The Beit Shemesh Religious Conflict
Background
Beit Shemesh “House of Sun,” rooted in Tanach, is a serene, picturesque city nestled in the rolling, grandiose Judaean Hills. Compared to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, vast areas of Beit Shemesh are fairly suburban. The city is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (15) as a city in the territory of the tribe of Judah on the border with the tribe of Dan. The book of Samuel I mentions Beit Shemesh as being the first city encountered by the ark of the covenant on its way back from Philistia after having been captured by the Philistines in battle. It is close to the Elah valley where David slew Goliath.
The city was reestablished in 1950 by new immigrants from Romania, Iraq, Iran and North Africa. Many Ethiopians settled here over the years. Since 1991 when the first English-speaking residents moved to the Sheinfeld neighborhood, there has been an exponential growth of English speakers. Following the development of the Ramah – Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph and Bet neighborhoods in 1999, Haredim from Meah Shearim** and Geula (in Jerusalem) moved into Bet while Anglo haredim and modern Orthodox (also called national religious Zionists) moved into Aleph. Unfortunately, many secular Jews have since left the Ramah and their concentration is now distributed outside the Ramah.
Today, the population of Beit Shemesh is approximately 80,000 and is a melting pot of long-time residents, new immigrants, religious and non-religious who have generally lived together in mutual respect and harmony, notwithstanding occasional eruptions of stress between the haredim* and others since the haredim began moving here over a decade ago. The haredi population of Beit Shemesh has been estimated to be about 35% but is rapidly growing. One must understand however, that the haredi community is not monolithic; many groups are represented, some of whom are more modern and tolerant and accustomed to living among other types of Jews. Haredim are distributed throughout the Ramah, but a small group of haredim, perhaps 200, who have created the religious provocations and strife in Beit Shemesh live in a specific neighborhood called Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet which borders on the modern Orthodox/national religious Zionist area of Sheinfeld.
With such an esteemed historical past, innate beauty and workable coexistence, it is a pity that the peace has recently been shattered by religious strife. What is the cause of this strife? In my opinion, there are five fundamental causes: 1) Poor city planning; 2) an incompetent city mayor sympathetic to the extremists; 3) the intolerance of and aggressive behavior toward other Jews by a small and fanatical subgroup of the Ramat Beit Shemesh “Bet” haredim; 4) the apparent absence of any responsible rabbinical leadership in the haredi community; and 5) Distortions in the media
Poor City Planning
The Israeli haredim population is growing at an estimated 6% annually, which means their population will double every 11.5 years. Today they represent about 10% of the Israeli population, but in the 1950’s they were only about 1%. I believe that 21% of the Israeli student population is haredi. Concentrated in specific areas, their neighborhoods have been busting at the seams. Therefore, they have gradually spread out beyond their traditional enclaves in Meah Shearim (in Jerusalem) and other communities into additional cities. Indeed, the same thing has occurred over the past decade in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet. They gradually spread out, to the point that they found themselves in close proximity to existing neighborhoods of the modern Orthodox/ national religious Zionist and secular communities. Unfortunately, on that border is a modern Orthodox/ national religious Zionist girls elementary school called Orot Banot. It is adjacent to Orot Banim (a boys school of the same values) which has been operating for several years. Also adjacent to these two schools is a hesder yeshiva (an Israeli yeshiva program which combines Talmudic studies with military service in the IDF within the Religious Zionist framework). When approval to build and operate Orot Banot was given 5 years ago by the city of Beit Shemesh, there were no haredim in the immediate vicinity. The school was built with money, “blood, sweat and tears” by the modern Orthodox/national religious Zionist community. That the current mayor pursued the expansion of the haredi community to be directly adjacent to Orot Banot was a case of poor city planning.
Unfortunately, a large number of what we call “kitzonim” or extremists, live in the apartment buildings adjacent to Orot Banot. According to an Op-Ed piece in the December 29 issue of Arutz 7, “The ‘Tznius War (Modesty War),’ …. concerns a certain sect of Jews who identify themselves as haredim, who have become more and more willing to use violent or offensive means to justify their goal of bringing everyone they come in contact with to their standard of modest dress” even though Orot Banot is a religious school and the girls wear shirts with long sleeves and long dresses. Over the years, these extremists, who reportedly belong to a sect called the Sikrikim (named after a first Temple period group of Jewish zealots who attacked Romans and Jews during the Roman conquest of Israel), have harassed women joggers and boys at Orot Banim. Since Orot Banot opened in September, these zealots have harassed the school girls on a daily basis. However, a red line was crossed when these self-proclaimed zealots spat on and verbally abused an 8-year old school girl and American immigrant, Naama Margolese, on her way to school. A video of Naama aired on an Israel channel 2 news program galvanized the entire country against haredim in general.
Incompetent and Biased Mayor
The Beit Shemesh mayor, Moshe Abutbol, has not only refused to intervene and protect the school girls, but he supported the zealots, indicating that he has received death threats from them, that parents should close the school and move elsewhere, and that he could not promise the safety of the school children. He further told the haredi press that the entire religious conflict in the city is the fault of 8-year old Naama Margolese and the modern Orthodox/religious Zionist community. Of course, he said the opposite to the secular press. As a result of this untenable situation, the modern orthodox/national religious parents sought support from the media, politicians and the community and staged a large protest in late December near the school. Prior to the December 27 protest against haredi extremism, the city and national government and police (who are national, not local) did little to contain the situation and arrest the hooligans, and protect the children. After the demonstration, additional police were assigned to Beit Shemesh and finally, the police are arresting the hooligans who harass children and adults.
Haredi Leadership Fuel the Fire
Painfully missing in the Beit Shemesh religious conflict are the haredi rabbis, who have not effectively spoken out to control the extremists, who after all, are damaging the image of all haredim and indeed, the international image of Israel as a free and democratic country. But the reason for this silence, if not covert support for these religious fanatics, can be found in the immensely insular and distrustful culture of some haredi factions as manifested in several media reports. Sam Sokol’s recent Jerusalem Post article quoted Professor Menachem Friedman, a leading expert on the haredi population (http://m.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=90251422&cat=2). Professor Friedman said that the public sphere is the most dangerous place for haredim; they feel the need to control it and need to take over other neighborhoods they border on and join them to their own ghetto. They are threatened by other Jews who, although religious, do not practice the strict and insular approach to Judaism as they do. They do not want their children to be exposed to alternative approaches, however valid they may be according to Jewish Law.
According to a recent Israel Hayom article, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, a leader of the Lithuanian haredim, called on followers not to join special programs (designed for haredim) offered by the State in military or civilian service and in higher education institutions. (http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=2391) He explains that these programs are subject to the rule of "rebels" and aim to bring the haredi public closer to ….the "culture of sinners". According to Elyashiv, "The secret and foundation of the existence of the world of Torah is in.…complete segregation from the life and concepts of the secular world of those rebelling against the Torah." Presumably, those rebelling against the Torah include other religious Jews. According to this same source, “The leader of the extreme Toldot Aharon Hasidic sect, Rabbi David Khan was mentioned as being behind the (haredim) riots that erupted on December 28 in Beit Shemesh as recent statements made by him incited violent clashes between haredi extremists and journalists who flocked to Beit Shemesh. "In every generation we have a war with the Greeks" the rabbi recently told his followers. "We see today that the Greeks and the Hellenists want to attack us ... each and every one of us must be vigilant. We need to fight the war of the Hasmoneans, and not be afraid of everything surrounding it…. We mustn't compromise. This is a war over the entire Jewish Home."
Distortions by the Media
While the general Israeli media generally has reported the news in a fair and balanced way, one must be clever enough to distinguish between news and commentary, a standard feature in any free society with a free press. Unfortunately, the haredim are not willing to make that distinction. As a result, they perceive they are under attack by the secular and “other” religious community. The response of the extremist haredi factions has been to display aggressive behavior and riot. Unfortunately, the haredi press both in America and Israel have distorted and inverted the news, reporting the converse of events. For example, in an Op-Ed piece in the Jerusalem Post by Nathan Slifkin, (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=252080), he mentioned that Hadash, the weekly haredi newspaper in Beit Shemesh, which was formerly owned by the mayor’s spokesman and sold to new ownership which maintains devout loyalty to the mayor and the haredi community. The front-page headline last week screamed “THE BLITZ!” stating that haredi residents of Beit Shemesh have become “a target of persecution, the likes of which have never been seen.” “The lead editorial ranted on and on about the terrible, baseless persecution of the haredi population and denounced the kippa-wearing people who brought the Banat Orot school situation to the attention of the wider public. There was not a single word condemning the haredi thugs.” This is only the tip of the iceberg in the haredi press throughout Israel and America.
Conclusion (if there can be one)
Of course, there has been tension between the haredim and the secular population of Israel for decades. One cause of this tension is the unsustainable economic perks given to a reasonably significant percentage of haredi families who do not work, receive a 90% property tax break, are able to purchase government subsidized apartments at 40-50% discounts and perhaps most troubling of all, refuse to send their sons to the IDF. And who pays for these perks? The 90% who work and pay taxes. Indeed, a fraction of these haredim openly support Israel’s enemies such as the PA and Iran and are openly anti-Zionist. These issues have set the stage for the religious-secular strife in Israel. The Beit Shemesh Orot Banot incidents have pushed the strife over the edge in Beit Shemesh.
One hopes that the voices of moderation in the haredi community (and there are such voices) will ultimately prevail; the extremist thugs will spend sufficient time in jail to sense remorse over their violation of Torah principles and halacha and that a uniquely Jewish solution to religious and cultural strife in Israel will be found…..soon.
*The Hebrew word haredi (pronounced with a guttural “ch” and not an “h”) is derived from the Hebrew root hared – fear and anxiety –meaning, 'he who is fearful of the Almighty.’ haredi appears in Isaiah 66:5: 'Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word.’ Haredim are strictly religious in the sense that they take on extra measures or fences around the Torah to ensure they do not violate the letter or spirit if Jewish law. Haredi is loosely translated as “Ultra-Orthodox”, often manifested in conservative dress: Men with long beards, in long black coats and black hats and women who cover up with sleeves up to their wrists and leggings under their long dresses so no skin shoes other than face and hands.
**Meah Shearim is a very old neighborhood of Jerusalem which is a ghetto of very strictly Ultra-Orthodox haredim, of various sects and faction.
Other Relevant and Recent Reference Articles on Religious Strife in Israel:
· http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2011/12/29/welcoming-the-charedi-spring/#ixzz1hvf0gesN
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4169332,00.html
· http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/hundreds-board-segregated-bus-lines-to-protest-ultra-orthodox-exclusion-of-women-1.404961, http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/israel-s-real-rosa-parks-takes-to-the-buses-1.403135#.TvjP4ZHccUY.twitter
· http://m.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=90251422&cat=2,
http://www.forward.com/articles/148763/?p=1,
· http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11056#.TwNFVdSiFYV
Mort Barr , based in Atlanta, spends several months in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel each year where he and his wife Edie own an apartment. This article is written at the end of a 3 month stay, in the middle of religious tensions in this central Israeli city.
