More than 140,000 people visited Jerusalem's Mount of Olives over the weekend for the annual commemoration of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar, the renowned 18th-century Torah scholar and mystic known as the Or HaChaim, making it one of the capital's largest public gatherings in recent months.
Officials hailed the event as a success after it concluded without any major safety incidents, crediting extensive planning and coordination among the Office of Religious Services, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Burial Grounds Council, Israel Police, and emergency services.
Given the Mount of Olives' steep terrain and limited access, police barred private vehicles from entering the area. Worshippers were transported to the site via a network of dedicated shuttle buses and public transportation that operated around the clock.
Preparations for the pilgrimage began weeks in advance and included expanding crowd areas, installing additional lighting and shade, setting up water distribution stations, and deploying hundreds of police officers, attendants, Magen David Adom personnel, and Fire and Rescue teams.
"This was one of the most complex logistical operations ever carried out on the Mount of Olives," said Tzuri'el Krisfel, CEO of the Burial Grounds Council in Jerusalem. He said organizers focused on managing crowd flow and coordinating security measures to prevent dangerous overcrowding and protect visitors.
Yehuda Avidan, CEO of the Office of Religious Services, praised the public for following the instructions of security personnel, saying their cooperation played a key role in ensuring the event passed safely. He noted that the ministry has developed extensive experience managing major religious gatherings in recent years, including commemorations for the Baba Sali and Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, under strict safety protocols.
Although heavy traffic congestion was reported throughout the day and night on roads leading to the Old City and eastern Jerusalem, officials said the shuttle system successfully transported tens of thousands of participants without any unusual incidents.
It is always easier to invent an enemy than to look in the mirror.
Eli Paley’s latest article in the Mishpacha magazine begins with a painful truth. The cuts in yeshiva funding are real. The financial pressure now bearing down on thousands of Charedi families is real. So is the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Torah world. On this, there is little room for disagreement.
Where I part company with him is in the story he tells about how we got here. According to Paley, the present crisis is the product of a sophisticated ideological campaign. Progressive organizations, NGOs, think tanks, courts, bureaucrats, and government officials are all cast as parts of a single machine whose purpose is to dismantle the Torah world.
It is an attractive explanation, not because it is necessarily true, but because it demands nothing of us. History is filled with movements that explain every setback by pointing to a single villain. We Jews are intimately familiar with such tactics as they are used routinely by anti semites. Such stories are comforting. They relieve us of the burden of self-examination. If everything is the fault of our “enemies,” then nothing is ever our responsibility.
That is the real danger of Paley’s article. Not that ideological opponents do not exist; of course they do. The danger lies in convincing an entire community that those opponents explain everything.
There is a Simpler Explanation
Perhaps we should begin with the obvious. For nearly three years, Israel has been fighting the longest and most exhausting war in its history. Hundreds of thousands of reservists have left behind families, businesses, studies, and careers. Tens of thousands have been wounded, and thousands have been killed. An entire society has been carrying an extraordinary burden.
One may support the current Charedi draft policy or oppose it. One may believe deeply, as I do, in the centrality of Torah learning for the Jewish people. But one fact is difficult to ignore: many Israelis look at this reality and feel that the burden has not truly been shared by the Charedi community.
That feeling is not simply the creation of progressive think tanks. It is not merely the product of hostile NGOs or clever legal strategists. It is the product of lived experience. To acknowledge this would require real self-reflection and serious conversation. It would force us to ask hard questions about responsibility, solidarity, Torah, statehood, and the meaning of sharing a national destiny. It is far easier to blame a villain and ride the familiar waves of right-versus-left politics.
Perhaps the most troubling part of the article comes at its end. Paley argues that the coalition built around Keren Olam HaTorah should become a sophisticated international advocacy movement to proactively defend the Charedi world. In practical terms, this means using wealth and political access abroad to pressure foreign politicians, who in turn will pressure Israel.
This is quite a troubling proposal. At a time when Israel is already under extraordinary international pressure, encouraging Charedi Jews around the world to organize political pressure against Israel’s institutions is not what Am Yisrael needs. It may feel like strength, but it risks deepening the alienation between Charedi society and the broader Israeli public at precisely the moment when we most need responsibility, trust, and shared purpose.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had placed Araghchi and Ghalibaf on a target list but temporarily removed them while the United States pursued negotiations with Iran.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
U.S. officials believed Israel could target two senior Iranian negotiators during ceasefire and peace negotiations with Tehran, prompting Washington to seek regional assistance in warning Iran out of concern that such an operation could jeopardize the diplomati process, The New York Times reported.
The officials said American concerns focused on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations that began in April.
While U.S. officials acknowledged the two men could have been considered legitimate military targets during the height of the conflict, they believed any attempt to kill them after negotiations were underway would likely end the talks and reignite fighting.
According to The New York Times, some current and former U.S. officials said Washington asked other countries in the region to warn Iran about the possibility that Israel could target the two officials.
The report said Israel concentrated early in the conflict on senior Iranian leaders, while U.S. military operations focused on Iran’s navy and missile forces.
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official, and former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi were killed in Israeli airstrikes while participating in negotiations with the United States.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported in March that Israel had placed Araghchi and Ghalibaf on a target list but temporarily removed them while the United States pursued negotiations with Iran.
The report said Iran adopted additional security measures during the talks.
Before an April meeting in Islamabad with Vice President JD Vance, Iranian officials sought assurances through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries that Israel would not target the delegation.
Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian aircraft to and from Islamabad, and on the return journey, the delegation diverted to Mashhad before traveling approximately eight hours overland to Tehran after receiving what Iranian officials described as intelligence of a possible Israeli threat.
According to the Jerusalem Post, a major plan to topple the Iranian regime using Kurdish forces, backed by Israeli air support was ready.
— Mosab Hassan Yousef (@MosabHasanYOSEF) July 2, 2026
Trump vetoed it at the last minute.
Israeli sources accuse JD Vance of leaking the entire operation to Erdogan.
A 41-year-old Vice… pic.twitter.com/311CZ5bArZ
So this is a pretty vulnerable post, and I am happy I can advocate for myself.
My 8-year-old was removed from his school for behavioral challenges (the principal said he was not following directions or was disruptive). In February, we had a face-to-face meeting, and the principal decided that my kid should be removed from the school until he is eligible for their ABA program.
I was devastated.
How can a school just reject a child like that?
We were proactive and did what needed to be done to start the process—insurance, get the diagnosis, evaluate, etc. Suffice it to say, the whole process was extremely tedious and took 3 months to complete.
In the meantime, this is happening, and my kid is becoming more and more disengaged and withdrawn.
6 months went by, and we had no idea what to do. As a licensed therapist, I could see the potential risks already being observed by my now 8-year-old, and certain symptoms were concerning to me.
I had people advocating for me and calling the school and pleading for my son to come back temporarily while everything is being completed.
The principal did not budge.
We were rejected and dismissed.
We needed to get an assessment to rule out anything we can. We contacted our local Board of Education, and they guided us by having our son enrolled in the system.
When asked why this assessment needed to be completed, we had to tell them the truth.
Well, fast forward to a few days before, and my husband got a call for confirmation, and the person said that if we don’t enroll our child, the DOE would send a summons.
We did not get in trouble legally.
My kid, as a young 7-year-old, was being enrolled in public school.
I had very mixed feelings, but we know what is best for our child.
He was lacking, for a few months, the structure and routine. He did not have the social and emotional piece that was missing from school.
I could not sit back and watch my child suffer.
The first day happened, and he was nervous, but by the end of the day, I saw that glow on his face and smile. I was beyond happy to see what I was missing.
He was there for a month.
He was treated with respect as far as his observances.
I was so happy to see that.
Fast forward, he has been rejected by a local Lakewood school that I will not mention.
I write this not to offend people but to advocate for the system in general.
Once we were rejected, someone said, “Do you have pull?”
Why should someone have to plead or bargain for a school to accept their child?
I am all for rules, but I believe in authenticity.
I do not believe “dressing the part” is authentic for an interview.
We gave it our authentic selves, and to see us being rejected as well as dismissed is a horrible feeling.
People are afraid my kid will lose his Yiddishkeit, but I believe quite the opposite, as the foundation is in our home.
I do believe his sense of loss for his Jewish values is because of how he has been treated by other schools.
Will this system change?
Timing is everything, and I believe it is time to say goodbye to Lakewood.
I loved some of the people, but my kid’s happiness and values are a much bigger priority, and I do not think he will find them here.
I want my family to be loved and recognized for their true and authentic selves.
I write this to give a voice to the people who were also rejected or dismissed.
Thank you.
Name withheld upon request.
