Haredim are not being banned from a Ramat Aviv shopping mall because of their dress. What's more, the entire incident in which a Chabad hasid was barred from the mall, supposedly because of his haredi dress, was staged by the Chabad hasid and several friends in order to pressure the mall to allow aggressive Chabad missionary activity.
The truth is now out. The entire incident was a fraud.
As I was first to report yesterday, haredim are not being banned from a Ramat Aviv shopping mall because of their dress.
In fact, the entire incident 'caught' on video and publicized by Israeli singer, Judaica shop owner and politician Yehoram Gaon was a scam.
Yeshiva World, in an "update" that is actually a correction to its libelous post on a Chabad hasid being barred from a Tel Aviv shopping mall, reports that:
The man who was barred from entering, Schneur Schneerson, told the daily Yisrael HaYom “I wasn’t insulted. I put tefillin on people daily. A few of my friends who bring me in via a rear door did not like what was going on and decided to make some noise”.
Schneerson had already been barred from entry because of his aggressive missionary activity inside the mall, which drew complaints from shop owners and customers.
But according to Schnerson, some of his friends who work at or own shops in the mall decided to set the mall's managers up by staging a confrontation with the mall's security guards and videoing it.
Schneerson – who was wearing a Chabad messianist yarmulke during the confrontation – is apparently not the least bit sorry for what he did. After all, he clearly thinks, the 'messiah' sent him to missionize. What right do mall managers and owners have to stop him?
The only remaining question is whether singer-Judaica shop owner-politician Yehoram Gaon was in on the scam, or if he, too, was a victim of it.
Chabad should be ashamed, and its Israel headquarters and international headquarters should both publicly condemn Schneerson's actions.
Related Post: Anatomy of a Haredi 'Blood Libel.'
Here is today's entire "update" from Yeshiva World:
Update on Ramat Aviv Mall Incident
(Monday, June 4th, 2012)
Yeshiva World
On Sunday, 13 Sivan 5772, YWN-ISRAEL reported a security guard in the Ramat Aviv Mall barred a chareidi male from entering in compliance with a directive he received from “higher ups”.
The original story mentioned the mall’s policy, barring chareidim since management fears their presence is deemed “offensive” to some of the shoppers and those visiting mall eateries.
Mall officials report that the mall is not anti-Semitic or anti-chareidi, adding there is a shul for the convenience of those shoppers wishing to organize minyanim, and the mall is closed on shabbos.
It appears what the mall’s management fears is the ongoing ‘mivtzaim’ of the Chabadnikim, who are busy getting men to put on tefillin. While many store owners reportedly wait for the Chabadnikim to arrive to put on tefillin, some are bothered by the aggressive well-intentioned shluchim and apparently complaints have been filed with mall management – leading to the decision to bar the shluchim.
The man who was barred from entering, Schneur Schneerson, told the daily Yisrael HaYom “I wasn’t insulted. I put tefillin on people daily. A few of my friends who bring me in via a rear door did not like what was going on and decided to make some noise”.
A number of askanim who responded to the story released by Chadrei Chareidim indicated they will organize buses of chareidim to come to the mall, but it is not certain this will be actualized as the mall managers do not seem oppose to chareidim but do prefer to prevent Chabad shluchim from approaching shoppers to put on tefillin.
Mall officials released a statement that anyone and everyone is welcome to come visit, regardless of gender, race, religion, but due to the fact that complaints have been received surrounding the tefillin campaign, Chabadnikim have been asked to refrain from such activities.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)