Rabbi Eliezer Berland, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, Chaim Walder were all key figures in the ultra-Orthodox world, perhaps even exemplary. However, they allegedly committed sexual assaults. Except for Berland, who is admired blindly, they chose to go to the grave rather than face the shame.
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The Walder affair has caused a shattering earthquake in the Haredi community with repercussions bound to reach its every corner. However, the problem is that not everyone is on the same page when it comes to exposing the perpetrators.
In fact, we are witnessing an internal ultra-Orthodox struggle between two camps. One consists of conservative ghettoists who seek to fortify the walls between the Haredi community and the outside world further.
This aspiration exerts immense social pressure not to expose the wrongdoers. According to this group – which is sometimes supported by senior rabbis – turning to the police or a court is outright forbidden, if not according to Jewish law, then according to instinct. Woe to those who dare speak up, they say. Dirty laundry should be washed at home, they claim.
The ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman newspaper, which covered stories and interviews with Walder, has not covered the affair at all. One can estimate with caution: there are currently dozens, maybe hundreds, of sex offenders walking the ultra-Orthodox streets, enjoying the protection of the ghettoists.
The other group consists of members of the ultra-Orthodox sector who have common sense. For example, roughly 320,000 flyers reading "We all believe the victims" were distributed in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods across Israel, a response to some rabbis asserting that any allegations of sexual assault against Walder or other prominent Haredi figures constitute lashon hara (malicious gossip) – a practice forbidden under Jewish law.
Walder and Meshi-Zahav are just the tip of the iceberg. And what happens next depends on the representatives of the secular elite, especially the media. The last decade has seen more frequent and intense encounters between secular and ultra-Orthodox journalists than ever before.
This encounter is inevitable, stemming not only from the demographic growth of the ultra-Orthodox sector but also from the tendency of the mainstream media to include and legitimize its members.
But is it even worthwhile to demolish the walls of these ghettos? I would like to propose an action model: protection of the community – yes, protection of the ghetto – no.
On the one hand, journalists and public figures must exhibit sensitivity when it comes to the Haredi community. They must remember that it is the greenhouse and source of power for most of the Haredim in Israel. What can we do, the rabbis are the central anchors of the ultra-Orthodox world, and as such, should be treated with sensitivity.
On the other hand, one should not actively seek to destroy the walls of the ghetto, not unless it means that the community renounces its responsibility towards its sons and daughters and shelters criminals of all kinds. Then the old world should be destroyed. With sensitivity and determination.
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