Jerusalem – Ultra-Orthodox MKs on Sunday complained of receiving threatening letters in envelopes with white powder inside.
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“Stop sucking our blood,” the letters say. “Pack up your stuff and your shtreimels and go to Brooklyn.” The Knesset Officer has launched an investigation into the source of the letters, which were sent to MKs Uri Maklev and Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism.
“We, the enlightened people of Israel, demand that you, people of darkness, stop living at our expense by studying without working, and get out of our lives,” the letters say.
“If you continue to squeeze out funds at our expense you will pay a hefty price, as we will fight you physically and not just through demonstration. You will feel our wrath on your selves and your synagogues. We will make your lives miserable and attack you in your cities and neighborhoods.”
The letters, signed with a word play on ‘price tag policy’, a name given by settlers to acts of revenge against Palestinians in the West Bank. Beneath was a picture of a skull wearing a traditional hat and side-locks.
The letters were taken in by the Knesset Officer, but the white substance has not yet been identified.
Gafni’s public relations adviser said in response to the letters that “it was clear to us that the rabid incitement against the haredim would lead to such maneuvers and even violence”.
“It’s too bad there is no real dialogue in Israeli society, only hate campaigns,” he added.
Probably, and sadly, an inside job by some shababnik who wants to get attention.
The policies that the chareidim are pushing are not fair. I can understand the anger. The methods are inexcusable. But the form of yidishkeit being shoved down the throats of chilonim is not palatable for them. More and more evidence also suggests that is not palatable for the young chareidim either.
Although this act is totally wrong but it indicates that the people are fed up with the distortion of the Torah. The Torah tells us to work. The Rabbis have created their own religion and have lied to the people to teach their students that it is forbidden to work. This is what you get for lying and changing the Torah. Why do we call such perverters of the Torah rabbis? Anyone who changes even one letter of the Torah denies the entire Torah. How could people accept such rabbis and call them Torah leaders. Get a job now and fulfill the Torah, don’t work and violate the Torah!
Mr upset! Are you suddenly the voice of torah? Are we supposed to follow your words over the leaders of our generation? Are you here to point out all the faults on the other side which should cause us to agree to your way of thinking?
Let’s look at your way of life and start pointing out your faults. How many working people are totally honest? Do you ever waste any time taking care of personal things while you’re in work? How many working people are honest in not looking, thinking or touching other women? Do you give your 10% to maaser?
The list goes on but I don’t wish to embarrass you, rather just get a point across. Don’t make fun of the way the gedolim set up torah in todays day. Just because you find faults doesn’t mean your way of doing things is correct. Your way has plenty of schmutz, its just that its the way of business so no one makes a big deal.
Yes, thanks Vin for putting forth so many articles which bad mouth those that hold up the world. We’ve seen the ones about how “at risk” our children are. We see todays article about the yeshivas with fake id’s and so on. You’ve put out lots of articles to smear those that are learning in yeshiva and make the working world look so perfect. You’re all so much brighter than our gedolim which lead us!
Dear Mr. Rebbishekup:
The Chumash, Mishna, Talmud, and Shulchan Aruch were written by gedolim. All these sources tell us in so many places to work and get a job. I ask you to name even one Torah source that says that work and having a job is forbidden. You have created a fantasy in your own mind that work is forbidden. The very nature of living in this world is to sanctify the smutz that is why we have a Torah. Hashenm has many angels but only finds joy in man who must encounter the smutz and santify it. The Chumash, Talmud, and Shulchan Aruch has 100s of laws related to work. Why are those law there if work was forbidden? You have embarressed yourself by implying work is smutz. There is not enough space here to quote all of the positive statement the Talmud makes about work. Please look inside a gemorrah once in a while and you will see those statements. If you don’t work how will you eat? Should someone else work for you and go into the smutz for you while you remain clean. Your logic doesn’t make any sense. Should you be supported by money that comes from smutz? That is benefitting from issur according to your thinking. Please think before you write. Get a job now!
There are some legitimate students studying in kollel but given the demographics, the current trends cannot continue without draining the economoy of its productive capacity and dooming EY.
Dear Mr. Fedup!
Please don’t quote me out of context. I never stated work is shmutz. Rather, working has plenty of shmutz attached, the same way you perceive someone sitting in yeshiva. You imply that since these problems exist in the learning world, it’s time for everyone to go out and work. Your logic is krum. There are plenty of problems with working people as well (as stated).
As to your vast knowledge of chumash, mishna and gemara which in YOUR opinion states that a person must work, I think you’d better do some chazara. I’d love to start quoting the numerous places which show that nothing is wrong with learning all day, but there’s not enough room. Maybe send me your email address.
I’m not sure whom you consider as a gadol today and which rav you follow ,but most of the gedolim I’ve heard never spoke out against learning all day. On the contrary, they’ve only encouraged the idea. So maybe its time to rethink YOUR position and start following the words of the great rabbonim.
Obviously, sending “white powder” in an envelope is a veiled threat of life-threatening harm (remember the anthrax scare?). Whatever one thinks about the political positions of these chareidi MKs, there is NO justification for such terroristic acts. The senders are no different than Hamas, only more cowardly. To even “understand” how someone could come to do such a horrific act is to condone terrorism. The Israeli police have arrested people for incitement for less inflammatory comments.