Inside the Eda Haredit

Representatives of the extreme haredi sect agreed to speak openly with ‘In Jerusalem’ on condition of anonymity. Here are some of their observations.

By PEGGY CIDOR
UTJ J'lem mayors meet with Eda Haredit_521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
UTJ J'lem mayors meet with Eda Haredit_521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
At the height of the fracas over the gender separation enforced by the Eda Haredit on Mea She’arim’s sidewalks last Succot, a member of the sect told a journalist that he would even consider requesting that women wear masks to protect their modesty.
Yoel Kraus, the Toldot Aharon man who said that, eventually explained that he was only joking, but the spirit of his statement and the increasingly extreme actions of the Eda Haredit indicate that there is a process of radicalization among the zealots. But while there is no question that extremism and radicalization seem to be overtaking the Eda Haredit groups – whether in Mea She’arim or in Beit Shemesh – things are far from being monolithic inside, and what is experienced by the city’s pluralist-secular residents does not reflect what is really going on inside the Eda.
In Jerusalem had the opportunity to speak openly with a few representatives of the Eda Haredit, on the strict conditions that none of them would be identified.
While the zealots are dictating the harsh tone both inside and outside their community, not all the members of the Eda are happy about it. On one hand, the Eda is flourishing like never before – lots of children are born (and do not die prematurely, thanks to modern medicine), and the number of yeshivot and synagogues is growing. But on the other hand, poverty, the infiltration of modernity, of secularism and everything that constitutes the “Israeli” way of life represent an unprecedented threat.
Hence, believe my interlocutors, comes the fear that raises the defiance and the need for more barriers. There are tough internal disagreements regarding the best strategies and the required attitude towards the official (Zionist) authorities to such a level that, at least according to some inside observers, it might end up in a split within the Eda Haredit.
The election of a secular mayor and the increase of outdoor cultural events – including violating Shabbat (Friday afternoon parties on Hanevi’im Street) – have increased the concern and thus the increase in violence. As a result, there is a closer working atmosphere between the Eda Haredit and the representatives of the United Torah Judaism party on the city council, who are not fervent Zionists but participate in political life and vote for MKs and city council members.
About three weeks ago, a photo released by the Eda Haredit revealed to the public what some observers in the haredi community had already suspected. A picture of the three haredi deputy mayors – Yitzhak Pindrus and Yossi Deitsch (UTJ) and Eli Simhayoff (Shas) – sitting at a meeting with the top leaders of the Eda Haredit to discuss the appropriate ways to respond to the municipality’s threat to the sanctity of the city: the Karta parking lot open on Shabbat, the non-kosher food festival in the Old City, a music festival in churches, the outdoor parties on Shabbat close to their neighborhoods and so on. All these are considered intolerable for the haredim and a serious threat to the Eda Haredit who, unlike their peers from UTJ, have remained opposed to any religious or political compromise. The picture was a landmark, designed to send a message to the mayor that, if threatened, the haredim and the Eda Haredit could collaborate.
“Things have changed; it requires more cooperation between the parties,” said a member of UTJ, “and it left us no choice but to work together with the Eda.”
My first interviewee is a high-ranking member of the management board of the Eda, who explained his request to not be identified.
“We know that journalists are usually not religious, certainly not from the Eda Haredit, and so they write according to their opinions and views. They depict the situation from an opponent’s point of view, or at least not a supportive one, not to mention the fact that a journalist, being mainly interested in a scoop, may misrepresent anything we may say and turn it into a big headline. In my community, we believe that journalists will misuse things we say for their own interest, even manipulate us. I think that despite all the inaccuracies, whether deliberately or not, through an encounter with journalists we can still send a message. But some people will always see only the holes in the cheese.”
On the issue of the growing extremism in the haredi community, all those interviewed agreed that there is indeed a wind of radicalism blowing in the haredi community in general, originating in the Eda Haredit, despite the different streams inside the Eda Haredit.
“There has always been a moderate and a more radical stream, but it is true that at present the tensions are higher and the extremists set the tone,” explained one of the speakers. “It is not only among the different parts that form the Eda but primarily in the administration. The moderates among us are respected inside the Eda, but such positions do not match those of the extremists, who prefer that what people like us say doesn’t reach the secular community or their media.”
But what does it mean to be a moderate in the Eda Haredit? Here is an explanation I received from another member.
“The Eda Haredit is opposed to Zionism and is fiercely opposed to the creation of the State of Israel. But we all live here. My children, my great-grandchildren, my great-great-grandchildren and even my great-great-great-grandchildren all live here, in Jerusalem or in Beit Shemesh, while the sons and daughters of many Zionist leaders live in Paris or New York. We live in the Land of Israel because we are the real Zionists. We love the Land of Israel, but we do not accept the secular state. We just want to live here and wait for the Messiah. That said, there is room for some pragmatism.”
It is important to note that the members of the Eda Haredit, which is a term designating a few groups, have two things in common: They refuse to recognize the state and be its citizens (they do not vote or get involved in any way with its institutions), and their schools are totally independent of the state and municipal education system; the studies are conducted in Yiddish. Except for a small contingent – members of Toldot Aharon – most members of the Eda Haredit do receive National Insurance Institute allowances. However, today there are practically no members of the Eda Haredit who don’t speak Hebrew, unlike the situation that prevailed a few decades ago.
One of the people who spoke to IJ explained that the major concern of his community was to protect the continuity of the haredi way of life, which faces the dangers of secularism, modernity and Zionism.
“We didn’t add a verse [to the liturgy] on the days of mourning, we haven’t added a fast day, we don’t have a museum for the Shoah – nothing. We were just busy reconstructing the haredi community, and we rejected the Zionist ideology, and yet if it wasn’t for Zionism, the assimilation would have been horrible. Even we, who are so fiercely opposed to Zionism, admit that this ideology saved most of the people of Israel after the Shoah. We compare it to the red heifer: It purifies those who are not pure and soils the ones who are pure. For us, Zionism is bad. But for those who do not observe [the religion], Zionism prevents mixed marriages and assimilation.”
On the issue of the radicalism within the haredi community, one of the speakers admitted that in this case, clearly the people of the United Torah Judaism Party are getting closer to the Eda Haredit and not the contrary. But another speaker said, “The war waged on Zionism and its effects is leading us to pure anarchy, and I think we are going nowhere good. We have to find a way to live our life, otherwise we might end up with a few shahids leading us. Our leaders established a separate community that provided all our religious and community needs, separate from the Zionist establishment. Today, we would call it a spiritual resistance. The easiest thing would have been to take part in the state’s institutions and life. Our separate life is not an easy one, but in order to stick to our way, we have to know why we made that choice and explain it to the young generation time and again. But not by setting trash cans on fire. In my eyes, this violent radicalism comes from lack of understanding, of dialogue. I always believed we should focus on finding a way and not on using violence. ”
There is no question that most of the leaders of the Eda are not happy about the violence. Nevertheless, despite all the warnings not to throw stones or set bins on fire, “There are always some who will openly disobey the rabbis and throw stones. It has become a serious problem,” said one of the speakers.
“It is a pity also because these people don’t realize that today we have a unique opportunity to bring so many Jews back to the Torah. But they couldn’t care less. The only thing that matters to these people is the purity of our community – whoever doesn’t belong to us doesn’t deserve any tolerance. Look at Chabad – they know how to work. We certainly do not act that way, and there are quite a few of us who are genuinely sorry about that,” he said.