Shikma Bressler, one of the leading figures behind Israel’s anti-judicial reform protests, came under heavy criticism Thursday after condemning the Jerusalem Faction’s mass demonstrations against the arrest of yeshiva bochurim—protests that included major road closures across central Israel.
In a post on X, Bressler wrote: “There is no difference between the chareidi militias of the government on the roads, for whom the law has no meaning, and the militias of the government in Judea and Samaria.”
She continued: “There is also no need to be angry. We need to understand who they are and what they want—a dark religious state. Then understand that we are fighting for the soul of the country.”
Her comments quickly sparked a wave of backlash online, with many users accusing her of hypocrisy by pointing to her own role in organizing anti-government demonstrations that repeatedly blocked major highways and disrupted transportation for months during the judicial reform protests.
“One has to ask—have you completely lost all self-awareness?” one user wrote. “Did you already forget Kaplan and everything you led?”
Another responded: “So the Left suddenly discovered the law? The same people who shut down the country in Kaplan and Balfour are now preaching against blocking roads?”
A third widely shared response read: “The hypocrisy is unbelievable. Weren’t you the one urging people to block highways?”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
4 Responses
Condemning hypocrisy is fine, but haval that the implicit “defence” of the demonsrators is “they did those too” – when does Torah-abiding Yidden measure themselves by the standards of some lefty demonstrators.
Furthermore, many thinkers and rabbis, including charedi-minded, connected the tragedy of Oct 7 to the machlokes caused by the judicial-reformers and demonstrations against them. So, maybe should think twice before increasing the rift (on both sides).
They’re very aware. As Rav Chaim Brisker said a century ago, the Zionists need a State in order to shmad, not the other way around. So, her problem is the purpose of the protests – keeping Judaism alive there against Zionist shmad – rather than the method of protesting.
They do not at all consider that hypocritical.
Wow what evil
The irony is that the Israeli left generally agrees with the Hareidim on economics (give lots of money to the poor without demonizing them for being poor) and national security (anti-war). If the Israeli leftists weren’t such anti-Torah bigots (and also anti-Islamic bigots, they reject all religious based cultures and morality), they would be able form a coalition and seriously threaten to be in striking distance of the magic number (61) in the Knesset.