An Open Letter to the Beit Shemesh Spitter (America, Jerusalem, Israel)
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How dare you spit on an 8-year-old schoolgirl and terrorize her as she walks to school? Regardless of what she's wearing; spitting, verbal abuse, and threats of violence cannot be tolerated.
How dare you call yourself a Hareidi, God-fearing Jew? Your actions are diametrically opposed to Judaism. Your conduct, in the words of the statement from Agudath Israel of America "is beyond the bounds of decent, moral – Jewish! – behavior."
For the entire "Open Letter to the Beit Shemesh Spitter", click here.
Walter, you're sure you want to open this wound here in this forum? This is some pretty painful stuff. A real black eye to G-d fearing Jews elsewhere. I dunno, maybe it's for the best, though, as the mainstream media should be ashamed of itself for the manner in which they reported this story. I find it so interesting, that a Jewish man spits on a Jewish girl, and it becomes a world-wide story, appearing in nearly every media outlet imaginable. No murder. No intrigue. Possibly not even a crime. And the whole event is only alleged, as there is a victim, but no purpotrator. I think the reporting of the story is as much a story as the story itself.
I know someone who lives in bet shemesh. Its no lie.
It received a lot of play in Israel before being picked up here.
It is of course wrong to spit at anyone. Kol va khomer, a child.
But even more of a shanda, I think - this was a DATI child, going to, IIUC, a gender segregated girls dati school.
Instead of sending letters to spitters, we need to send letters to the state authorities who have not cracked down hard enough on this. This is only one example of people who have created a disrespect for law. What has been tolerated in meah shearim, has extended to new areas, and now folks realize whats going on. Israel was founded to be a state of laws. The memshallah CANNOT allow coalition politics to override that.
Walter, you're sure you want to open this wound here in this forum? This is some pretty painful stuff. A real black eye to G-d fearing Jews elsewhere. I dunno, maybe it's for the best, though, as the mainstream media should be ashamed of itself for the manner in which they reported this story. I find it so interesting, that a Jewish man spits on a Jewish girl, and it becomes a world-wide story, appearing in nearly every media outlet imaginable. No murder. No intrigue. Possibly not even a crime. And the whole event is only alleged, as there is a victim, but no purpotrator. I think the reporting of the story is as much a story as the story itself.
The victim happens to be American, in a community with many americans, so its perhaps not surprising the US media picked up on this. And its quite shocking in the absence of blood - really we do we need blood in the streets before we shout that enough is enough? I recall when Israel aspired to the standards of the USA and westen europe, not the standards of Iran or Yemen.
I personally know Rabbi Yaakov Saloman. He's a very straight forward and rightous man. I'm glad to see he feels this way, too. The fact that the reporting of the story has been so terribly agenda-driven does not mitigate the fact that the act itself was deplorable.
I think as Jews, we need to understand the reason this story went viral. Clearly Hashem wants us to treat our fellow man/woman (and our fellow 8 year old girl) with the highest level of respect. If Hashem had wanted this story to me muted, surely He could have arranged that. So since the story did indeed go viral, it's clear to me that Hashem is telling us something. That if we are not going to listen to Him, then he'll force us to listen to the actions of these evil men (the spitter), and even worse than that, the mainstream liberal press. It's time for us to self-police this issue better, or Hashem will send agents to police us instead. History has proven this time and time again.
I personally know Rabbi Yaakov Saloman. He's a very straight forward and rightous man. I'm glad to see he feels this way, too. The fact that the reporting of the story has been so terribly agenda-driven does not mitigate the fact that the act itself was deplorable.
dude. anyone who follows failedmessiah, or a host of other blogs, or the Israeli press, knows there are loads of things about haredi misdeeds that the mainstream press ignores.
Its been a big story in Israel. And not surprisingly. The non-haredi population has been putting up with a lot over the years - the recent protests in Tel Aviv about socio economic conditions (themselves perhaps influenced by the Occupy movement, and even indirectly by the Arab spring) may indicate a lesser willingness of Israelis to put up with the status quo.
history? When in the last 2000 years has there been a Jewish state that policed misbehaving haredim?
That's exactly my point. If religious Jews do not do a better job of policing their own actions, then they will have to endure the policing from secular Jews instead. In my mind, self-policing sounds a lot better.
That's exactly my point. If religious Jews do not do a better job of policing their own actions, then they will have to endure the policing from secular Jews instead. In my mind, self-policing sounds a lot better.
this isnt religious vs secular. The victims are "religious" its haredi vs dati leumi in beit shemesh - and haredi vs everyone else in the larger struggle.
"Little Na’ama Margolese is not the first Israeli child to be harassed on her way to school by members of a fundamentalist ultra-Orthodox sect who resent her presence in or around their neighborhood. But the 8-year-old girl is the first to have her plight featured on Israeli television and turned into an international news story. And she is definitely the first to have a determined, organized group of politically and media savvy families behind her, a cohort made up almost entirely of Modern Orthodox immigrants from the United States.
“They messed with the wrong crowd this time,” my friend Sara Eisen, a marketing executive and member of that community, told me. “This time, the bullies came up against Americans.”"
but yes - if the haredim mostly reject the sikkirim they should stand up and do something. Not self policing - but full support for the use of the instruments of the state to enforce the law. That can start with the haredi mayor of Bet shemesh. It should also including supporting the jerusalem municipal authorities in enforcing the right of anyone of either gender to walk freely in any part of Jerusalem.
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