A Charedi writer's open letter to anti-IDF rioters

by Isaac Kohn 

Dear Yerushalmi Faction member:

Let's understand each other before you read any further.

I am considered Charedi, my children are considered Charedi and so are my grandchildren. As such, no one is in a better po‎sition to look carefully at who you are, what you represent, what your goal is and what you are really accomplishing.

Basically speaking, let's face it: you are a hooligan, a law-breaker and a wretched model of what a Yeshiva Bochur (yeshiva student, ed.) should not be. How dare you! Your wild and reckless rioting will never result in the army rescinding its draft guidelines. Your ugly shenanigans perpetrated against the rest of the innocent public will only cause the full extent of the law to come crashing down around your ears.

And so it should be. And the sooner the better.

I always tried to compare 'our' children to those who live in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-administered territories. I always marveled at the wide schism of normal and human be‎havior exhibited by 'our' children in comparison to the youth across the border. Ours were taught manners, respect, decency, kindness and the relationship between man and G-D. We were taught that as human beings, our lives need to emulate that of the One Above. They, on the other hand, are taught that life has no value, decency is non existent, politeness is a waste of time and their Allah is an angry, blood thirsty deity.

And then you came along, exposing yourself to the world as a spoiled, useless piece of work who doesn't care about the rest of society. Just who do you think you are? Your name in Hebrew, Peleg Yerushalmi, using the word peleg, says it all. Peleg means to divide, to split up, to shatter. Shame on you.

I've been watching you all these weeks. I saw you following the precepts and orders of leaders who are detached from reality. I noticed that you and your fellow hoods truly believe that the world is yours. You've been blocking traffic, threatening, pushing, kicking and rioting in order to accomplish... what?

I watched you and your little brothers, the 8,10,12, and14 year-olds, harass drivers and innocent by-standers only because you don't agree with their attire. You insulted, cursed and physically mauled a woman who happened to walk by while you were displaying your ugliness on the streets of Jerusalem. You disgust me. Shame on you!

You are a disgrace. As a Charedi, I am telling you that you are an unworthy imitation of a frum [religious] Jew who needs to be taught a swift, harsh lesson. I strongly believe that the army and police are treating you with too much compassion, with kid gloves. I believe the time has come for the authorities to engage you as the terrorist you are. Because you are.

It's only a matter of time until the frustration you are creating for drivers by blocking and delaying them will explode in your face. It will only be a matter of time until a frustrated driver runs you down. That anger was demonstrated already in the city of Bnei Brak as a furious driver came out swinging with a stick. How much longer before someone cracks your head? And deservedly, too.

In addition to your grotesque be‎havior, you are a total hypocrite. You are demonstrating against the draft because the Torah is what you are concerned about. Right? Not so fast.

What you really want is to be left alone to continue on your merry way of doing absolutely nothing with your life. Because you are obviously not learning. Seeing the hundreds of hours you've wasted, learning is the last thing on your mind. How many precious hours, days, 

weeks have you already squandered in this manner? How many enemies to the Torah way of life have you created during that wasteful time? Can't count, can you?

The audacity and ugliness which you portray, have no limits. In your audacious chutzpa you have no qualms about calling our soldiers and police officers the vilest of names. How dare you spit the word Nazi and hurl it at a Jewish son, my nephew, your neighbor? These are the same 'Nazis' – you moron - who'd sacrifice their lives to protect your worthless one. These are the same 'Nazis' who will not hesitate for a second to save you, the one who vilifies them with vile epithets. When you need them, you appreciate their presence and sacrifice, don't you? Shameless ingrate.

Were I in a position to do so, I would treat you quite differently, my young idiot. I would give you an hour ultimatum, sixty minutes exactly, to cease and desist and if you don't, I would then follow up with riot-control methods you haven't yet experienced. Believe me, your eagerness to riot and damage and sit in front of cars will quickly dissipate as you and your colleagues disappear like smoke in the wind.

And then....I would send my 'Nazis' to knock on your door and your friend's and his buddy.........every single, rioting young man. There will be no more extensions or postponements for you and the rest of your gang. You will be drafted immediately and sent for training, not to be furloughed for the next number of years. You will be cured of your sickness, believe me.

And your brother, when he reaches the draft age, will meekly, politely and precisely sign the registration papers without a whimper.

That time is coming.