Ultra-Orthodox radicals fight virus enforcement
For the last few days, the sight of police and border police confronting and arresting extremist ultra-Orthodox men for violating coronavirus social-distancing orders – and being cursed at with slurs of “Nazis” and alternatively “Communists” – has become commonplace on TV and social media.
Communities in radical neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh have routinely flouted the Health Ministry instructions designed to slow the spread of the epidemic and to protect the very same communities from which the protesters stem.
Hassidic men, many clad in long white and grey striped coats have been arrested, while others shout and goad, and even attack the security services.
Although there has been resistance in the broader ultra-Orthodox world to restrictions on communal gatherings which are such a critical part of Jewish religious life, the radical elements of the sector have taken even longer to comply.
So who are the extremists who resist the police so strongly in places like Ramat Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim over coronavirus orders – and on frequent occasions over other issues as well?
In general, these hardliners belong to communities associated with the radical, anti-Zionist Eda Haredit association of ultra-Orthodox communities founded in the 1920s, and are not connected to mainstream ultra-Orthodox groups.
They are a very small minority of the overall ultra-Orthodox population of Israel and are thought to comprise less than 10% of the sector, roughly 40,000 to 60,000 people, although there are no precise figures and the numbers could be higher.
The communities which made up, and still do constitute, the majority of the Eda Haredit – literally, community of (God) fearers – originated
for the most part in Hungary where the hassidic communities had an extreme ideology of separation and segregation from the secular and non-Jewish world, a reaction to the enlightenment in Europe.
Another large component of the Eda are the Prushim (those who separate themselves), descendants of the disciples of Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, the famous Vilna Gaon of Lithuania, who settled in Jerusalem in the mid 19th century and became a prominent part of the ultra-Orthodox community of the Old Yishuv.
In the 1930s, the Eda separated from the mainstream ultra-Orthodox representative body Agudat Yisrael, which the Eda then viewed increasingly as too compromising with the Zionist authorities, whose leaders they opposed on religious grounds.
BUT REGARDING the coronavirus epidemic, Brown also emphasized that the restrictions imposed by the government to stem the spread of the disease have also struck at everything these communities hold dear.
Communal prayer, communal Torah study and preparations for Shabbat and the holidays are all central aspects of the lives of these radical groups – and all are now banned by the state authorities.
To take all that away from such communities so quickly was always going to be a difficult task, and so it has proved to be.
Even on Tuesday, the police were still arresting ultra-Orthodox men violating Health Ministry orders and issuing fines to others in Mea Shearim and in the radical neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet.
Families in these communities are also very large, living in extremely small homes where it is particularly difficult to live in such close confines for large amounts of time.
One other group not connected to the Eda which has also refused to comply with Health Ministry orders to a greater extent than the mainstream ultra-Orthodox community is the hardline Jerusalem Faction grouping.
This community until 2012 was an integral part of the so-called “Lithuanian” non-hassidic mainstream ultra-Orthodox community, but due to a succession battle over the leadership, the faction broke away to form its own institutions and leadership.
The Jerusalem Faction made as its banner issue fighting the state against any efforts to increase ultra-Orthodox enlistment into the IDF. In recent years, it has conducted numerous violent protests and acts of civil disobedience over this matter.
Although Jerusalem Faction institutions do accept money from the state and its members vote in elections, the community has become increasingly radicalized and antagonistic to state authority. Because of this mindset, elements in the community have also refused to comply with the coronavirus to all travelers arriving in Israel, and said he heard about it from the press, even though his ministry is in charge of the hotels for those who contracted the virus. The Prime Minister’s Office denied that he was not told before the media.
When asked about the chances of him remaining outside the government, at a press conference on Facebook on Wednesday, Bennett said he was not born a minister and has no problem being a regular MK.
“I respect the prime minister, but there are sometimes disagreements between us,” he said, answering a question from The Jerusalem Post about their dispute. “It is no secret that for a month I have been saying test, test, test. I don’t care about arguing. I care about healing the economy without harming the health of our citizens.”
Bennett has been conducting such press conferences daily. While his office said he wants to perform a service to the public that no one else is doing, Likud officials said he is just trying to cover himself for whoever probes Israel’s handling of the corona crisis, as he did when he warned of tunnels from Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.
Yamina has not officially been made an offer by the Likud. But Likud officials have made clear that the party’s demand of four portfolios, including a top ministry for Bennett, for six MKs was a nonstarter.
“I am not dealing with portfolios,” Bennett said. “I am dealing with testing swabs.”
Likud officials said the most likely offer to Yamina would be the Education Ministry for Rafi Peretz, Strategic Affairs Ministry for Bennett, and a deputy religious affairs minister role for Bezalel Smotrich.
If no post is offered to Ayelet Shaked, it is thought that she may take a break from politics.
But Likud faction chairman Miki Zohar said Yamina is in fact wanted in the coalition.
“The Likud is doing its best to form a government,” he said. “Right now the problem is unfortunately we don’t have enough ministries to offer our right-wing partners. We have only 15, maybe maximum 17. We hope Blue and White helps us solve this problem by giving us more ministries to offer to our partners.
We want Yamina and all the right-wing parties inside. This is our goal, and I hope we will accomplish it. •