This is the kind of news report that makes me think (even if only until the siren-blow ends) that there is hope for Klal Yisrael. R' Weiss respected the pleas by parents of deceased soldiers, relayed to him by a letter from Yad Lebanim Chariman Eli Ben Shem, not to hijack the day with their protests. R' Weiss even called Ben Shem personally say that he holds the hospital in high esteem and that he respects the fallen and does not wish to desecrate their memories.
I'm not sure if I would go as far as saying that R' Weiss hold Yom HaZikaron sacred. But I do think this is occasion to hold back cynicism and recognize that this is a significant, if isolated, gesture of good will from one of the most radical poles of Hareidi society. This is even more true in light of the announcement's context: these protests are a hot-button issue that rallies the Hareidi base, and this conciliation was presented as being in recognition of a commemoration that, while sacred to the rest of the country, most Hareidim disparage. This announcement, at the very least, will catch their attention.
In his letter to R' Weiss, Ben-Shem noted that on Yom HaZikaron, "We all become one united family in front of which stand thousands of families who lost the best of their sons in war while defending the homeland." Who knows? Maybe, this year the radical elements of the Hareidi world will take note of that spirit of achdus and recognize that there might value to finding ways of protecting the Jewish religion that don't have to threaten the unity of the Jewish people.In the merit of the fallen soldiers' sacrifice, may it be His will.
What world do you live in? They postponed a ridiculous protest on Yom Hazikaron and you think this is something positive? A person that cared at all for "clal Yisrael" would never have even considered a protest on that day. This man's constant protests are possible only because these soldiers died in wars to defend him. Do you even understand what Yom Hazikaron means in Israel?
ReplyDeleteI think this is more symbolic of the Hareidim views about the State of Israel:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=173500
Here is the text of the article:
Some haredi extremists protested against the State of Israel in Jerusalem on Monday, shortly before the Remembrance Day siren.
The haredim burned trash cans, threw rocks at passing cars, tore Israeli flags and tried to block Shivtei Yisrael street.
The men fled the scene when police arrived. Municipality workers were called to put out the fires and re-open the street.
Soon after the siren, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for burning an Israeli flag near the Shabbat Square in Mea Shearim.
What Anonymous brings up is precisely the point. To paraphrase from Ira, we have to realize what world the Badatz lives in. Not only do they not care about YoH"Z (although, in this case I think they just didn't have it on their radars in order to avoid scheduling conflicts), they also don't generally go around conciliating the secular society. This might be a baby step, but it's not business as usual.
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