On Friday, I heard about the brutal attack on an army officer in the Meah Shaarim neighborhood.
I got angry.
I know that this is not the path of Torah, I know that it is contrary to the wisdom of our rabbis, and I also know that those who did this - and those who stood around them - are brazen youths, wild offspring of the violence that has been raging in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in recent years by the new Neturi Karta groups.
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They are the ones who walk the path of corruption, violence, and cruelty - especially within the ultra-Orthodox public - towards anyone who does not align with them.
When I heard that the victim lived in Kiryat Arba and was the grandson of Rabbi Meir Yehuda Getz, zt"l, and when I learned of the painful and shocking announcement from the mother - the great teacher, educator and God-fearing woman, Yael - I shuddered.
And this is what Yael wrote on her Facebook page:
A stormy Shabbat passed us by, we were torn between a desire to protest and crush the rioters and the understanding that this was a minority of lunatics in the Haredi community.
They tried to lynch my child, who happens to be 21 years old and an officer in Givati.
What breaks my heart is the fact that no one showed up today. 12 noon, Mea Shearim, a bustling place. And no one remembered the commandment "You shall not stand for the blood of your neighbor." A commandment from the Torah.
People, women, and children watched the lynching, and no one offered help or a place to hide from the rioters.
I am trying to leverage this case into a place of change and hope. I am looking for people from the Haredi community who want to create a dialogue. I am looking for the silent majority who remained silent when they attacked my son. I ask to give them strength. Protest. Don't stand by and watch blood spill.
My son, who will always remain 'my child', fought in the summer in Sajaya also so that the Haredim could go and study Torah. I am certain that this is not Torah. And those who attacked him and those who watched the attack are not Lomdia and its supporters.
And to my son and his platoon, 33 brave soldiers who came from the Haredi sector, I strengthen your hands and the entire amazing Shahar project. Be strong and courageous, and do not let your hearts faint.
My whole family and I were privileged to be guests of the Alon family on the holiday of Sukkot a year ago. We visited the home of wonderful and precious people, God-fearing, Hasidim, and people of action. We became very close, and my whole family formed a strong bond with the Alon family. We also met the precious son among all the family members.
Tonight, when I informed my children that he had been attacked by people who looked like me from the Mea-Shearim neighborhood, we were all shocked.
We were hurt, and we hereby express our pain, in the face of the barbaric hooligans, the public desecrators of the name of God.
During our visit to the Alon family home, we saw in Shear the spirit that the members of this noble and respected family possess. Now, as I read her response, I can only return the favor and reach out, and certainly join the initiative, deepen the dialogue, and awaken and shock the silent majority.
To take action and renounce cruel people who wear the garb of a rabbi, while they are actual murderers and criminals.
Together we will uphold the path of dialogue, understanding, and sanctity, and sanctify the name of Heaven.
