Jerusalem – Students in Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef’s Kollel [Torah study institute providing stipends for married men] in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem have been asked to carry a weapon, if they own one, to their daily studies. The administrators have been warned by police that terrorists might target them, or another yeshiva, as occurred in Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav Kook nearly a year ago.
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In the attack in Merkaz HaRav, last March, eight students were slaughtered by a lone terrorist as they studied in the yeshiva library. The murderer, a resident of an eastern Jerusalem village, walked easily into the unprotected yeshiva carrying his rifle in a box.
Ever since then, the yeshiva entrance has been locked and guarded, and other yeshivot have followed suit.
Porush Asks for Review
MK Rabbi Menachem Porush (United Torah Judaism) has asked Public Security Minister Avi Dichter to order a comprehensive review of the security situation in all yeshivot throughout the country. Porush said that a recent random sampling of yeshivot in Jerusalem has turned up the fact that many of them are not suitably protected. Many yeshivot do not have guards, he said, and the guards at others are occasionally unarmed and/or untrained.
Porush praised Chief Police Superintendent Pini Cohen for taking the initiative to conduct the review of Jerusalem yeshivot. Porush quoted Cohen as having emphasized “specific intentions of potential terrorists to carry out attacks in public buildings in general and religious institutions in particular.”
Rabbi Yosef’s Kollel has recently taken extra precautions, locking all entrances and asking students to carry weapons. The new rules took effect after police in Jerusalem informed the administrators of the increased terrorism threats.
The Kollel is run day-to-day by Rabbi Yosef’s son Rabbi David Yosef. Rabbi Ovadiah, the former Chief Rabbi, gave a weekly class there until he recently took ill, and is expected to resume the practice shortly.
i think jews should be armed all around the world. It’s a crazy world out there and if we’re armed we can prevent a tragedy G-d forbid.
May Hashem protect us.
Hallelukah! At least some of us are reacting appropriately.
Baruch Hashem.
so funny and hypocritical. the so called yeshivishe velt has been against the hesder movement all these years. now guns in yeshiva is suddenly ok with them?
Of course this makes sense, look at the picture. It’s not charedi yeshivos that are taking up arms. It’s the mizrachi and they should have a long time ago. Will be interesting to see if the charedi do. Don’t they claim that their learning is protecting all Jews and therefore they don’t serve in the army?! Phew! I’ve been armed in any Jewish gathering place since after 9/11. The writing is on the wall.
All American yeshivas should have courses in karate and self defense .Our children must be taught to protect themselves…If we have a severe recession or depression in the USA(G-D forbid) we will be the scape goats and easy targets for anti semitism.Yakov Ovinu prepared for his contact with Essuv by prayer and strategy .why should we be different?
This is great. Let the terrorist murderers who kill Jewish people to get to their pervert’s heaven, realize that they are inadvertently arming more and more Jews.
thats what they should do and every chabad house should have weapons just in case