The residents of the upper class Ashkenazi secular Ramat Aviv neighborhood of northern Tel Aviv are stepping up their battle against Chabad, unwilling to accept the shluchim in their community, admittedly afraid of their children being “brainwashed” by putting on tefillin and in some extreme cases, with the children asking to attend a yeshiva instead of a secular public school.
An estimated 800 people took part in a Monday evening protest outside the area Chabad house, calling on Chabad “to leave our children alone” and leave the area. The protest followed a city council meeting last week in which Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai expressed his support for the anti-Chabad movement, sponsored by the Free Ramat Aviv organization. One of the outspoken supporters is radio host Gabi Gazit, who aired his support for the anti-Chabad movement, in line with his recent attack against chareidim and their lifestyle, using the airwaves to spread his hate and disdain for a Torah lifestyle.
Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz stresses the movement is not against chareidim, but it is against those seeking to impose their lifestyle on children against the will of their parents. The organizers and participants in the rally are calling on the Knesset to legislate laws to make such actions, the activities of the shluchim, illegal.
One Chabad supporter was taken into custody, reportedly for slapping a protestor.
YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos taken by COL.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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14 Responses
Chabad should tell them they’re doing Missionary work and they’ll be accepted with open arms.
Just like; Rav Galinsky told a true story. The Holon police summon the Rav to the police station; because there was a father there claim that Rav Galinsky was holding his son capitive. When Rav Galinsky went to the police station the father started to yell and scream that he did not want his son in the Yeshiva and Rav Galinsky was holding him captive. He than Yelled I want my son to grow just like me. The brillant Rav responded He has; just like you repelled against your parents; your son is also rebelling against you. He left Yiddishkeit and your son is coming back. The misinformed or under educated parents should look and see what the real problems are.
Look at the Israeli school system, look at the children going to India after army and joining cults, and look how many Israeli children are today living in Los Angeles.
Mr. Mayor get a life and do good.
Wow, did you ever see them protest against missionaries, drugs, thilth, etc. for their children?? how sad.
I’m all for kiruv and bringing people closer to mitzvos, but if Chabad in Tel Aviv utilizes and employs the same tactics I see it employing in Manhattan and Brooklyn, then I don’t blame the residents of TA for protesting. I have non-Jewish co-workers that have asked me why do these guys in beards keep harassing them and asking if they are Jewish. I see them on the subway and the street relentlessly engaging people that clearly have no interest, etc. Chabad: please tone it down a notch!
The sad truth is that they have no problems and many prefer jews for freak missionaries.
These people give a whole new meaning to “yirai HaSh*m”!
They ARE afraid of HaSh*m, afraid that their children may NOT want to live bliyaal, a life of hefkayrus like theirs, bli ohl malchut shamayim.
How very sad this is.
It points up why ba’alai tshuva deserve so much credit…
It’s not merely that they have changed their lifestyle to be kosher, to be shomer Shabbas, etc. (which is a very big, hard thing to do)…
BUT it means they have dealt with the fact that in their previous lifestyle they were WRONG! It is a very difficult thing for a person to admit they were wrong even about very small things. Kal v’chomer about something as major as your whole lifestyle!
This is why THESE people are so vicious in their opposition to Chabad. They don’t have the strength to deal with making an admission of having been wrong. They don’t like kiruv people reminding them, in effect, that their lifestyle is wrong. If their children want to become frum, it is rubbing in the parents’ faces that they were wrong.
May HaSh*m be mechazayk all kiruv people, and may He be machazayk the children to stand up to the their “chofshi” parents and to lead their parents back to the Torah derech.
Hey YITZCHOKY (#2) – Look at the educated Israelis hard at work earning a living and making economic strides, look at their children going into the Army, fighting and dying for their country.
It is a two sided coin my friend. . . so YITZCHOKY, if all Israelis became frum (And may Hashem make that happen). . .who will maintain the economy and serve in Zahal? Who will make the moneyt hat goes into the taxes that are paid to the government that are paid out in subsidies to the Chareidim? Huh?
I love Chabad and think that they do amazing kiruv work. HOWEVER, just to play devil’s advocate, imagine if secular activists would stand outside chareidi schools and offer them pork or encourage them to go clubbing instead of to shiur. There would certainly be huge protests. Just saying…
YonasonW – Before you write such Narishkeit, you should check the figures of how many Shomrei Torah Umitzvos are working and paying taxes, and how many are serving in the army.
Wonder if they are OK with the Na-Nach guys?
# Avi1967 – We are so used to it that we may not always realize that your theoretic situation IS A REALITY!
The secular world IS right outside our chareidi schools encouraging them to go off the derech!!!
How? – with big pritzusdik posters on buses and bus stops and overpasses, and roadsides, -with newspapers and magazines with covers having inappropriate photos and headlines on prominent display at every open air news stand, and with young women parading down the streets in clothing barely suitable for their bedrooms, with young men and women engaging in behavior on public streets that SHOULD be reserved for married couples in the privacy of their homes.
We DO have the nisayon of dealing with that reality for ourselves and our children.
I for one will not feel bad at all for chilonim having to “deal with the nisayon” of children being exposed to Torah Judaism.
Today it is Chabad, tomorrow it will be sefardim. As YWN says this is an upper class Ashkenazi neighborhood. They don’t want anything to do with anyone except other upper class Ashkenazim. For all their “liberal” views they are amongst the most blatently racist groups in Israeli society.
Yonasson please don’t give me that garbage of the charedi. First I have 5 sons who live in Eretz Yisrael 3 work and 2 learn. What the government gives can’t support a wife and a husband a 1/2 month never mind a family. Many many charedi man work form being teachers, store owners, installing air conditioners, electricians, even
car mechanics, so stop the charedi bashing. Second if everybody was frum Moshiach would come and we would not need an army.
Those living in Israel and those visiting Israel can do alot of kiruv. My new plan is to distribute potatoe kugel slices in plastic plates and forks to all cars stopping at a corner red light on shabbos. I will give kugel to everyone in the cars and this will give them a reawakening. If everyone who is frum did that we could turn Israel chareidi in no time. Everyone should give out kugel as much as they can afford.