Over ten thousand members of London’s chasidic kehillos gathered Thursday afternoon outside the Israeli Embassy to protest Israel’s proposed draft law currently under discussion in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The event brought together a broad coalition of kehillos, including Satmar, Ger, Belz, Vizhnitz, Boyan, Bobov, Chernobyl, and others. For many of these groups, this was the first time they publicly joined a protest of this nature. Dozens of rabbanim issued a kol koreh beforehand urging their kehillos to attend.
Demonstrators stood on both sides of the roadway, allowing traffic to continue flowing, and repeatedly called out in English: “Government of Israel, shame on you!”
The event opened with remarks from Rav Yechezkel Weiss of Monsey, who traveled from the United States specifically to address the gathering.
Rav Moshe Menachem Weiss, Satmar Rav of the R’ Aharon kehilla in London, recounted to the crowd a striking conversation he had during a recent stay in Eretz Yisroel. While accompanying the Satmar Rebbe in Meron, he was assigned a chareidi driver who revealed that he was an army deserter.
“I asked him,” Rav Weiss said, “‘Why don’t you go to the army? You’re not learning in yeshiva—what’s the reason you don’t enlist?’ He answered: ‘I would rather go to prison than go to the army. I know I would not be able to keep Torah and mitzvos as I try to now. I know I would come out a total goy. They want to target the weakest among us, like Amalek—going after the shevavniks. We must fight for them too.’”
Rav Leibish Padwa, son of the London Gaavad Rav Meir Chaim Aryeh Padwa, then led the crowd in Tehillim. Rav Baruch Nosson Halberstam, Rav of Satmar, cried out in pain over reports of bochurim being taken into custody in the middle of the night, including yesomim during shivah.
Rav Chaim Pinchas Miller, Chernobyler Rav of London, also addressed the gathering, as did Rav Marmorstein, who spoke in fluent English about the fear gripping many bochurim who do not sleep soundly at night lest they be arrested.
The event concluded with a moving kabbolas ol malchus Shamayim led by Rav Shalom Friedman, who is approaching 100 years old.
Finally, Rav Yitzchok Meir Koppel, chairman of the European branch of the Eidah HaChareidis’ Vaad Ne’emanim, read the formal resolutions of the gathering, calling for the total nullification of the draft decree.
As he finished, the crowd erupted in song: “Bishilton hakofrim ein anu ma’aminim… Hashem Hu Malkeinu!”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
28 Responses
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/the-fourth-reich-of-israel
Don’t be silly, there can’t be 10,000 people here they wouldn’t even fit in central London anywhere
I’m sure they believe they are doing the right thing but this is a tremendous Chilul Hashem and worse. Even if they are right (and they are not) to give support to Jew haters in the UK who don’t have the nuance of why they are protesting against Israel and the IDF is unforgivable. I honestly don’t care what Rebbes are involved, they need to reevaluate what they are doing. ה׳ ירחם!
With all due respect to commenters of online news websites, there are no gedolei hador posting here and the Torah knowledge here is at a minimum, if the protest was organized with rabbinical approval who are you to speak against them claiming you know better than them about chilul hashem? That’s your opinion and it’s not an agreement with the rabbanim
In summary it means you don’t matter sorry you’re not a respected Community leader and wel continue to follow them and not you
Joseph Goebbels,
You should be tuned over to Germany for prosecution as an anti-Semitic Nazi, just like your close relative was. You’re not even Jewish!
ברוך מדינת ישראל ראשית צמיחת גאולותינו
looking forward to the great יום-העצמאות in 4&1/2 months הבא עלינו לטובה
TorahTruth:
You should have chosen the name ZionistTruth or the like given that the Torah’s actual truth is the total opposite of what you chose.
This is a tremendous kiddush Hashem and better.
These protesters are not supporting haters anywhere. The more the gentiles understand that Jews are not responsible for anything the Zionists do or don’t do, the better it is for Jews everywhere.
Bs”d
I don’t understand why the people are holding up placards saying that we cannot have a state before Moshiach or fight any nation.
Most Gedolim agree that we shouldn’t have a state before Moshiach, but now that one was made, we try to work within it. Why are charedim who don’t agree with this, living in Eretz Yisroel now, if they don’t think there should be a state? Obviously the secular Israelis think they should share the burden and risk their lives so that Jews can continue to live safely in Eretz Yisroel. You cannot blame them for thinking this way, as they were never taught anything about Yiddishkeit, let alone this particular inyan, which is highly disputed by the religious zionists.
I happen to agree with the anti-zionist camp, but I DON’T agree with hanging out your dirty linen in public. Very few goyim anywhere in the world understand the inyan, and so they could chas v’sholom, just see these statements as a justification for them to hate Israel, Israelis, and any jews, frum or not.
הַאַחֵיכֶם יָבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה וְאַתֶּם תֵּשְׁבוּ פֹה?!
“Shall your brothers go to war while YOU sit here?!”
(Bamidbar 32:6)
moshe continues:
וְלָמָּה תְנִיאוּן אֶת־לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעֲבֹר אֶל־הָאָרֶץ
“Why should you weaken the heart of the children of Israel?”
(32:7)
And then the historical warning:
כֹּה עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתֵיכֶם… וַיַּנִּיאוּ אֶת־לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
(32:8–9)
moshe explicitly compares them to the spies.
MEROGLIM!!!!!!!! Stay in London cowards
@torah truth the only chill lil Hashem I saw here is “I honestly don’t care what rebbes are involved”
Who gave you a deah??
You think you know better huh?
Well thank your in the wrong religion.
Emunas chachamim is one of the fundamentals of Yiddishkeit.
And all religious rabbinic have unanimously condemned this horrific attempt at banning Torah and arresting the most precious people to Hashem!
His Torah learners.
Who do you think you are!?!
AntiTorah Sheker: why is arresting lomdei torah less of a chillul Hashem?
Lapid is proposing to strip voting rights from the chareidim, but not from the Arabs, why? because doing so to the Arabs will cause a global outcry of Apartheid, but Chareidim are not allowed to protest – THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE!
HAVE YOU COMPLAINT TO ALL THE LEFTIST JEW HATERS IN ISRAEL AND ABROAD ABOUT THEIR FALSE DEFAMATION OF ISRAEL – NO, THAT’S LEGITIMATE – ONLY CHAREIDIM ARE NOT ALLOWED RAISE THEIR VOICE.
Next time a Jew is assaulted in London maybe Hamas will help them
Im sure PM of Ireland Micheal Martin and his henchmen yms’h took great pleasure watching a super exclusive Jew bashing event by Jews.
To @hakaton I believe your name is very descriptive of your opinion. I am not from the Chassidik world and I am not impressed with there Rebbes point of view, they are not my Rabbanim or Gedolim. Their Hashkafa is not mine and in most cases (not all) their level of Torah knowledge does not give them a Deah of “Daas Torah”. I stand by my position, it is a Chilul Hashem and a Safek Retzicha to give our enemies especially in Jew hating UK more ammunition for a nuance that they couldn’t possibly understand. Even the Satmar Rav, Reb Yoel ZT”l (a true Talmud Chacham) said that he is opposed to the Zionists because of their “goyishkeit” but the Goyim who are against zionists is because of their “Yiddishkeit”. Unfortunately we don’t have the wisdom today among manny of thee organizers to understand the difference and the terrible damage that they do. Hence ה׳ ירחם. This weak knead nonsense “The more the gentiles understand that Jews are not responsible for anything the Zionists do or don’t do, the better it is for Jews everywhere.” is beyond idiotic. The haters hate us because we are Jewish not because of Zionism, Gaza or anything else. Do you really think you will be spared. WHEN WILL WE WVER LEARN?
If they feel so strongly about this issue they should all move to Israel and vote in the next election. As we have learned from the captured Hamas’s plans for October 7, disunity of Am Yisrael encouraged their attack.
To@arizoze I don’t care what these Rebbes have to say because they do not represent the Hashkafa I received from my Rabbeim and Rabbanim. They are not my Gedolim. The vast majority of Roshai Yeshiva, while they agree that Chareidim should not be drafted, would NEVER support a public demonstration like this in a Goyisha land. Just see what Rav Moshe’s position on demonstrations in the US was.
The MAG army nazi did more chilul hashem image to the Israeli image in the world then these boys ever will. Where is she now? Being protected by her corrupted Nazi Friends of the Court. Any other country would have lethally injected her and thrown her off a roof by now. The Israeli left destroys Israel’s image everyday but none of you say anything unless religious people stand up for themselves and that’s how we know you’re fakers
supremeAi:
AI is not a substitute for learning Torah from a rebbi, which would prevent such absurd comparisons. It is actually the Zionists who are the meraglim. They invaded against the wishes of the Jews there with the claim that Jews need their own army (even before the Holocaust).
DrYidd:
Your lack of concern for your fellow Jews is deplorable. They are not promoting Hamas, of course. They are protesting the Zionist assault on our fellow Jews.
@ariroze
According to your reasoning, we all should have listened to the ten spies, Korach, and a host of other “chachamim”
Spare me your petty cliches with your half brain sheep that follows without thinking.
Emunas chachamim requires you to know who is real, who represents majority, and a host of other inquiry to determine which “chachamim” to have emunah in.
The torah explicitly dedicates many Psukim to prevent exactly your brainless Follow The Leader Without thinking advice.
No. do not listen to any chacham that says sit idly by while your brothers go to war
Why are they protesting? As if a Hareidi protest in London is going to have any influence with the Israeli government. Certainly no one is coming to draft them into the IDF. At least the boys in Bnai Brak can deal with an Israeli summer. These fellas wouldn’t last one week in the Israeli army without fainting from heat exhaustion.
supremeAi:
You “Religious Zionist” idolaters are definitely not the majority and even more definitely wrong.
nbednarsh:
That is very illogical. These Jews are protesting that the Zionists are engaging in shmad against our brethren. Your proposal is that these Jews should move there to subject themselves to the same Zionist shmad in the hope that they could somehow politically influence the Zionists to stop their shmad. But there is no guarantee that they would succeed. Even worse, the entire purpose of Zionism is shmad, to change Jew and Judaism into New Hebrew and Zionist. Therefore, it is basically guaranteed that they will not succeed. Finally, why should they have to change where they live just because they are pointing out the wickedness of the Zionists? Regarding the “disunity”, if the Zionists are so concerned about unity, then they should stop oppressing the Jews there. But, regardless, no, that is not at all how 10/7 happened.
TorahTruth (NOT):
Of course the gedolim all would and did support exactly this type of demonstration about a decade ago in NY.
Supreme idiot, if you’re that easily throwing all the chief rabbis in the garbage can you’re not much of a Jew. No one is allowed to just pasken for themselves based on 1 pasuk of moshe rabbenu talking to bnei gad and reuven. Sheesh it’s like the only Torah you guys know and you can’t even use it accurately, there’s no permission to send guys to an army that has half naked women and secular culture being forced on them all the time. It’s better just to leave and keep the Torah somewhere else if that’s what it takes, not stay and give up your Torah
HaKatan,
DrYidd:
Your lack of concern for your fellow Jews is deplorable. They are not promoting Hamas, of course. They are protesting the Zionist assault on our fellow Jews.
Guess who has given more money for Torah education than anyone in history? The Zionist State of Israel. YOU ARE A KOFUI TOV!! Let Hamas protect you as well.
Was the demonstration covered in the local general press? Did the Israeli embassy react to it?
@DrYidd: The money given for Torah education didn’t come from the Zionists, it’s the money from the millions tax paid by the Torah community.
@supremeAi: your comparison is flawed in multiple ways:
1. The war to conquer E”Y was a MITZVAH demanded by HASHEM, in contrast the war of liberation in 1948, of which the Gaza war is a direct result and continuation, was PROBITED by the Torah.
2. there were no female soldiers, in compliance with the איסור לא תלבש אשה כלי גבר
3. following #2 there were no females walking around the army base [un-]dressed like in the beach
4. The commanders gave them Chizuk and Mussar, while today they preach kefiroh and כחי ועוצם ידי
5. All soldiers were יראי שמים in contrast, today they intentionally place mechallei Shabbos with the chareidy unit to influence the frum boys
6. Moshe Rabbeinu demanded their participation ע’פ רוח הקודש and for good reason, today’s politicians demand our participation for the sole reason to secularise our youth.
@TorahTruth: It is possible that Reb Moshe ZT”L would not sanction such a demonstration, but last weeks protest was signed by multiple chosheve Rabbonim and poskim, who are entitled to a different opinion. This does not give you the right to criticise them.
Also, Reb Moshe ZT”L was nifter 40 years ago. NEVER before did Jewish people arrest fellow Jews for the sole crime of learning Torah. This situation is unprecedented, and we don’t know how Reb Moshe ZT”L would have reacted.
TorahTruth and all other objectors to such a demonstration: You acting in the same way as the pro Hamas protestors and politicians; days after October 7, they demanded Israel to stop bombing, calling Israel to implement a ceasefire [read surrender] without asking Hamas to lay down their arms or free the hostages – You telling us to stop protesting but wouldn’t tell the Israeli authorities to stop persecuting the chareidim.
If you are really concerned about the harm caused by the demonstration; tell the Zionist Gestapo to stop arresting Bochrim and to release all imprisoned.