Meah Shearim – Strife Erupts Between Hasidic, Extremist Sects Over Holiday Festivities

    23

    The extremists\' protestMeah Shearim – They say that if you haven’t seen a Simchat Beit Hashoeva festivities (water-drawing festival), you have never really witnessed true elation.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    However, the past celebration in the Orthodox neighborhood of Meah Shearim this Sukkot may leave some room for interpretation.

    The water-drawing festival is a time-honored tradition held in the Hasidic courts of the capital for decades. The celebrations are a known crowd draw, with some 15,000 people visiting the events every night, in the past few years.

    This year, an all out war ensued between the Toldot Aharon Hassidic sect and the extremists whose stronghold is the Ohel Sarah Synagogue; blows were given and received on both sides.

    Each Sukkot, thousands of people pile into the neighborhood to participate in the festivities at the synagogues and batei midrash (religious study halls) spread throughout Meah Shearim and its surrounding neighborhoods.

    In the last few, the streets have been divided and the men have been asked to pass on one side and the women on the other.

    This holiday eve, the arrangement did not satisfy extreme groups including the Sicarii who began threatening that they will physically prevent the entrance of the masses of visitors, especially women, since this situation is likely to impinge chastity levels which exist in the city throughout the remainder of the year.

    In addition, about 2,000 signatures were collected from neighborhood residents calling to completely cancel the festivities.

    Finally, Badatz (the Court of Justice in the Orthodox community), decided that the celebrations will only continue until 12:30 am instead of 2:30 am as they did every year.

    Moreover, it was decided to close the women’s section to outside visitors and only the wives and daughters of the area’s Yeshiva students were permitted to enter with a special authorization issued to them.

    During the holiday, visitors were separated according to gender on Meah Shearim Street in order to maintain chasteness.

    The women-intended side was covered in cloth sheets but people in the neighborhood were angered by the fact that the men’s section was on the side of the Toldot Ahahron Beit Midrash and their goal is to attract a crowd to the area, especially donators and to their dismay, “instead of spending time on Jaffa Street they come to Meah Shearim” said Yisrael Meir Hirsh who lives in the neighborhood.

    According to him, the separation apparatus created by Toldot Aharon was constructed in a way in which it is impossible to pass by on the street or enter the Toldot Avraham Yitzhak Beit Midrash and “they (Toldot Aharon members) caused all the looseness and disorder in the neighborhood during the holiday.”

    Thus, last Thursday a number of Yeshiva students from Ohel Sarah decided to block all passage to women in protest against what they believe were defective separation arrangements.

    The outcomes of the extremists’ deeds had already boiled the blood of Toldot Aharon members and punches were thrown on both sides. One of the boys even found himself unconscious at the Bikur Cholim Hospital.

    The following day, three accusatory and curse-filled notices were printed.

    In one of the announcements, the extremists blamed the, “group of hooligans from Toldot Aharon.”

    They also included messages like, “Tens of thousands and amongst them whores, arrived from around the country and flooded the narrow alleyways of the neighborhood…”

    The opening shot fired on Thursday night continued to reverberate in the neighborhood throughout Shabbat in which property was damaged.

    Hirsh, for instance, had stones thrown on his sukkah and one of them cracked a house window under which his baby daughter was lying. “It was a miracle nothing happened,” he said.

    Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, the Chief Rabbi or Govad of the haredi Rabbinical Court, was compelled to intervene and asked both sides to, “keep a low profile.”
    Simchat Beit Hashoeva festivities
    After the rabbi’s intervention, the extremists really did not go out into the streets to block the women’s passageway but they decided to hold a prayer and psalm-reading gathering as a result of the looseness that spread throughout their neighborhood.

    However, some of the signs carried by those who assembled after Shabbat at the Meah Shearim square once again boiled the blood of Toldot Aharon.

    The signs denounced the phenomenon of looseness and one of them read, “Murderers in stripes.” This was in protest to the severe beating they received two days earlier by the Hassidic group identified by their striped clothing.

    A short while afterwards, a group of Yeshiva students from Toldot Aharon arrived. According to reports from the scene, they poured tear gas and beat some of the extremists, threw tables and broke benches.

    Following the violent acts, additional announcements were printed and placed on neighborhood walls. This time, the title was “Blood-cravers.’

    The notices hung by Toldot Aharon claimed that their rivals will not stop beating Yeshiva students at the appearance of blood, but that in the heat of their passion for murder they threw a rock inside one of the sukkot to purposely kill a woman in confinement there.

    Toldot Aharon was also accused of threatening to entirely burn a synagogue with the Torah scroll in it.

    Hirsh, and the rest of the Ohel Sarah Synagogue worshippers are unwilling to allow this “pogrom” they endured to be left unanswered. “We will raise hell against their cruelty,” he promised.

    Another Meah Shearim inhabitant who tried to remain neutral actually cried to Ynet about the war between the sides and the fact that it occurred during the Sukkot holiday in which it is a mitzvah (good deed) to be joyful.

    “The hatred that exists between the sides is awful. Instead of dancing and rejoicing, they are fighting. If this is what’s going on in Meah Shearim, I guess the Messiah must really be coming soon,” he said hopefully.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    23 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    FinVeeNemtMenSeichel
    15 years ago

    This rish’us of fanatics cannot remain concealed forever. Hayadayim yedei eisav. i’m glad i’m just a god fearing moderne bum.

    Disgusted
    Disgusted
    15 years ago

    Huh, and I thought that Sukkos and Simchas Torah emphasized achdus and ahavas yisroel. Silly me.

    ex frummie
    ex frummie
    15 years ago

    “The hatred that exists between the sides is awful. Instead of dancing and rejoicing, they are fighting. If this is what’s going on in Meah Shearim, I guess the Messiah must really be coming soon,” he said hopefully.

    Hmmmmm……………..I got nothing

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    FYI, the Ohel Sarah shul is the stronghold of the NK. Yisroel Meir Hirsch is the head of that group in Meah Shearim…

    DerNister
    DerNister
    15 years ago

    Can someone please remind me what is the problem with television?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    and they speak against the rest of the world who would give up their own bed for theses ……. at least we dont fight with each other we help each other care for each other… but hey dont listen to this singer he is a shaygitz his music isnt kosher

    Macabi
    Macabi
    15 years ago

    This is what their anger “boils over”, petty disputes with one another, while Yerushalayim Ihr Hakodesh is being sold out from under us.

    Let all these “heroes” who are so talented at beating up other Jews actually fights Arabs instead of acting like Esav and beating other Jews

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    These guys were probably abused as children. As they say abuse leads to more abuse.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    All the kannaishe movements whose philosophy is based on sinas chinam eventually end up fighting amongst themselves. Look exactly at where the recent splits have occurred.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Umm . .
    Actually, this has nothing to do with fanaticism or ideology.
    These two groups have been rivals and bitter enemies for years.
    One is the son-in-law of the previous Rebbe and the other is the son.
    Sounds familiar?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    JOBLESS BUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    library lover
    library lover
    15 years ago

    Rest assured, the Arabs are thrilled with this..these ‘chassidim’ should be very proud of their horrible chilul Hashem…Im sure their Rebbe is as well..NOT

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    sounds like iran to me

    JEW BOY
    JEW BOY
    15 years ago

    NOT PASHUT TIMES

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    hopefuly this will cause a civil war among these exremist and all will come to a standstill after they beat each other up. AMEN

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Why would any women want to go there at all. There are other Simchos Bais Hashoevos to go to that aren’t as antagonistic to woman.

    Inspired
    Inspired
    15 years ago

    This report sounded like a really bad movie…. actually like a nightmare! When G-d told us to rejoice on sukkos, and YErushalayim is as ‘lifnei Hashem’ as you can get (besides right next to the kotel), I’m sure this is what he had in mind.
    Did any of these thugs observe Yom Kippur and pay any attention to the davening? Or did that wear off just days later….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    We can all be very judgemental when we are behind the mask of an anonymous or fictitious title. It is important to understand that every sect and group has their own issues. The correct way to respond to such an article is by assuming that you probably do not know most of the story (and reading a slanted article only serves to confuse you). We also all have such a non-realistic stereotype of Meah Shearim that seems to crumble with your reading of this article. There is more to the story and communities than what you read. It isn’t as simple nor as evil as all of you previous commentors would like to believe.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    All of this chillul Hashem came about because fanatical kanoiim were so obsessed with keeping women out to supposedly preserve the “modesty” and “purity” of their area. But in reality, by seeing pritzus where none existed, they proved that they have dirtier minds than even, say, Bill Clinton. Shame on them.

    murray
    murray
    15 years ago

    Just an observation- is their a correlation between the rise in extreme anti contact with females and the rise in illegal,illicit contact with young males?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    murray’s right, just let the women cross and you’ll see true simcha!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Anonymous

    the rambam at the end of hilchos lulav when describing the laws of simcha on yom tov writes that we must appoint guards to prevent any taruvos r”l .it is meduiak from the placement of this halacha that real simcha cannot exist through taaruvos rather it is holilus . we should all be zoche to the ultimate happiness bimheira