Police Try To Block Funeral Of Rav Aharon Of Belz’s Gabbai As Thousands Participate

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Thousands of Belz chasidim attended the funeral procession of Rabbi Yitzchak Landa (89), one of the senior and prominent chasidim who had served as the gabbai of Rav Aharon of Belz and had been with him previously in Bochnia ghetto. Police attempted to prevent the large funeral procession from taking place due to coronavirus restrictions but did not succeed in preventing the chasidim from reaching the cemetery.

At the entrance to the Shamgar funeral house adjacent to the Belz neighborhood, it was agreed that the main ceremony would take place there. However at a certain point thousands of people started walking to the cemetery. Police tried in vain to stop them but in the end most of the people continued walking and attended the hespedim (eulogies) at the Belz center nearby. Police did succeed in preventing most of the chasidim from entering the cemetery itself.

As journalist Yair Levy noted in the following tweet: “Government of Israel, police and representatives: Calm down! You are pushing a major chasidic court to the sidelines. Have you gone mad? Just two days ago you allowed illegal processions of anarchistic left-wingers to take place. Let us conduct the funeral of a rabbi in the open air.”

ממשלת ישראל, משטרת ישראל ונציגי הציבור: תרגיעו ומהר!!!
אתם דוחקים חצר מרכזית ומיינסטרית לשוליים.
השתגעתם????
רק לפני יומיים אישרתם תהלוכות בלתי חוקיות של השמאל האנרכיסטי. תנו לנו לקיים הלוויה של רב באוייר הפתוח.
משוגעים רדו מהגג ומהר!!!! pic.twitter.com/JHQEtcNISR

— יאיר לוי (@iairLevy) October 20, 2020