"Charedi" Protests Are Just Another Psy-op
And a prophetic warning for the nations of the world
Why were the first-borns of maidservants in Egypt and captives from other nations punished along with the Egyptians? Why does the Torah emphasize this? What prophetic instruction and warning was given to Moav by the navi Yeshaya, and what does all this have to do with the rampant Jew-hatred around the world today?
This weeks Torah class is embedded above and on Rumble here.
Good news! In the previous post I wrote about last week’s Hebrew edition of Toras Avigdor, in which Rabbi Miller taught vital lessons about the Holocaust and many of Hitler’s decrees. I located the English version from a while back (the Hebrew and English editions do not have the same content each week), and you can see it here. It is a must-read and must-share.
Yesterday I was an involuntary bystander at the latest “Charedi” protest in Jerusalem, stranded by Bar Ilan Street and the surrounding area. I got stuck early in the afternoon right when bus service stopped.
I saw two young Chassidic-looking men (I will reserve judgment as to their true identity) standing in front of a bus and stopping traffic. They were chanting something I couldn’t decipher followed by “Gevald!”
What I found particularly interesting was that they exhibited no emotion or energy whatsoever. One of them was looking at the ground. They sounded stoned, or bored — like people just doing a job or playing a part.
The road could have been opened quite easily if the police on horseback and all over the place wanted to.
On another street a small fire burned in the middle of the road. It was slightly larger than the fire I make when burning my chametz before Pesach. A heavy police force was standing around, bored, observing — doing their job and playing their part as well.
Crowds of people were watching the spectacle, but very few people were actually participating in the spectacle. I was tempted to ask one of the police when the show would be over.
Nothing about the scene felt authentically Charedi or authentic at all. Was this really about children’s safety and forced autopsies? It sure didn’t seem that way.
Hungry, I got a falafel on Golda Meir Street, right by Bar Ilan, the center of the action. The bored Ethiopian guy behind the counter asked me if I was part of the protest. I said “No, it’s shtuyot.”
As I ate lunch I would occasionally hear shouting, and then a bunch of Charedi-looking teenagers would run down the block, followed by a water cannon. Then they would run back toward Bar Ilan Street. Outside the falafel store, Charedi-looking teenagers were sitting around smoking. They were all having a good time.
If you look at random videos of the protest, that’s pretty much all you will see — young people in Charedi-style dress who are clearly off the derech, bums, at-risk, whatever you want to call it. They were enjoying a little action, a break from the monotony of yeshiva where they don’t really want to be anyway. They are Charedim in dress only.
There are many faults in Charedi society which contribute to the huge numbers of wild and disaffected young people on the fringes, but it is disingenuous to claim that they represent Charedi society, and that protests that are dominated by such people represent the average Charedi adult.
I did not see adults with families and real responsibilities participating in the protest. They suffer from these protests and aren’t supporting them, even if they fail to see how they are being manipulated by the Erev Rav who dress like them and officially represent them.
I did not see rabbis or respectable-looking people participating in the protest.
I did not see anyone who could otherwise be mistaken for a ben Torah participating in the protest.
I did see many such people — crowds of them — standing by bus stops desperately trying to hitch a ride or hire a car service to get them out of the area. Normal responsible adults — the vast majority of whom would identify as “Charedim” — had nothing to do with the protest, didn’t say one favorable word about it, and were the people more directly harmed by it.
But that wasn’t the story. That wasn’t how the protest was framed. I caught a bit of the televised “news” an hour later, and the one word the actors in studios kept repeating was “Charedim Charedim Charedim”, as they showed footage from the “protest” and discussed it.
Meanwhile, once again, young people were injured and killed for nothing. Ironically and eerily, it resembles the way brainwashed young people from the other side of the color war are sent to be injured and killed for nothing, too.
Well, not for nothing; for a larger agenda that has nothing to do with what they believe they are fighting for. As long as they keep hating each other instead of those who use them and abuse them, they will never realize it.
It is critical to understand that the people who organize and promote these protests — whoever they really are — have their own agenda. These protests are not being organized and promoted by Gedolim. These protests are not permissible according to the Torah, regardless of the validity of the pretext for them. These protests do not represent regular people who identify as Charedim, and do not benefit them in any way.
The media, for their part, also has their own agenda. Do you really think media executives call meetings to discuss how they can deliver more accurate and pertinent information to you, because more than anything they want you to be properly informed?
I don’t think anyone believes this — yet they continue to take at face value what the media selectively shows them, get sucked into the narratives, reflexively form the desired conclusions, and react according to the programming. Charedi-haters eagerly take the bait, while Charedim close ranks and defend “their side”.
Very few take the third option, or even recognize that there is one: transcend the labels, talking points, and petty behavior, don’t be pushed into taking one of two sides in an orchestrated color war, look beyond the surface of what is being presented to you in a media that is totally corrupt, and refuse to be played anymore.
There is a reason why police stood by for so long and allowed the production to go on.
There is a reason why these “riots” never really get out of hand and, if you are there, will see are clearly being choreographed and controlled from on high.
There is a reason why the media only shows you the most polarizing content and extreme behavior.
I’m not saying everyone who protested was a state actor who was being paid. But I am suggesting that the protest as a whole was a staged production, even if most of the participants were extras and useful idiots.
The vast majority of adults who identify as “Charedim” are normal people with reasonable intelligence who are trying to deal with real life just like you and me. They dress a certain part to fit in and bought into certain shtick, but, most likely, so did you.
If they were in the vicinity of the protest, they were watching the spectacle like I was, not participating in it. They might not say it publicly (bad for shidduchim, etc.) but they are not big fans of burning stuff in the street, they care a great deal about their children’s safety, and they really wish the roads were open yesterday.
The media doesn’t want you to believe that. The government doesn’t want you to believe that. The social media influencers with huge followings who get boosted, not cancelled, don’t want you to believe that.
Because all of them benefit from pushing a particular narrative and promoting discord.
For the sake of unity, saving lives, and keeping us safe, of course…
No comments:
Post a Comment