The Chasid Who Established Kiryat Malachi’s Local Guard

 At first glance Assaf Peleg presented an unusual sight to residents of Kiryat Malachi. On the one hand he is dressed as a chasid, with a streimel and kapota on Shabbos, but at the same time he carries an M-16, a pistol and a telephone and gives orders to members of the local guard.

When residents learned of Peleg’s military background, they began to understand his unique position and capabilities. Assaf was a member of the crack Duvdevan commando unit, one of the toughest special operation IDF units. Peleg served as a squad commander in the unit before becoming a Baal Teshuva.

On the 7th of October, he awoke like most of the southern cities to a barrage of rockets. “I ran to the roof,” he told Israel’s N12 channel,” and saw that there were plumes of smoke around. From this moment there were numerous sirens. I went to secure the street and the prayers. We stayed in the streets all day, patrolling and protecting the neighborhood and the shuls.”

Peleg is desperately upset that he didn’t know what was going on near the border: “I’m really angry at myself and feel a sense of remorse because as a former military person I didn’t understand that there was an incident going on in which I could have come and fought for the state of Israel, but this is the situation and it is what Hashem wanted.”

Since then he has been involved in establishing the local guard, getting the required permits and broadening the civilian security infrastructure. [Local guards are springing up all around Israel, as civilians create the means to protect their neighborhoods and communities].

The Kiryat Malachi local guard, headed by Peleg

“A lot of good things are happening here,” he says with satisfaction. Peleg also serves as a security coordinator for Bnei Brak and runs a non-profit welfare organization.

During the second intifada, Peleg served in the Duvdevan unit and established the special response division which lost three members in the October 7th fighting. His period of Teshuva began in the IDF, continued for three years in India and then after he returned to Israel. Peleg wears a Streimel as his Shabbos attire but says he is a “general Chasid” who doesn’t belong to one specific Chasidic sect.

Peleg is calling on the chareidi community to do what they can to help the security efforts, whether by enlisting or giving of their time to help where it is needed.

“A charedi can enlist and contribute while maintaining his own identity. Obviously he will have to sacrifice of himself but that is what is required. But it’s not just enlisting, everyone knows what happened in the south and what ZAKA did, its something I don’t think even commandos could do. Everyone can give his part from where he is and all should be shoulder to shoulder in helping, that’s what I believe in.”