Violence in Bnei Brak

This Sunday, a pogrom was perpetrated in Bnei Brak. The situation began when a couple of female soldiers arrived in the vicinity of the Bohosh bais medrash. It doesn’t really matter if the purpose of their arrival was to visit someone, to arrest someone, or to deliver a draft order to someone. (The third possibility seems to have been the case, despite the army’s denials.). The bottom line is that it was clear at the outset that they would ignite conflict in the chareidi city. And the predictable conflagration was not long in coming. A group of youths gathered around the soldiers and threatened them, the police were called, and then there was an explosion of violence; a police motorcycle was torched and a police car was overturned. These were the ingredients for complete bedlam; when the police feel that their egos have been attacked, they respond without the slightest intelligence or discretion. The result is an outpouring of sheer brute force. The press quickly descended on the scene as well, thanks to a combination of factors that was guaranteed to create stories of interest—the police, chareidim, beatings, stones, and insults. And whenever news reporters and photographers are present, it only serves to increase the ferocity of a conflict. The secular politicians were quick to denounce the chareidim for violence and to call on the government to respond to them with full force. The police commissioner announced a policy of “zero tolerance,” without even bothering to find out exactly what had happened. Even the malicious Naftoli Bennett showed up in Bnei Brak to slander the chareidim and thereby to scrape together a few more votes in the upcoming election.

The truth is that this handful of violent extremists is causing serious damage to the religious community as a whole. There is good reason that the gedolei Yisroel have repeatedly called on the public to refrain from participating in protests and from engaging in violence. Even in the Chazon Ish’s times, there was a clear ruling against violence in the chareidi camp. On the other hand, while the violent elements are condemned within the religious camp, the community continues pointing out to outsiders that this is what can be expected when the government relentlessly persecutes Torah learners. The chareidi community, including the majority that abhors violence, feels that their collective back is against the wall. The government is constantly persecuting chareidim, passing more and more decrees against them, and using the harshest possible terms against the community, branding them as criminals and draft dodgers. One can hardly expect the army and police to be greeted with smiles and flowers when they show up.

I was irked when Prime Minister Netanyahu was quick to condemn the “attack” on the female soldiers on Sunday night. “I forcefully condemn the violent riots in Bnei Brak against IDF soldiers and the Israel Police,” Netanyahu said. “This is an extremist minority that does not represent the chareidi population as a whole. This is a very serious breach, which is completely unacceptable. We will not permit anarchy, and we will not tolerate any harm to those who serve in the IDF and the security services, who perform their jobs with dedication and determination.” The chief of staff of the IDF joined the party as well, issuing his own condemnation. But the problem is that neither of them took the time to find out exactly what had happened!

Personally, I am not taking a position on Sunday’s events. We must all wait to hear what the gedolei Yisroel have to say. But one thing is clear: Just as we all condemn and abhor the handful of violent extremists in the chareidi camp, we must likewise condemn and abhor the police officers who have no qualms about rampaging through neighborhoods, attacking civilians, throwing smoke grenades, and dispensing vicious beatings.

On Sunday night, due to the violence and police brutality, and possibly because of the many arrests and beatings, Rav Dov Landau issued another letter warning bochurim to refrain from involvement in such incidents. The letter was also signed by Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rav Landau’s fellow rosh yeshiva and partner in the leadership of Klal Yisroel. This is the latest in a series of such directives issued by the gedolei Yisroel.

In my estimation, this is only the beginning of the story. The incident in Bnei Brak will soon turn into more fodder for incitement against the chareidi community. For the chareidim themselves, it proves that they have reached the limits of their tolerance. To be honest, I wouldn’t even have written about it if not for the fact that it is impossible to ignore.

The IDF Admits Its Mistake

My next story is also connected to the general sense that the state and the army are suffocating the religious community in every way possible. However, I will begin at the end of the story, which is good news: Avrohom Ben-Dayan, the yungerman from Tifrach who was arrested on motzoei Shabbos of Parshas Yisro and transferred to the military police when he was found to be a draft evader, was released long before the end of the ten-day sentence handed down by a military court. Ben-Dayan was freed last week on erev Shabbos.

There are a couple of things that can be learned from this story. First, it highlights the army’s obtuseness and lack of sensitivity. Ben-Dayan was arrested on motzoei Shabbos and spent Sunday asking for access to his tefillin (or any tefillin) only to be repeatedly told to wait—until he was transferred to a military facility, until he was officially processed, until after the roll call, and so forth. The bottom line was that on that Sunday, for the first time in his life, he did not have the opportunity to wear tefillin.

This is relevant to recent events, since the chief of staff released a new set of “directives of the General Staff” this week concerning accommodations for religious soldiers. The new rules are officially binding on every soldier, every officer, and the IDF as a whole. The orders were signed at the request of people who are trying to promote the draft of chareidim and who explained to the chief of staff that if there are no official orders in place safeguarding the chareidi community’s standards, conscription of chareidim will never happen. I won’t get into the contents of the new orders, however, since, with all due respect to the chief of staff, I do not trust the army. It is a large and complex system, and it doesn’t always keep its word.

Another takeaway from Ben-Dayan’s experience is that the army sometimes admits its mistakes and tries to correct them. After coming under fire from rabbonim and Knesset members for preventing the yungerman from wearing tefillin, the army released an official response, issued by its spokesman, that read: “The detainee was arrested on motzoei Shabbos by the Israel Police and was transferred to the military police. The detainee remained in detention throughout the night until early in the morning. He davened during his detention, and when he arrived at the military prison in the afternoon, he asked the reception team for an opportunity to put on tefillin and was told that he would receive that opportunity when he arrived at the detention compound. However, due to an unexpected delay in the absorption process, according to a report that was received after the fact, the detainee ultimately did not have a chance to wear tefillin. It must be made clear that this was an extremely unusual incident that does not conform to the army’s procedures. The IDF apologizes for the aggravation. The regulations in the prison have been revised for immediate implementation, and this subject will be investigated in depth by the commanders, to prevent similar situations in the future. The detainee is currently in the facility where all the necessary supplies are available for his way of life.”

In any event, Ben-Dayan was released on erev Shabbos, presumably because the army realized that they had committed a mistake. Upon his release, Ben-Dayan visited Rav Dov Landau to thank him for his efforts on his behalf and his encouragement. (Rav Landau had written a letter to him and had spoken with his wife.) The yungerman’s father pointed out that Rav Landau had given him a brocha for his son to be freed “before Shabbos.” At the time, it seemed like an encouraging wish that could not come true, since the yungerman had already been sentenced to ten days behind bars. “The rov performed a miracle,” someone said enthusiastically upon hearing the story.

Rav Landau scoffed at the idea. “What miracle?” he said dismissively. “That just means that this was the decree in Shomayim.”

Trump Attacks, Herzog Is Shocked

The president of the United States cannot seem to stop sending Israel into a tizzy. Last Wednesday, President Trump met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a meeting that was clearly urgent since it was scheduled mere days in advance. The context of the meeting was presumably America’s intent to conduct negotiations with Iran. There is no doubt that Netanyahu would prefer to see the United States launch an uncompromising battle against Iran. But did Netanyahu succeed in swaying Trump? Or, perhaps, did Trump sway him? Opinions on that issue are divided in Israel between Netanyahu’s detractors and his supporters.

On the day after their meeting, President Trump threw a curve ball by directing scathing criticism at President Yitzchok Herzog, asserting that Herzog “should be ashamed of himself” for his refusal to grant a pardon to the prime minister. Trump announced to the media, “Netanyahu was a very good wartime prime minister. He was very strong, and we worked with him very well. We had tremendous success against Iran and in everything else we did, and he has really been exceptional as a wartime prime minister, and that isn’t an easy task. You know, there is a president in Israel who is refusing to give him a pardon in the trial that is taking place now. I think that is disgraceful…. The president of Israel has the primary power to grant pardons, and he isn’t doing it. He has said five times that he will do it, but he doesn’t want to do it now, probably because he will lose his power. I think that the people of Israel should really shame him. It’s a disgrace that he isn’t giving it; he needs to give it.”

When Trump made these comments, Herzog was on his way back to Israel from an official visit to Australia, where he received an outpouring of sympathy but was also targeted by anti-Israeli protests. The president was reportedly shocked by Trump’s rebuke and consulted with his advisors throughout his return flight to plan his response. Herzog’s first move was to release an official response essentially stating that there are certain rules for this process and that the request for a pardon was under review but a final decision hasn’t yet been made. Meanwhile, Bibi’s enemies in Israel immediately attacked Trump and warned him not to try to turn the country into a banana republic. That, of course, was only to be expected.

“Bibi was an excellent wartime prime minister, and I have been the best friend, I think, that Israel has ever had,” Trump added. “More than any president, many people say. And I will continue being that.”

Let us just mention that Netanyahu submitted an official request for a pardon in November, after insisting for a long time that he would never do so. At that point, he claimed that it was in the nation’s best interests. And since then his case has dragged on with no end in sight as he runs the country and seeks to protect its people from harm.

Does It Matter Who Instigated President Trump?

It took Herzog a day or two to recover from his shock, and then he decided to go on the offensive. According to a leaked report from unnamed sources in the president’s office, Herzog plans to demand an explanation from Netanyahu about Trump’s fierce attack on him. “The president of the state would like to understand if the prime minister was behind this aggressive statement, which was a serious attack on Israel’s sovereign status,” one media outlet reported. “Presidential officials said last night that if it is revealed that Netanyahu was behind these comments, and he was the one who stoked President Trump’s anger, a red line has been crossed. There is a difference between criticism and an insult, and Trump’s statement was an insult. Someone has instigated him.” They added knowingly, “Over the weekend, the president received dozens of calls from the United States and from Israel, and it has therefore become necessary to seek clarification from Netanyahu about these statements.”

Personally, I was astounded by this reaction. Why is the question of who instigated President Trump more important than the substance of his criticism? In my view, Herzog should respond to Trump’s argument rather than simply showering fire and brimstone in every direction. He is reacting like a person who has nothing of substance to say. Trump has a very clear opinion on the subject, and it is foolish to ignore it. Does Herzog have a logical explanation for his failure to pardon the prime minister? Why, then, does it matter if Netanyahu was involved in triggering Trump’s statement?

In any event, Netanyahu’s office responded, “President Trump’s comments regarding the pardon were made exclusively on his own initiative. The prime minister heard about it from the media and was not informed about it in advance, just as he did not know in advance that the president would mention this subject in his speech in the Knesset.” In fact, when Trump made that comment in the Knesset, he made it clear that he had spoken with Netanyahu in advance about it and that, as far as the prime minister was concerned, it wasn’t on the table. “I told him that I wouldn’t bring up the issue of the pardon, but it was simply the perfect moment,” Trump said as he headed to the airport for his return flight. “It was good timing, wasn’t it?”

As for the issue at hand, while a request for a pardon is submitted to the president, it is reviewed by the pardons division of the Justice Ministry before he renders his final decision. The department isn’t actually subordinate to the attorney general; however, she has already indicated that she will oppose a pardon. No surprise there. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara claims that her professional opinion will be submitted to Justice Minister Yariv Levin before any progress is made on a pardon. Another leaked report from her office stated, “Senior officials in the judiciary have already emphasized that this is not a routine request for a pardon. They claimed that since Netanyahu submitted a request without confessing to a crime or expressing remorse, and before his trial ended, the routine evaluation of the request has been disrupted. For that reason, the pardons division will be unable to satisfy the critical requirements to formulate a professional opinion. Since Netanyahu’s trial hasn’t yet concluded, he is not yet defined as a convicted criminal, and it is therefore impossible to review the verdict in the trial and to receive a professional opinion on the subject.”

Judges Push the Envelope to the Max

Now that we have touched on Israel’s overactive judiciary, the next obvious topic to cover is the ongoing, and recently expanded, power struggle between the government and the Supreme Court. To be more precise, it is a struggle between the ministers of the government, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the judges of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Yitzchok Amit, whose title remains disputed.

The government recently decided to close the Galei Tzahal radio station, which is associated with the army. I won’t get into the details of why the decision was made; that is simply what the government decided, which is clearly its right. According to the government decision, the station will be shut down on March 1, less than two weeks from now. No one doubted that the Supreme Court would receive petitions against the closure, which is precisely what happened, and the judges decided to intervene. Last week, the court issued an interim order demanding an explanation from the government as to why the closure order should not be canceled. The judges instructed the government to focus its response on the legitimacy of the decision-making process and the manner in which its discretion was employed. The government’s response is due on March 15.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karchi, who spearheaded the initiative to shut down the radio station, declared in response, “The government made a clear decision to close Galei Tzahal. As an extra measure not required of them, an advisory committee was formed to examine the various aspects of the decision. There is no legal obligation for any minister or the government to do this. This decision must be executed on March 1. Even if the Supreme Court set a date for responses for its conditional order after that time, it is not a reason to freeze or cancel a legal government decision.”

In short, this is a head-on collision between the government and the court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is pushing the limits of its power in another area as well—the appointment of new judges. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who chairs the Judicial Selection Committee, has refused to convene the committee because he does not recognize Yitzchok Amit as chief justice of the Supreme Court. The court was petitioned against his decision as well, and the judges ordered the justice minister this week to explain why he is not exercising his authority to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and fill numerous vacant positions in the courts. Levin was ordered to respond by March 8. The next hearing in the court is set for the second half of April.

A third explosive issue concerns the use of spyware by the Israel Police. Months ago, outrage erupted over the revelation that the police had been spying on Israeli citizens through their cell phones without receiving permission from the courts, which is a blatant and egregious violation of civil rights. The police denied the allegations at first, but they were ultimately compelled to admit their guilt. A committee was appointed to examine the misconduct, and many senior figures in the Ministry of Justice seemed to be on the verge of being incriminated. It seemed almost guaranteed that the attorneys general both past and present would face extremely serious charges. However, the Supreme Court recently issued orders severely curtailing the investigative committee’s work. In response, the committee members resigned, blaming the Supreme Court for tying their hands to prevent them from probing the truth. Under the circumstances, they said, they saw no reason to continue their work.

This time, Yariv Levin, the minister of justice, reacted forcefully. “The people who should really be resigning today are you, the three justices of the Supreme Court—Yitzchok Amit, Ofer Grosskopf, and Khaleb Khabub,” he wrote scathingly. “You deliberately collaborated with the forces that are supposed to be involved in enforcing the law to cover up one of the most heinous affairs in the history of the state concerning breaches of human and civil rights. You, who have issued rulings time after time in favor of terrorists and their family members under the guise of concern for human rights, have revealed your true faces today. You should be sitting in your homes in disgrace in light of the words written by the members of the committee who resigned. You have betrayed your positions and have violated the privacy and civil rights of the citizens of Israel. I will continue this fight, and I will not rest until justice has been done, the criminals have been punished, and those who covered up this wrongdoing, who have betrayed the people’s trust, lose their hold on the Supreme Court.”

Indeed, the judges are pushing the envelope to its limits, and they should not be surprised by the repercussions, however drastic they may be.

Will the Spies for Iran Lose Their Citizenship?

This country generates so much news that I am always forced to forgo some of the topics I would like to discuss in this column. But the following story deserves further attention.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the phenomenon of Israelis spying for Iran. It is a very sad topic, and the phenomenon has even ensnared some chareidim, to our great chagrin. One of those suspects, a resident of Beit Shemesh, was sentenced to three years in prison last week. Another, a resident of Bais Chilkiya, is in the middle of his trial. He is being held under very harsh conditions together with other suspects facing the same charges, even though their trials haven’t yet concluded.

Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered law enforcement officials to begin the process of stripping Israeli citizenship from anyone convicted of spying for Iran. This new directive indicates a dramatic change in policy; it is the first time that this sanction is being applied to Jewish civilians who were guilty of assisting the enemy, and not only in cases of involvement in nationalistic terror. According to the reports, the attorney general supports this initiative. In a closed discussion on the topic, Netanyahu described the act of spying during wartime as a “basic breach of trust” that warrants severe measures in response. Professionals in the Ministry of Justice and the Population Authority have confirmed that the move is possible under the current law; however, a person’s citizenship can be canceled only after the judicial proceedings have been carried out and a final, irreversible conviction has been issued.

Israeli law permits the government to remove the citizenship of someone who has betrayed the state by committing espionage or treason. At the same time, both international and Israeli law do not permit leaving a person with no status at all. For an Israeli citizen who has no foreign passport, the process will result in his becoming a permanent resident rather than a citizen. This means that he can continue living in Israel and receiving basic social benefits, but he will not have the right to vote for the Knesset or to hold an Israeli passport. Aside from the bureaucratic repercussions, this penalty is meant to send a message and brand the convicted spies with a permanent mark of shame. According to Shin Bet statistics, about 40 indictments have been filed over the past two years against approximately 60 defendants, most of them citizens with no criminal records. The defense establishment has determined that the existing penalties did not create sufficient deterrence in light of the monetary incentives that the Iranians have been offering; hence, there was a need to come up with harsher punitive measures.

Maklev Thanks a Visitor from Germany

Let us move on to some less distressing subjects. MK Uri Maklev met with Julia Klockner, chairwoman of the Bundestag (the parliament of Germany), on her visit to Israel. He brought up the topics of strengthening the Jewish communities in Germany and preserving the Jewish cemeteries there. “We must step up the fight against the scourge of antisemitism and preserve the integrity and standing of Jewish cemeteries throughout the country,” he said. Maklev also thanked the German guest and her staff for the aid they provide to Holocaust survivors. Perhaps I should mention that before his resignation from his position as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Maklev was responsible for overseeing government aid to Holocaust survivors. He reportedly accomplished a great deal in this area.

Klockner met with several members of the Knesset during her visit, all of whom brought up the needs of the Jewish community in Germany. Maklev, who did his homework very well in advance of the visit, raised the issue of strengthening the country’s Jewish communities and stressed that the battle against antisemitism must be a top priority, along with practical measures to fortify the Jewish communal institutions in Germany. He also spoke about the Jewish cemeteries in the country, stressing the moral and historic obligation to preserve the cemeteries and to prevent any harm or desecration.

During the meeting, Maklev spoke highly of the economic and logistical aid that Germany provides to Holocaust survivors and emphasized that it is a moral obligation. “We appreciate everything that you have done and continue to do for the survivors; it is a significant part of the assistance they deserve,” he said.

Huckabee’s Example

At a recent ceremony at the President’s House in Yerushalayim, Ambassador Mike Huckabee publicly removed the pin that he wore as a sign of solidarity with the Israeli hostages in Gaza. “I have been wearing this pin since I arrived here,” he said. “Today, with thanks to the Creator, I am removing it since there are no more hostages in Gaza.” Huckabee expressed gratitude to Trump and to everyone else who had facilitated the process, then acknowledged the pain of the hostages’ families and added, “There have been so many prayers and hopes for this day from the families and friends of the hostages.” He added that he intends to keep the pin, albeit in the hope that it will never be needed again. I was reminded, l’havdil, of the yearly debate that many of us experience over whether we should hold on to our copies of Megillas Eicha for the following year. “I pray that I will never see this pin again,” Huckabee added, “and I pray that Israelis will never again need to wear a pin to remind them of someone being held in captivity as a hostage.”

Why do I find this interesting? Because Israeli heads of state, for some reason, rarely seem to recognize the need to give thanks to the Master of the Universe, to pray to Him, or to emulate the habits of senior American officials to end their speeches with a phrase such as “G-d bless America.” Perhaps they should take a cue from Mike Huckabee….

A Worthy Idea from Yitzchok Pindrus

Yitzchok Pindrus is a member of the Knesset again, having recently reoccupied the seat vacated by Yisroel Eichler after the latter stepped into the position of deputy minister of communications. Pindrus recently remarked to me, “We must set up some sort of body that will debunk the lies against the chareidi community and fight back against the slander.”

Unfortunately, such slander is rife. For instance, it is widely claimed that the average yungerman receives (or “extorts,” in their words) 17,000 shekels a month from the government. This lie is constantly repeated by the secular media and merely serves to fan the flames of incitement against kollel yungeleit, who struggle financially and are buckling beneath the weight of the rising cost of living. The secular press also repeatedly echoes the claims that the Israeli middle class is carrying the burden of supporting lomdei Torah, which is a brazen lie. And they also claim that chareidim do not pay taxes, which is yet another falsehood. There are many chareidim who work and pay taxes, yet this lie stubbornly persists.

These slanderous claims are constantly rehashed in radio interviews, newspaper reports, and even discussions in the Knesset. Even official documents produced by the Bank of Israel, various research institutes and think thanks, and other sources contain pure falsehoods. That alone is infuriating, and the fact that these ideas have penetrated the collective consciousness and have become accepted as fact is even more disturbing. It is not an issue to be taken lightly.

“It’s too bad,” I told Pindrus,” that we don’t have something like the ‘The Whistle.’” The financial newspaper The Marker has an incredible fact-checking feature known as ‘The Whistle,’ which examines statements made by politicians. The column, which appears regularly, begins with a quote from a politician, then cites the facts regarding the statement, and finally categorizes the statement as true, partially true, or a complete lie. For instance, they recently examined Yair Lapid’s claim that more chareidim had enlisted in the army in his day. The newspaper staff discovered, as usual, that the statements made by the chairman of Yesh Atid have absolutely no connection to reality.

“It’s a good idea, and it shouldn’t be very expensive at all,” said Pindrus. “When a lie is exposed, the liars will have to apologize. They will be shamed, and even more importantly, incitement will be cut down as a result.”

On that note, Yediot Acharonot claimed last week that “chareidim have agreed to the draft quotas, but they are actively working to convince young men not to enlist; an organization under the aegis of Degel HaTorah is distributing pamphlets about the dangers of the draft.” I do not believe that Ezram U’Moginam, the organization in question, is a division of Degel HaTorah; it is actually an initiative of Rav Yehoshua Eichenstein. This was a classic breach of journalistic ethics, and the distortion of the truth would have been exposed if the chareidi community had a fact-checking body. But as of now, there has been no response.

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch Guides Yungeleit Who Adopt Soldiers

This Sunday, a group of kollel yungeleit gathered at the Slabodka Yeshiva to receive guidance from Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch for their kiruv activities, which include an initiative focused on wounded IDF soldiers. I have written in the past about Mishnas Shimshon, Ohel Yiskah, and the organization’s new branch, Lev L’Giborei Yisroel. These yungeleit work to connect with and inspire secular soldiers, but their efforts often lead them to thorny dilemmas. For instance, what should a yungerman say if he is learning with a chavrusa in the shul in Sheba Hospital and is approached by a soldier who has lost a leg and wants to learn Torah? On the one hand, the yungerman is required to maintain the sedorim of his kollel at that time. On the other hand, how could he tell the soldier to come back only during the designated hours for patients? On a general note, as well, the yungeleit sought the rosh yeshiva’s guidance regarding how much time they should devote to kiruv and to what extent they should insist on maintaining the kollel’s schedule. And then there was a question that had nothing to do with wounded soldiers: What should a yungerman do if he is approached by an aspiring baal teshuvah at the kollel (in Petach Tikvah) during the usual hours for Torah learning? Where do they draw the line between their kiruv activities and their personal learning?

I met Rav Moshe Pincus at the yeshiva that day. Rav Moshe is a grandson of Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus and the son of my close friend, Rav Eliyohu Yitzchok Pincus. “Moishy,” whom I have known since he was born, has always distinguished himself with his noble character and brilliant mind, but he has still amazed us all with his prodigious accomplishments in such a short time. He has achieved wondrous things in Petach Tikvah, and his kindness for wounded soldiers since the beginning of the war has dazzled everyone as well. The occasion was also attended by Rav Aharon Lulicht, the head of the kiruv division of Mishnas Shimshon. Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch asked about the details of the situations, listened to the questions intently, and then responded. His words were measured and carefully thought out: “Since this is a special endeavor for people who are ill, it is necessary to devote significant amounts of time to kiruv and to add a few yungeleit who will always be available for kiruv at all hours. If a soldier or a patient who has a regular chavrusa with a certain yungerman wants to learn with him during the kollel’s regular hours, the yungerman will have to learn with him during that time as well,” he added.

Rav Moshe Hillel added another thought: “Every person has been placed by Hashem in a specific place and circumstances. If a person is in a place where the thirst for Torah exists, and he has the ability to help others, he should try not to completely neglect his personal growth, but he should still dedicate a significant part of his day to kiruv.”