בס“ד
Young Israel of Forest Hills
7100 Yellowstone Blvd., Forest Hills, NY 11375
718-268-7100 (Office) 718-268-7102 (Fax)
youngisraelfh@aol.com
Yehuda L. Oppenheimer
Rabbi
Sholom Simanowitz
President
Where is the Outrage?
As we approach the saddest time of the Jewish Year, our collective thoughts turn to the destruction of the
Bais HaMikdosh, our Holy Temple, and the root causes for that destruction, in keeping with the famous
Halachic dictum, “Every generation that does not see the rebuilding of the Temple in its time, is to be
considered as a generation worthy of its destruction.”
The root cause most often pointed to is Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, and the Talmudic story that paints the
clearest picture of this problem is the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, cited on Gittin 56a. Briefly, there was
an individual who hated Bar Kamtza so much that he refused any offer, no matter how generous, to spare Bar
Kamtza public humiliation. This so angered Bar Kamtza that he slandered the Jewish people to the Roman
authorities. The greatest source of Bar Kamtza's rage was his consternation that many great Rabbis from
Jerusalem were present at his public humiliation, and did nothing to protest this travesty. In Bar Kamtza's
words, “As the Rabbis were present, saw everything, and did not protest, they obviously had no objection to
my embarrassment! I'll go now, and have a little feast-of-slander with the king." Not voicing an objection, not
protesting when an outrageous wrong is done, can bring about terrible consequences.
The requirement to protest a wrong stems from the Torah itself, wherein we are commanded, “Surely shall
you reproach your fellow”, “You shall remove evil from your midst”, and many other such statements. This
admonition to correct the wrongs of individuals and of groups is the subject of much halachic discussion as to
the appropriate time and place, and methods, and its depth is beyond the scope of this essay.
Nevertheless, clearly, there is a tradition of protest and outcry against societal ills that are found in our
people, especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and most particularly among the community known as the
Chareidim, or Fervently Orthodox. All manner of religious lapses by the surrounding community, large and
small, have been protested now for many years. Some of these protests are at hafganot, or large public
demonstrations, some in the form of pashkevils, or admonitory posters, that adorn billboards all over town
decrying this or that breach of standards, and some take the form of cherem, or banning of the perpetrators.
The subjects of the various protests and bans are wide-ranging, and have recently included books, authors,
concerts, entertainers, cellphone users, internet users, women who serve in Sherut Leumi, and a variety of
others who run afoul of the organizers of this or that protest. Some of these are accompanied by well-
reasoned positions, some are angry screeds; some represent one group and some another. Elections bring
about more intense protests, advocating voting for this party or that, or not to vote in the elections at all.
Importantly, however, there is one common denominator in all of these efforts, and that is that they all seek
to buttress their legitimacy by quoting great Rabbis who support the positions taken. This can lead to
confusion, as there are all too often times that the views of one group of respected Rabbis conflict with those
of others. Nevertheless, Rabbinic approval of the position taken is crucial in getting one's views heard, and
thus the printed opinions of Great Rabbis carries great weight and importance.
In this writer's view, many of the protests undertaken have been important and necessary. Having lived in
Yerushalayim for many years, and having attended some of the major Chareidi yeshivos and a number of
demonstrations, I am aware that:
(a) the holiness and sanctity of the city is extraordinary, and much of the existence of that sanctity is
due to the resistance that the religious community has put up against an encroaching secular culture that
constantly seeks to impose its views on the that community, and that
(b) for better or worse, it is sometimes necessary to come out and demonstrate and loudly to voice
one's concerns, or else they are not heard in the Israeli milieu.
In particular, I believe that it is true that without some of the demonstrations in the past for the holiness of
Shabbos, the special indescribable spiritual atmosphere in Yerushalayim might have been greatly attenuated.
I remember in particular the demonstrations that were held in the late seventies to protest the plans of then-
mayor Teddy Kollek to erect a major sports stadium immediately adjacent to several religious neighborhoods.
The non-violent, but loud and firm, voice of a united Chareidi community thankfully did much to cause a
change of those plans.
It is important to note, as well, that demonstrations are an important part of Israeli culture. From the early
demonstrations against the British, to Menachem Begin leading demonstrations against taking reparations,
to Demonstrators for Peace in Kikar Rabin, or for a United Jerusalem outside the Old City, demonstrations
are an accepted method of voicing public concerns.
Nevertheless, over the past ten or more years, there is a not insignificant number of Chareidi protesters who
have turned what might be defended as a positively motivated expression of spiritual anguish into an ugly
recurring spectacle of the worst kind of Chillul Hashem – Desecration of G-d's name. In no particular order,
here are some of the more egregious examples of this behavior lately:
A few years ago, incessant weekly demonstrations at Bar Ilan Road that grew ugly, had many
instances of rocks being thrown at cars and police, while the police were called Nazis and pigs.
Groups that sought to hold non-Orthodox group prayer at the Western Wall were pelted with rocks
and feces on Shavuos.
Several modern Orthodox women were severely beaten in Bet Shemesh for not adhering to the
recently arrived Chareidi group's new demands for changes in their dress code. Other women who did
not agree to move to the back of the bus in Jerusalem were beaten as well.
In the demonstrations for Shabbos over the past few weeks regarding the opening of a parking garage,
violent protesters threw rocks at police officers and called them Nazis.
Long-time Chabad Rav Mordechai Asher of Kiryat Yovel was severely beaten by four “Avreichim”
when he did not kowtow to their demands for changes in his shul.
Worst of all, violent protests are ongoing against the police and Hadassah Hospital, who are trying to
protect a mother who has allegedly been starving her child to near death. These protests include
overturning dumpsters and using them to start fires, dismantling of traffic lights, bringing all public
transportation to a standstill, cutting of electrical lines, and hurling of stones at the police while
calling them Nazis, because of the suspicion that the police and doctors have concocted this whole
scenario to steal Chareidi children from their mothers and communities.
Though I know that there will be defenders of all of these, it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that each of
these instances has done incalculable harm to Kovod Shamayim. When taken together, it is clear that these
horrible actions destroy any possible chance that others will see Chareidi Jews as anything but mindless,
violent, even cruel religious fanatics who represent everything that is evil and reprehensible about religion;
no better than the Taliban and other fundamentalist groups.
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If one investigates closely, one can find this Rabbi or that one who has decried this or that demonstration or
outburst as beyond the pale of acceptable behavior. But loud, public, across-the-board condemnations? They
are nowhere to be found.
And therefore I must protest, “WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?”
Where is the unified voice of our great Rabbinic leaders that will demand an end to the
toleration of hooliganism and savagery in the name of Chareidi Judaism? When will this
terrible desecration of G-d's name be halted? Why does one hear nothing but silence from our
leaders on this most crucial topic?
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE ? Where are the pashkevils, and the protests, and the cherems that ought to be
pronounced against the hooligans? Surely this is worthy of at least as much attention as questionable books
on science that few had read before their banning, or of concerts that have been deemed injurious.
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? What will it take, once and for all, for the silent majority of Chareidi Jews to
stand up and spit these terrible hooligans out of their midst, and clearly and publicly, not just internally,
reject and repudiate them?
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? When will we make sure that impressionable young Yeshiva students are not
influenced by the hooligans to behave in ways that counter our Torah’s message that “Its ways are of
pleasantness, all its paths are of Peace”? Do they not see the many young people that have been drawn into
these protests and have unwisely lent strength to the hooligans? I know of several cases of American
bochurim being swayed by extremist arguments and rhetoric and joining forces with the hooligans, only to be
punished severely by the Israeli police. Why are they not hearing from our leaders, in a loud, public, and
clear voice that this is not the way?
WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? Why, when these people are doing everything to make Torah and observance
hated in the eyes of the public, is there silence from those who admonish us to adhere to the dictum of Yoma
86 that we are to try to make the name of Heaven beloved to all, and not heaven forfend, the reverse?
WHERE, INDEED, IS THE OUTRAGE?
If there was ever a time to speak out for the Honor of Hashem this is it. It is time for the majority of
Chareidim, who are not part of the Eida Chareidis/Satmar/Toldos Aharon/Neturei Karta, for whom any
action of the police or government is suspect, to declare:
“We decry the terrible and senseless violence that has gone on for too long in the name of Chareidi
Judaism. We wish to make it very clear, that we, the great majority of those who are called Chareidim, who
are generally represented by the parties of Agudas Yisroel, Degel HaTorah, Shas, and UTJ, have deep
fundamental disagreements with the perpetrators of these crimes. While we are not Zionists, we recognize
that the State of Israel is the homeland of the largest community of Jews in the world and we pray and hope
for its continued success in providing peace, security and basic services for its citizens. As citizens, we pay
taxes, engage in business, are grateful for the protection of the IDF, are thankful for the medical care that
we receive from caring doctors and staff, and recognize that with all its faults, the State has made it
possible for a tremendous renaissance of Torah learning and observance – for this we are grateful. Please
know that the terrible hooligans represent only themselves, and are a source of painful embarrassment and
anguish to us. We are devastated that these hooligans are being confused with the general Chariedi public,
and we pledge to do all we can to ensure that they are marginalized and ostracizd from our communities.
For us, authentic Chareidi Judaism means living in a way that sanctifies Hashem at all times, and that is
what we seek to achieve, above all else.”
It is time that these terrible acts be stopped, for the God of Israel, and in sanctification of His holy name.
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