Stop Calling for Condemnation

There’s been a lot of discussion around why many of the Chareidi rabbonim have not condemned the actions of the sikrikim in Beit Shemesh.  It’s resulted in a war of words but what’s the point?  We’re Jews, Jews who are learned in Gemara, the most complex set of endless questions, answers, arguments, resolutions and arguments on those resolutions. Any Rabbi worth his salt can give a complex, clever justification for not condemning these actions and any bad Rabbi will.

Actions are what we need.  Keep it in the realm of words and we’ll be talking until mashiach comes and every player will run to mashiach, like he is the Rosh Yeshiva, bragging about his svarah and how right he or she is.  The condemnation issue is one of those tangential teasers that chevrusas will spend days getting excited pinning down (you know what I mean), except in this case it is a waste of time.

In my mind there are at least two remedies to the situation

1)      The police taking the issue seriously for a period of years – this is not going to happen and even if it did the Chareidi community as a whole would inevitably be pushed towards the Sikrikim causing a bigger divide

2)      The Chareidim of Beit Shemesh taking responsibility for those extremists who live within their borders, use their shops, their shuls, their schools, their playgrounds and their mikvaot

Maybe 2) is a pipe dream but this is what we should be asking for instead of wasting time arguing the toss on condemnations i.e. Mr Rabbi if you believe that terrorising members of the public is bad then organise the 99% of your neighbourhood that are just and righteous.  Don’t let these men and their families into your shops, your shuls, your schools, your playground and most of all don’t let their wives in your mikvaot because you know what these guys really care about!  Also their wives won’t be too happy travelling to Yerushaliyim to find a friendly mikva either and they’ll make that pretty clear.

Over 3 years ago the same people terrorising the girls of  Orot Banot sent a letter to people living across the road from them.  “We can see you have a t.v., move it away from the window as we will not take responsibility for what happens to your property or your family.” Do you think that these people really only intimidate the people of Sheinfeld? They are a menace within their own communities.  They make good Chareidi peoples’ lives a misery and the Chareidi Rabbonim are not brave enough to speak out, work together and banish the evil from their midst.

Is there a way we can encourage this to happen? Is there a way we can support this from the outside?  Can we at least agree with most of the leaders of the various kehillas in RBS that these guys are a menace to the local Chareidi population (as a starting point)?  If this cannot be agreed then what hope do we have?