Are you crazy?! Did you think that an ultra-Orthodox man with a hat wouldn't get beaten to death by a police officer?

July 12, 2019   

Hi, my name is Menachem Mann, and I too was exposed this week to the horror videos of police abusing Haredim. I was also exposed to the reactions running online. Those of journalists, opinion leaders, and young teenagers who are trolling the internet. Everyone was shocked to the core, and everyone demanded the immediate intervention of the Minister in charge of the Police - Gilad Erdan. This is absolutely outrageous. How can you see a Jew being pulled by his sideburns, or a yeshiva student being run over by a motorcycle on purpose (I saw it!) and remain indifferent? Impossible. But I, for a change, was shocked by you. By all my colleagues and friends on social media, and by all those who were truly shocked by the videos. Yes, yes, I was shocked by the shock. Let me be clear for a moment.

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My dear friends, are you not ashamed? Are you normal? Have you ever really thought about trusting that body called the 'Israel Police'? Do you really believe that this is a decent and fair body that is supposed to serve the entire Israeli public without distinction of religion or race? No, I'm not talking specifically about the 'Israel Police', whose honor is in its place. I'm not talking about the 'State of Israel' as a whole. I'm talking about you, the misguided Haredim who were mistakenly captivated by the magic of royalty, and began to feel too much at home, because these policemen - who hold the cane and the fist, or because these officials - who hold the pen and the seal, speak the same language that we speak. In Russia, would you dare to protest? In front of the KGB men. Would you allow yourself to protest? No. So what's the difference? Where is the difference? I'll tell you. You are simply complete Zionists, who believe too much in the policemen and the leadership, just because it happens to be composed of Jewish leadership. And here's the problem! They are Jews, that's true. But they are people of countries! And the people of the land, as is well known, were also suspected of murder! (Pesachim 44: Barashi, ibid.). This rule has never been repealed. What happened to you? Have you gone crazy?! Why did you even think that you wouldn't be attracted to wigs, and why did you think that an ultra-Orthodox boy with a hat and a suit wouldn't be beaten to death by the people of the land? What is wrong with us?

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I don't know if this is true or not. But people tell stories about the Rabbi of Brisk who would bend over every time an Israeli helicopter passed over his head. When asked to explain the reason for this, the Brisk Rabbi simply replied that the people of the land are suspected of the murder, and he is simply afraid that the helicopter pilot will land a bomb on his head. And you? Are you less Jewish than the Brisk Rabbi?

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And now, for a moment of seriousness. With a little less rant. What do we think to ourselves when we go out to demonstrate against strong and sturdy secular police officers? What do we think in those moments? Do we think that the Jewish police officer who is fed daily incitement against the ultra-Orthodox public will stand by indifferently and lock up his feelings? Why would he do that? Did he ever learn the path of righteousness? Does he even know how to overcome anger? You'll understand. We ultra-Orthodox are defined as the most disgusting thing in the secular public. Why don't we understand this once and for all?! An ultra-Orthodox person who lives here, and upholds the traditions of Israel, reminds the free secular person of his Jewish past, and in any case, he causes him the most severe feelings of hatred that exist in creation. ZAKA, Yad Sara, Ezer Mitzion, and Omer Yankilevich will not help us. All these things are beautiful in all sorts of fake moments of reconciliation and unity - Aalek. In moments of truth, and in everyday life, every secular person living in the State of Israel wants to slaughter us on our heads and in our guts. And let no one here get confused and quibble. And if this sentence bothers anyone, they are invited to please go to the Jewish bookcase and read the teachings of Rabbi Akiva (Pesachim 44:) when he was with the land.

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Enough already. Enough. Let's get out of the movie, and stop being Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev. That is, we will continue, but only when we see Omer Adam stop a performance and bless everything, or Omer Adam give up a million shekels for Shabbat, or just when we see Omer Adam. But in general, we must know who we are facing. Against an Arab Rav, and against an assimilated secular Jewry that wants to trample and dilute all that is precious and holy. We live here in a complete miracle. In an extraordinary miracle, which occurs only under the auspices of the political-court, and the cultural torture that the secularists inherited from the nations of the world. There, murder is only permitted in secret, not in public. Otherwise, if it weren't for the fear of Trump's reign, we would have all been sent to the ghettos a long time ago, and transported like animals on the Israel Railways to Dimona.

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So, just before you go to the next demonstration, take the Babylonian Talmud, read about the dangers from the peoples of the lands, and go home. We don't really have the right to stand up to them. Nor do we have the halachic permission to do so. A person is forbidden to put themselves in a situation of danger. Even when she looks the most beautiful in the world: with a black uniform, a Solomon's head helmet, and boxing gloves.

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And a moment before I close this post. Let me insert here all these beautiful words in the law, which save me from a lawsuit. So like this: The writer does not preach violence of any kind, and any such thing goes against the laws of Judaism and human society. All Jews in the world are good souls, and they all want to do good to each other all the time. All the police officers in the State of Israel are special and good people who give their lives for the sake of preserving the people and the land, and some of them are great in this and in the future. All of the above is not generalizing at all, and speaks of a minority of a minority, from which there is no learning about the whole. All this long text was written out of great pain, and should not be taken seriously. It is just a parable of what could have happened here if there were not a democratic and reformed state here that gives its life and cares devotedly for all its citizens, without distinction of religion, race, or origin. The Israeli police officers in particular, and the State of Israel, with all its employees and citizens in general, are pure and complete Jews who love all people wherever they are. And it is not true to say that a secular person wants to harm, even with a small fingernail, someone else just because of their different faith and lifestyle. In short, forget everything you have just read. T.L.H. • Menachem Man is an ultra-Orthodox writer and publicist: [email protected]