Look at the videos circulating across multiple media outlets. It’s impossible to deny what’s right in front of us: the rioters come from across the Charedi spectrum — Litvish/Yeshivish, Chassidish, and everything in between.
Charedi leadership can no longer hide behind the excuse of “a fringe group.” The rioters are in fact.. Bnei Brak — full stop.
Bnei Brak has become so extreme that even the cats won’t chase the rats anymore. Garbage piles up everywhere; the city feels hefker in every sense.
For the past two years, Rav Landau and Rav Hirsch encouraged the protests and watched how these protests escalated. They knew about the violence.. And they said nothing. We posted the footage repeatedly.
But now that the entire world has witnessed the chaos — the spontaneous, unplanned eruption of anger and contempt carried out by “Bnei Torah” from every faction — suddenly Rav Landau and Rav Hirsch issue statements. Not to condemn the behavior, of course. Heaven forbid they criticize their own followers.
Instead, they released a carefully worded notice advising their talmidim and the broader community not to participate in confrontations with police, warning that such involvement is dangerous and a chilul Hashem.
R' Dov Lando and R' Moshe Hillel Hirsch issued a public statement following recent clashes in Bnei Brak, strongly warning against participating in or being present at confrontations with police. In a letter directed to the talmidim of the yeshiva and the broader community, they emphasized that being involved in protests or clashes with law enforcement not only endangers personal safety but also constitutes a serious chilul Hashem.
Too little, too late.
And what triggered this riot? Two Jewish female soldiers walking through Bnei Brak. That’s it. That was enough to send hundreds and according to many estimates, thousands, of supposed yeshiva bochurim — who were meant to be learning — into the streets.
One Lakewood commentator even suggested that the IDF “shouldn’t send female officers into the heart of the Charedi community.” The absurdity of that statement speaks for itself.
A simple question exposes the flaw in that thinking: If there’s an attack, should female soldiers stay out until male soldiers arrive? Should Charedim now be barred from walking through secular neighborhoods as well?
This mindset is not just misguided — it’s dangerous.
