Jerusalem – Reporter: Tension Within Israeli Society With Charedim In Mea Sharim [Documentary Video]

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    Evan Wiilliams Reporter for Ch 4 on the tension within Israeli society with the Charedi communityJerusalem – Unreported World a European TV news station travels to Israel to reveal how the rapid growth of Jewish ‘fundamentalists’ is creating tension within Israeli society and endangering any negotiations on a peace deal with the Palestinians.

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    Reporter Evan Williams and director Alex Nott begin their journey in the Mea Sharim district of Jerusalem. It’s the heartland of ultra-Orthodox Jews known as the Haredi, or ‘those who fear God’. They find a poor, overcrowded part of the city where everyone is wearing clothes in the style of 18th-century Europe, from where most of their ancestors came. ‘We are the real Jews,’ says one community leader, ‘everyone else in Israel just happens to be born Jewish.’

    Many of the Haredi sects were almost wiped out in the Holocaust. But their numbers are growing fast. Haredi are the fastest growing segment of Israeli society, with many families having as many as eight children. ‘Every 20 years we have a community that is growing at eight or nine times,’ says one of the Haredi men to Williams. ‘It means we are growing in size and influence.’

    Many Haredi men in Israel don’t work as they receive government subsidies to spend their entire lives studying the Torah and religious texts. One Rabbi from the Reform wing of Judaism tells Williams that, because Haredis are exempt from military service and heavily subsidised, they are creating huge tensions within the country.

    In an inner-city neighbourhood the team find the Haredi imposing strict segregation of the sexes on public buses. Then they meet one woman who lived in the Haredi community who claims she was beaten up in her own home by a so-called Haredi Modesty Squad after she left her husband.

    Across town, the team finds a group of Haredi men protesting outside the home of a government social worker who had a Haredi child taken away from his mother due to claims the mother may have been starving the boy. The Haredi protestors tell the team they don’t recognise the state and reject any state interference in their family or community affairs, which they consider sacred.

    The team finds that Haredi are increasingly becoming an issue in the conflict with Palestinians due to their need for housing. Two hours north of Jerusalem, at a new development in a part of the country which is 80% Arab Palestinian and 20% Jewish, the team is told by a local peace activist that the Israeli government is building a city for 150,000 Haredi as a way of balancing the Arab population growth in the area. In the West Bank, the team visits another city, where Israeli soldiers are guarding a Haredi construction project despite protests from Palestinians who say it is being built on their farmland.

    Williams and Nott return to Jerusalem to find out why the Haredi seem to be able to protect their economic and social privileges. They are told the Haredi are becoming increasingly powerful politically and with about 10% of the seats in the Knesset they now hold the balance of power and are necessary partners for any major party wanting to form a government.

    Later the team is caught up in a Palestinian protest fueled by rumours that another separate group of extremists, the religious-nationalists, are trying to occupy the Temple Mount – Judaism’s Holiest site – by entering the most prominent Mosque in the city.

    As Unreported World discovers, the moderate voices in Israel are increasingly being forced to accommodate growing extremism of all kinds if they are going to approach anything like a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.

    Watch below documentary by Evan Williams and director Alex Nott
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    31 Comments
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    Big Masmid
    Big Masmid
    14 years ago

    Big Kiddush Hashem to see observant Jews being so proud of keeping the Torah rules

    Simple Solution
    Simple Solution
    14 years ago

    the growing Haredi influence and the tremendous damage that results from it is, by far, the defining issue faced by the country (much more than Iran or anything else). There is, however, a simple solution to save the country. The vote must be conditioned upon actual contribution to the State. Those of military age that shirk their duties should be denied the vote….those that are on perpetual welfare should be denied the vote. This is the only way to prevent the parasites from cosuming the entire country.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    totally biased- It’s amazing that they were “only” able to find people to interview, that would help there claim.

    Reader of Hebrew, the Holy Tongue
    Reader of Hebrew, the Holy Tongue
    14 years ago

    EXACTLY what Torah teaches . . .

    The world is now focusing on what is says is THE cause of all problems, controversies, disagreements, conflicts, and tension . . . Torah-observant Jews.

    Strengthen and gird yourselves, Yidden!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The Haredi protestors tell the team they don’t recognise the state and reject any state interference in their family or community affairs, which they consider sacred.

    yet they take $$$ from the state which doesnt really exist-

    propaganda
    propaganda
    14 years ago

    This is no more than a left wing hit piece, short on facts and long on propaganda. I invite you to read “Real Jews ” by Noah Efron, a secular Israeli and no friend of Chareidim.It is truly an eye opening and scholarly work that puts the lie to secular hit pieces like this
    Amongst the little known facts
    1) as of the 2003 cencus Chareidim made up aprox 7% of the population
    2) university students mostly secular are given military waivers which they manage to keep until they are too old to be drafted.
    these are just some of the facts that the mainstream media would like you not to know.
    Ironically Mr. Williams vists Belz one of the few Chasidic courts that encourages military service ang gainful employment. Having said that some of our charedie bretheren need to learn some simple human courtesy. Spitting is disgusting and has no place in civil discourse
    Unfortunately ,many of us do not heed the dictum” Da Mah Lehoshiv”

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    This article is very helpful to build a case for restricting the rights of the chareidim if they persist in their refusal to recognize the medinah and its laws. Most chareidim live quiet lives of torah study and don’t pose any risk. At some point, however, all options are on the table, including either long terim imprisonment or expulsion from EY for those few who commit violent acts. These so called yidden are a fifth column within the state or pose the same kind of security risk as the islamic terrorists and are multiplying as quickly.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    This report is relatively fair to the Frum yiden. The only negativity was the fact that the Chareidim take from the Medina but give nothing in return.

    Eli
    Eli
    14 years ago

    Interesting to see Yoelish Kraus (video 1 at 5:55) talking to this reporter without attacking him, I think he was also accused of attacking the lady in the second video. (as seen on VIN a few months ago)

    a belze
    a belze
    14 years ago

    i was in the belz shul when the T V crew was there and i listend to most of the men being interviewd all of them said very clearlly that most of the charaidy comunity is against any violence and are not part of the violent protest , but the reporter forgot to mention that fact, not a word in the whole program was given to the majority of the frum comunity that aposses any act of violence against any humen being i am disapointed from chanel 4 i belived that they are a trustworthy chanel BUT NOT ANY MORE they are just another “ratting hungry” chanel, i wish we would not have let them come to our shul

    Babishka
    Member
    Babishka
    14 years ago

    Ponder the fact that bills have been introduced in the Knesset to deny welfare benefits to those who fail to perform army service or national service and they were voted down because of “racism” (meaning that Arabs would not receive benefits).

    So would it be OK to continue giving out welfare benefits to the Arabs but deny the same to the Haredim, since that would not be “racist.”

    matzahlocal101
    matzahlocal101
    14 years ago

    It’s funny that the chareidim, who would be very happy living in the holyland with an Arab government, the way many of them did for generations, are now the major point of contention in the Israeli Palestinian peace process. No-one of course would dare cite the Palestinian Authority for their failure to build decent housing in the Gush Katif settlements that were “returned” to them for that purpose. At the same time, the hypocritical Zionist Government that whines about having to pay these “parasites who don’t work” is stocking Arab areas as the only way to “balance” the population. i.e., to keep the Jewish state Jewish. So while the Leftists, the Palestinians, and the Zionists are speaking out of both sides of their mouths, The Chareidim are saying we want to observe Torah and Mitzvos and be left alone, and everyone else feels that’s the problem.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Just suppose for a second that there were no charedim at all in Israel. How long would the state last? This is a serious question. Think about it objectively. Whatever the secularists are giving them they are getting an absolute bargain and not a fraction of what the charedim are worth and are contributing to the future and security of Israel.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    without watching the report and just reading what has been written i can see that the whole issue is one large anti charedi libel. in mea shearim there are hundreds of small businesses known in other parts of the world as cottage industries as well as large retail and manufacturing businesses. these people are working(!) and paying taxes as are each and every member of this ultra(!) fundamentalist society whenever they board a bus or buy one of the many products which are taxed.

    secondly, the fallacy that the charedi sector which “does not work” is the same as those who have 10% of the representation in the Knesset is more proof of the one sidedness of this article. The Meah Shearim traditionals do not vote and have NO direct representation at all in knesset. The 10% is from Aguda/Degel and Shas.

    And funny that the only Rabbi they could find to quote in this biased report defaming charedi jews is a reformist! I think that this says everything!

    brisker
    brisker
    14 years ago

    Doesn’t anyone realise that HASHEM runs the world. He wants all those who are able to sit and learn torah and this merit the world keeps running? Whenever their is trouble for us Yidden it is always because of our sins and spiritual decline. Whenever we got the message and did Teshuvah the problems went away? In Mitzrayim, Chanukah and the Megillas Esther, it is the same story, there were sins, Hashem sent punishments and when we did Teshuvah they went away. The Nes Chanukah in the battle was that 12 Cohanim with no military training defeated an army of 80.000. throughout our history the battles were fought like that, few soldiers and mircles from Hashem. The fact that we need a sophisticated army now just shows how far we are from Hashem. In any army there are soldiers doing other work and not fighting in combat units.
    We do not send our children to the army on the instruction of the Gedolei Torah. After giving our kids a Torah education it would be suicide to ruin them spritually forever by sending them to the army which does not foster the correct values. The Yidden that sit and learn Torah also contribute to the safety and success of the soldiers in the field

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    a charadi family has bli eyin hara 8-10 children. now lets look at the non religious 1-2 children lets call the charadim c and nr for non religious c buys allot more in groceries
    clothing and every thing else in 20 years their children will get married and buy or rent apts. each of these things are taxed WHO PAYS THESE TAXES not nr who after the
    army go to who knows where and and most of the time go to america and stay there.what taxes is he paying. he man who works a tadiran or o ther companies
    are working because c are buying appliances and furniture .

    Meni in Baltimore
    Meni in Baltimore
    14 years ago

    this program is very biased and distorted against Eretz HaKodesh and moderate datim.

    jew
    jew
    14 years ago

    This reporter is full of it, he says that charidim are discriminating against woman when its simple not true, what the hell is he talking about, do any body know from a religious police which is going around hiting woman… just because they are siting separate on the bus or in shull he is accusing in discrimination against woman, so i have a question for him why in jail or in hospital room do he understand that man and women could be separate lol..

    sarah leah
    sarah leah
    14 years ago

    I am disappointed this piece was shown here. It is anti-Jewish, left-wing, and inaccurate. For example (and it’s just a sample), when showing “kaporos” they talked about sacrificing chickens for good luck. The whole slant is on the obscene. Meah Shearim the poorest neighborhood? You wouldn’t think so to look at the prices for real estate there! This is downright lies. Why weren’t they “invited” to leave the neighborhood? They would have written the same negative, lying trash without dirtying up Jerusalem.