Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Back in 1970, I remember Beit Shemesh as a little village, one that barely had people. Today, it is a city of 80,000 people—but this is one small city where its Orthodox citizens are imploding.

The time: Any day of the week you choose . . .

The place: The local elementary school in Beth Shemesh.

The scene: Haredi Jews threaten young 8-12 year old Jewish girls with violence.

No, this is not Cracow, 1943. No, the anti-Semites are not the ones threatening Jews—Jews are threatening Jews.

The elementary school happens to be an Orthodox school for girls. The children are modestly dressed in accordance with Jewish law. Yet, the Haredi (better known as “Ultra-Orthodox” Jews) are screaming at the girls, “Prostitutes,” “whores,” and so on. The police provided an escort so that none of the girls would be attacked by the pious Haredim.

Why are the Haredim so upset? Well, to put it simply: they hate women. This is the same group that wants women to sit at the back of the bus, or avoid walking on the Haredi streets. Although their neighbors are Orthodox Zionists, they are not “kosher,” in the eyes of the Haredim. By the way, this is the same group of people who are known for spitting at the Greek Orthodox priests in Jerusalem. By the way, they also spit on women whenever they try praying at the Western Wall.

According to one article, “The campaign [ of normal people fighting back] is being driven by a small group, say parents and activists who label their Haredi opponents kanaim – loosely translated as extremist, fanatic, zealot, fundamentalist. What they do is described as “terrorism”. ‘They [the Haredi] instil fear, they use terror tactics,’ Michal Glatt, the mother of a 10-year-old pupil, says. ‘Screaming at little girls? What other word is there but terrorism?’”

Yet, Haredi terrorism also has a deviant side that the news media fails to bring out in their coverage: When a community activist named Rabbi Dov Lipman asked one protester why they were focusing on the way small girls dress, he was told “even an eight-year-old draws my eyes”.

Yeah, there’s a name for this kind of man . . .

In their warped minds, the Haredim do not see anything wrong with their behavior.

Yet, there is also a political agenda at here: By making life miserable for their religious neighbors, the Haredim are hoping to take over the city because normal people do not want to see their precious children get hurt.

Frankly, I do not understand why the Israeli government does not arrest the culprits and thrown them in jail for a couple of years. Spitting at a Greek Orthodox or non-Haredi Jew ought to be considered assault and battery. The rule ought to apply to spitting a young girls and women of all ages who refuse to look and talk like Haredim.

The Israeli police has been reluctant to really hold these Jewish hooligans accountable, and until the Israeli police starts caring for the welfare of all its citizens, the problems of Beit Shemesh get worse before it gets better. By doing nothing, the police are quiescently approving of their behavior. Are the sensible people in Israeli society going to sit still and do nothing??