It doesn’t take a genius to understand what happened in Bnei Brak.
Are Jews the only people in the world who are expected to calmly accept the presence of those who repeatedly harm them?
Just as the international community demands that Israel “sustain” the Palestinians—ignoring the absurdity of forcing the victim to feed the snake—so too are Israelis, and even some within our own community, condemning the boys of Bnei Brak for daring to resist.
But let’s be clear about one thing: The soldiers were never attacked. They were jeered. They were booed. They were confronted by a large crowd that refused to let them enter the neighborhood. That kind of response would be considered normal and justified anywhere else in the world.
Yet when the protesters are chareidim, and the authorities are “Israeli soldiers,” suddenly it is labeled “violence.”
The soldiers were not assaulted. They were resisted. They were viewed with suspicion because, in the broader experience of this community, state power has too often been used in predatory ways—even if, in this specific instance, no physical harm was intended.
And despite that history, they were still not attacked. They were opposed.
Look at the pattern. At these protests, police officers are almost never injured, but young boys are routinely beaten.
The officers walk confidently through these demonstrations because they know they are unlikely to be harmed. The imbalance of power is obvious. It resembles a lion stalking a herd of bison. The bison do not attack. They defend themselves through numbers. Only when the lion circles, threatens, provokes, and presses closer and closer does the herd finally react.
That is what happened here.
Across the world, when authorities are seen as harassing or abusing a community, it is understood—almost instinctively—that resistance will follow. People defend themselves when pushed too far.
But here, a powerful enforcement apparatus confronts a community that asks only to be left alone. And when that community bands together to block intrusion, to assert its boundaries, to say “enough,” it is branded as violent. The victims become the aggressors and the powerful become the “endangered.”
That is hypocrisy at its purest.
And turning this episode into a moral indictment of an entire community is nothing less than a modern blood libel.
Signed,
C.B.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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23 Responses
C.B.’s letter is a masterpiece of self-delusion, inverting victims and villains while whitewashing a mob that chased two terrified female soldiers through Bnei Brak’s streets, flipped police cars, and torched a motorcycle—complete with tefillin and siddurim inside. This wasn’t “resistance” or “jeering.” It was a riot, pure and simple, captured on video for the world to see. And as a frum yid, I am sickened by it. This is chillul Hashem on steroids, a desecration that shames every Torah-observing Jew.
But let’s not pretend this erupted in a vacuum. The leaders of the community in Israel – demonize the state as “predatory,” and incite against any hint of draft or authority—have been sowing these poisonous seeds for decades. Their fiery pashkevilim, their blanket condemnations of soldiers as goyim (or worse), these are the fertilizers that grew this extremism. They taught generations that the IDF is the enemy, that compromise is betrayal, that “boundaries” mean barricades and brawls. Now the genie is out of the bottle: a feral minority runs wild, burning, chasing, and rioting in the name of Torah, while the rest of us Orthodox Jews watch in horror as our reputation burns with it.
C.B. calls media coverage a “blood libel.” The real libel is excusing this as “normal resistance.” Even Haredi leaders like Rav Yitzchak Yosef, Aryeh Deri, and Rabbis Lando and Hirsch have denounced it as antithetical to Torah—calling for expulsion from the camp. Why? Because it is. The Torah’s ways are pleasantness and peace, not this anarchy.
The Chareidi world faces a crisis of its own making. Until the gedolim own their role in unleashing this monster—and rein it in with real leadership, not more rhetoric—the shame will only deepen. Enough.
פְּרוק יַת עָנָךְ מִפּוּם אַרְיְוָתָא
וְאַפֵּיק יַת עַמֵּךְ מִגּו גָּלוּתָא
I’d add: why do people instantly and reflexively accept the version spread by the police, who have absolutely no halachik neemanus (they don’t have any other – secular – integrity either, but why quibble over that?) and are quick to vilify Torah Jews, who we are obligated to judge favorably??
Do folks keep halacha??
I suggest that a public apology and redress would be appropriate.
The author of the letter was either not there or is blind. The hooligans burned soldiers’ possessions and brutally attacked them – because they were soldiers without knowing why they were there. They obviously have nothing to do with their time (like learn!) so they should be drafted.
“That kind of response would be considered normal and justified anywhere else in the world” Repsonse to what? How is a couple of young women representing the institution that keeps everyone safe visiting a neighborhood invoke this type of response? Harrassing and abusing a coummunity? How is expecting that they share the burden that everyone else is carrying harrassing and abusing? Not to say that the army is perfect but this is off the rails and rather than blame others it would be productive to turn inwards and self reflect.
This is completely delusional. Would the letter writer say the same about the BLM protesters, that they are just “resisting”? Is Hamas just “resisting” Israel’s blockade?
I don’t think the government is completely justified in its stance, but both sides are being ridiculous. For a community that is seen as representing Hashem to turn to violence, and it’s justified by saying it’s just resistance is a tremendous chilul Hashem.
What’s the answer. Sit down and negotiate like civilized people. If you really don’t want to be citizens of the state, go live in a cave and create a whole new community.
Kudos to the op for a much needed piece
The idf IS the enemy. they hate Yiddishkeit they love Israel
Those are 2 very different things
To some like the clown above they are identical to yidden they couldn’t be further apart
letter writer knows better than all the gedolim and leaders. what gaiva.
The soldiers with the agenda knew what they were asking for and knew they wouldn’t be attacked and they got exactly that
Of course they’re wrong, and hypocrites. Violence is always allowed on their side etc.
But is yelling “Nazi” the way of a בן תורה? How about burning a police motorcycle?
The letter writer CB is correct. The history of the founders of Zionism were individuals who hated Judaism. Their plan was to created a Hebrew speaking Portugal. They succeeded in destroying hundreds of thousands of young souls with atheistic indoctrination. They emulate the lowest goyim of the world. Tattoo shops,gay parades,pork stores,etc. Tel Aviv is known as the sin capital. Their rebellion of Jewish values is everywhere. Shabbos is discarded. There is no respect for Torah observance. It’s just cultural nonsense. The Supreme Court is made up of lefty secular looneys. The army elite are mostly lefty’s.
C.B. is, absolutely, 100% correct.
Thank you C.B. for writing this article.
What a huge pile of garbage.
ואהבת לרעך כמוך
Sorry C.B. unommin is right on. You are clueless.
My favorite sentence is, “a powerful enforcement apparatus confronts a community that asks only to be left alone.”
“A powerful enforcement apparatus?” You mean a government? The same government that provides all of the services like police, fire, medical, army? A government that — like all governments — has the right to use force to maintain civil order?
“A community that asks only to be left alone.” Only that. Just leave us alone. Oh, and also give us millions of shekels in money to live off of, and give us all of the government services, and by the way we don’t work so we won’t being paying our share of taxes. And military service is off the table. Other than that, we just want to be left alone.
Give me a break.
They want to be left alone they don’t want Medinat Yisroel they never did and it is founded and exists in sin
Pure whitewashed garbage. If you live in a State you must conform to the laws if the State. If there is a draft you must serve. If not, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
what’s unspoken here is that bnei brak is an ir hatorah and the Zionists in Israel and on YWN do not expect any violence from bnei Torah because they know their character
so since there was some violence here and they can fool themselves that it came from bnei torah so they are expressing their utter surprise with their comments..
and their blood libels
Kol hakavod! very well written.
And for all you naive people living in the us, I live here in Israel and can verify what the writer said. By every single protest it starts with afew bored bucharim who would leave after an hour max if no police arrived to incite them.
Just last night there was a small crowd protesting infront of a cellphone store that sells non kosher sims, the store was already closed and shuttered posing no danger to the store, but the police showed up with a massive force and started throwing stun gernades at people. An innocent bacher passing by got burned from one.
Obviously whithin minnutes a huge crowd arrived after hearing the massive booms.
Had the police not arrived the small crowd would have left with no further incident. But no, the police have to start beating up every bystander and then claim that the chareidim are inciting vioilence.
Enough with being naive and aelf hating jews. Time to realize that Israel is the most hating country towards Chareidim
Just facts is right.
I ordered all my grandkids to get out there and protest. I shep nachas when they fight the war for Torah like our ancestors did throughout history. That’s why all my kids and grandkids are on the derech. All learning strong and ready to fight the evil police in our holy land.
Hogwash BS every word
They flipped over a police car. All the big rabbis already condemned it.
There’s no teshuva for this sort of chillul Hashem and you are an accessory to this desecration with your hogwash article
A lot of truth in the letter. The fire powder was in the air after months of persecution, only needed a little trigger to explode. You can’t imprison 100-200 innocent Bnei Torah, beating up protestors banning dual citizens to travel home, chassidim to travel to their Rebbes, withdrawing ALL benefit payments etc etc and expect the community to remain silent. That does NOT mean I condone the violence especially as my Roshei Yeshivas forbade to take part – but everyone knew it was about to happen.
The law is and was for decades, that bnei Torah DON’T serve in the army. Happily or not so happily, but it was accepted and people lived with it.
The law is and was that religious soldiers can serve in a suitable environment, and indeed hundreds if not thousands of [working] chareidim used to serve in the army.
A small group of leftist trouble makers with the help of kangaroo court dictators changed it all! It started long before the Gaza war and was NOT because the IDF needed or wanted the chareidim – IT WAS SIMPLY TO CAUSE TROUBLE AND PERSECUTE AND TO TRY TO SECULARISE THE CHAREIDIM!!
Abba Ebban said: “peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews” and also fact is; when the Arabs lay down their weapons there will be peace, when Israel lay down theirs there will be war – likewise:
PEACE WILL COME WHEN THE LEFTISTS LOVE THE COUNTRY MORE THAN THEY HATE THE CHAREIDIM AND WHEN THEY STOP PERSECUTING THERE WILL BE PEACE BUT WHEN THE CHAREIDIM SURRENDER THERE WILL TROUBLE!
“ Just last night there was a small crowd protesting infront of a cellphone store that sells non kosher sims”
And who gives you the right to protest outside that store anyway?