There is a well-known problem that cannot be ignored. Every time the Haredi world comes up for discussion, a wave of hatred for them floods the country. One time, it was mandatory conscription, another it was the fight over supermarkets and railway infrastructure work in Shabbat, and now the conversation is particularly venomous when it comes to the Haredim and COVID.
Part of that has to do with the media. For years, it has run headlines like "Haredi man caught for sexual harassment," whereas none would ever read "Secular man caught for sexual harassment." News anchors have dared to call Haredim "worms" and "extortionists," and one anchor claimed that the Haredim were violent, pointing to protests held 25 years ago. One MK called them "parasites," and at least one political party uses these materials as the basis for its election campaigns.
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The incitement trickles down to the public. In the first wave of COVID, when Bnei Brak was under a lockdown, the neighboring city of Ramat Gan tried to fence it off. Haredim who went grocery shopping would face insults like "plague spreader," and commenters on the internet repeatedly expressed anger that these "Dossim" (from "ultra-Orthodox").
The words you are now reading were published in this newspaper, which from the day it was founded, has had a clear rule not to treat Jewish tradition with contempt and not to mock Haredi Jews. Odd halachic rulings about nose picking on the Sabbath were not reported here, as they are in some other publications. This paper also disproved a scandal about a Haredi riot on a flight that was delayed and extended into Shabbat, which turned out to be a blood libel. It has also criticized the police's restraint in how they use crowd dispersal measures in dealing with Haredi protests, compared to other demonstrations.
Even the stories this paper has run dealing with the unpleasant actions of rabbis like Berland or Sheinberg were carefully chosen, and written carefully.
But there is criticism that must be published. Sensitively, gently, and with great love for our brethren.
We are in critical days. Days in which we are witnessing a horror story. It's become normal to wear a mask everywhere. Medical workers are covered from head to toe, and it doesn't seem odd to us, and no one blows out the candles on office birthday party cakes. We are seeing an average of 20 casualties (yes, casualties) a day in our war against COVID.
We cannot ignore the fact that the Haredi world has many widespread, serious outbreaks. This is a fact, and cannot be interpreted away. The Haredi way of life makes it very difficult to fight COVID. The crowding, the large families, the synagogues and tish celebrations all lead to outbreaks.
This is why the decision by Hassidic spiritual leaders, who find themselves helpless in the face of COVID, to give in and opt for herd immunity, is significant. We cannot let it go. It will affect us all. Infection will spread beyond the Hassidic courts, hospitals will find themselves overburdened, and the Israeli health care system might, heaven forbid, find itself in a situation in which doctors have to decide who gets ventilators and who do not.
It is important to write about this, to report, to open people's eyes, to shake up the authorities, to put pressure on the rabbis, and it's working. On Thursday, two Hassidic sects – Belz and Vizhnitz – announced that they would be cancelling Sukkot events. Even if media pressure does not influence insular Hassidic groups, it will influence the police, who are the ones who put pressure on the Hassidic sects that ignore the rules.
We have no intention of insulting, offending, or slandering the Haredim. These reports are not yellow journalism. We honor the Haredi world, but we cannot turn a blind eye to an impending disaster
Criticism is not incitement – it saves lives
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