturbances during the Bar Mitzvah celebration of the rabbi's son. 

“This is going to stop,” declared the head of the board of directors, “ Yisrael Pshetitsky, as he stood near the Ark and addressed the congregation during the Bar Mitzvah. “I don't need to be told who Chabad is. I was in Russia for five years, and the only people who had the courage to make sure there was always a minyan were the Chabad Chassidim. I love Chabad.” 

By 11:00 p.m. Saturday night, Arad's small police station was still processing criminal complaints; numerous people from both the Chabad and Gerrer communities were turned away and told to return in the morning to submit complaints as there was not enough manpower available to handle the load.

Police have repeatedly been called to quell disturbances at the synagogue over the past several months, and clashes have escalated between Gerrer Chassidim, who insist their greater numbers entitle them to take over the synagogue, and the Chabad Chassidim who formally merged with the congregation several months ago.

The tension between the two groups, which has simmered beneath the surface for several years, broke out into the open following the death of Rabbi Ben Tzion Lipsker, Arad's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and the spiritual leader of the congregation for some 35 years. Lipsker's son-in-law, Rabbi Yaakov Mendelsohn, succeeded him as the synagogue's rabbi.