This is how the Bnei Torah's spokesperson system defeated the Torah flag.

The attack in Modi'in-Ilit, which stirred up the ultra-Orthodox media yesterday, led to a wave of condemnations of the violence, including a scathing letter from the city's rabbi, the Rabbi of the city, Rabbi Kessler, which was distributed in synagogues and on bulletin boards. This morning (Wednesday), when the various testimonies were presented, the million-dollar question remained: Who is the one striking and who is the one being struck?

• Attacker Rafael Cohen was released, but will remain in custody until tomorrow

Below we will present the testimonies we collected from residents in the area, some of whom are very close to the hawkish parties.

If we skip the details, we can summarize the event as a victory for the anointed spokespeople of 'Bnei Torah', and as a failure for 'Degel HaTorah' or the spokespeople of the faction that has been removed from the authority of the Grail Steinman and the Grach Kanievsky.

But first, let's introduce the parties to the dispute: Yehezkel Ariel, assistant to the representative of the Bnei Torah faction in the Modi'in Illit Council, Avi Berger, and Rafael Cohen – a member of the Abreech affiliated with Degel HaTorah.

According to one of Ariel's associates, he was already agitated the next morning. It was when the Bnei Torah members opened the free Yated Ne'eman, the Degel HaTorah publication, and discovered an advertisement there for the 'Meuhedet' health insurance company. For days, the Bnei Torah members worked to transfer subscribers to the company, and even claimed that it refrained from advertising in the dailies, just so as not to 'skip' an advertisement in Hafels, the Bnei Torah publication. The advertisement on Tuesday morning completely collapsed this information system.

According to the insider's testimony, an effort was made to find an 'alternative title' so that the failure against 'Meuchadet' would become marginal. If this was indeed a meticulous plan, as the insider claims, then it succeeded - and by and large. Bnei Torah rejects this testimony outright.

Paralysis in the speech system

For several hours since the attack on the Beit Tefila synagogue was reported, the press office of Degel HaTorah and the synagogue at 5 Hazon Ish Street was silent, as if paralyzed. None of them spoke up, and it seemed that they were in great confusion. On the one hand, violence must be condemned. On the other hand, the details must be examined before responding.

At the same time, the Bnei Torah 'celebrated'. The press service released announcements stating that Yehezkel Ariel had been hospitalized, pictures of him bleeding were circulated at an astonishing rate, and there was no one, even among the faction known as 'haters', who was not shocked. Violence must be condemned, no matter which camp it comes from.

According to reports, Ariel was portrayed as having been attacked 'suddenly' by a priest. According to the version described by Yehezkel Ariel, he was praying at the 8:05 a.m. minyan at the Beit Tefilla synagogue, located near his residence. When he left the prayer service, around 9 a.m., a priest attacked him, biting him and tearing out his beard.

Cohen's counter-version states that Ariel pushed him toward the fence and brutally overpowered him. He says he punched him all over his body and injured his hands and feet.

Each side, of course, has witnesses. It can be assumed that the testimonies contradict each other 180 degrees. Both sides also presented photos indicating injuries.

The only difference between the two attackers is that while Ariel immediately joined the media celebration, Cohen, trembling and humiliated, retreated to the nearby synagogue to study and relax.

Only when he learned that the police were looking for him did he report to the police station and also file a complaint.

 Two who always fight

Beyond the war of versions, the story, it turns out, also has a history. According to testimonies from neighbors and acquaintances, it's about "always many years," and this is certainly not their first quarrel, "and probably not the last," they add.

One of Rafael Cohen's acquaintances says that this is an Abrevet who studied at Erchot Torah about 10 years ago, in the second cycle of the yeshiva. For those who remember the early days of the yeshiva, enrollment was far from what it is today, when the elite of the yeshiva world flock to its doors. Not that there weren't any excellent young men, but they were much less selective. "Already in the yeshiva, Rafael was a scoundrel, especially given the character of the other young men in the yeshiva," says one of his friends with a smile.

According to the same acquaintance, about two years ago, Rafael Cohen encountered mental difficulties due to a crisis with his father, an expert in the field of "houses" for tefillin. Rumors claimed that, supposedly, he sold invalid tefillin. The Grand Rabbi Steinman formed a special court, which examined the claims one by one - and no evidence was found for them on the ground. "Since then, Rafael has become very strong, some say even to a too extreme degree," says the acquaintance.

Ariel is dispossessed and expelled

There is also a rivalry between the two, Cohen and Ariel, over a tefillin business that Ariel founded. "When they meet, it always ends in mutual biting at best, and in the worst case, with a showdown. Cohen is also very angry about what he calls Ariel's 'series of submissions.' Among other things, he refers to the submission he accuses Ariel of, according to him, related to a construction violation at the 'Or Elhanan' yeshiva, near where the two live. The submission reached the Civil Administration.".

According to testimonies from worshippers at the 'House of Prayer', a synagogue headed by Rabbi Weintraub, a prominent follower of the Grail Steinman, Ariel was asked to stop coming to pray there, and he was even removed from his position as a gabbaot. In recent months, Ariel has left the place and is praying at the 'Mishkan Aharon' synagogue. "He came yesterday specifically to provoke," says a worshipper at the synagogue.

 What is clear is that whether this is a one-time quarrel, or whether the neighbors are right in testifying to a long history of mutual fights, the violence must be condemned, even if both are equally guilty.

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