Last week I reported on the Israeli ultra-Orthodox “modesty squads,” which have beaten up women who do not dress sufficiently prudishly for their tastes, and have torched stores that sell digital media players. This week things heated up in Jerusalem, when police made a few arrests, triggering a major riot, in which ultra-Orthodox Jews overturned cars. (This, as if to offer a direct rebuttal to those who dismiss them as irrelevant, fringe groups.) I find their actions, their presumption to speak for Judaism, the people who attempt to cover for them, and the rabbis who legitimize them so appalling that I will refrain from elaborating, and instead quote the always-entertaining Tali Farkash in today’s YNet:
To be honest, once upon a time, during my naïve era, I couldn’t imagine that an Orthodox person would dare hit someone, or burn something, or vandalize. Court-martials are not the way of Jewish law, and zealotry in general has been harshly condemned by our sages. It is clear that orderly meetings called to discuss destructive and violent operations, or payoffs to thugs supposedly performing a “mitzvah” (with a special fare for those who burn MP4 devices) are an indication that something is awfully wrong around here.
The chastity squad has been backed by various elements in the Orthodox community mostly because of a manipulative public relations campaign. They portray themselves as people who care, who clear the streets of the wrongdoers, and who remove “spiritual obstacles” that may harm our children.
Yet despite their wonderful cleansing abilities, there are still perverted and crazy people living free and happy amongst us, because their family pedigree protects them and their despicable acts, which would normally be punishable by stoning and burning according to Jewish law. Their very existence on the Orthodox street is the ultimate proof that shows the chastity squad’s true nature: selective action, hypocrisy, and duplicity. In other words, they are eager to target confused young women, but dare not touch veteran pedophiles…
The elimination of this criminal organization – yes, this is precisely what the chastity squad is – depends only on the determination of the Orthodox community to reject the zealots and hand them over to the Israel Police, as one of Jerusalem’s most prominent rabbis openly requested.
So, is this just a fringe group, or is it an example of a broader problem in the ultra-Orthodox community? The ultra-Orthodox community is known for its adherence to the instructions of its rabbis, and anyone who argues that they have no ability to bring the violence to an end simply has it wrong. If only one prominent rabbi has suggested handing these people over to the police, then we had better hope that the rest of them will either line up behind that rabbi, or put a stop to the groups through the weight of their authority. Otherwise, they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
