The highly publicized joint trip to America of Israel’s leading hasidic rebbes to stage a large anti-Israel protest here has apparently been canceled.
Hasidic Rebbes Anti-Israel Demonstration Apparently Canceled
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The highly publicized joint trip to America of Israel’s leading hasidic rebbes has apparently been canceled, various haredi news websites here and in Israel are reporting.
The rebbes were planning on holding a large protest rally in New York City in early January to protest Israel’s decision to draft haredi yeshiva students, cuts the Government of Israel has made to the budgets of haredi yeshivas, and Israel’s insistence that haredi schools teach some of the country’s secular core curriculum, primarily math, Modern Hebrew and English.
The Belzer Rebbe Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach pulled out of the trip earlier today for what is being reported as personal reasons. It is, however, likely those personal reasons are actually threats from Satmar (please see the poster posted below) – which opposes the draft but which is even more opposed to any of these hasidic groups taking money from the state, and which has a longstanding feud with Belz – and the opposition to the rally from many haredi leaders in the US who believe it will increase the support for the draft of haredim rather than reduce it.
The Gerrer (Gur) Rebbe Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter apparently pulled out of the trip shortly after Rokeach, and several other rebbes from smaller hasidic groups reportedly joined suit.
I’ll report more details as they become available.
The following poster threatening to stage protests against the Belzer Rebbe if he comes to the US were littered all over Borough Park last night: