By COLlive reporter
Can they even be called frum?
The gravesite of the holy Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi, in the ancient cemetery in Tzfas, was supposedly desecrated by “frum” Jews.
Visitors to the gravesite, which is a destination for prayer from Jews around the world, were shocked to discovered graffiti on it on Sunday morning.
The black writing on the wall read “Army = Shmad,” referring to the enlistment of frum Jews in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) which extremists of the Neturei Karta group vehemently oppose.
People visiting the gravesite were shocked and pained to discover the scene. “This is very serious,” photographer Elimelech Gerstel who was called to the scene, told the website ch10.co.il.
“This isn’t a stab in the heart, it’s worse than that,” Gerstel said and reported that he and other people present worked on removing the graffiti.
A similar incident happened last week when the same graffiti writing was painted across the Ari Street in Tzfas until the entrance of the military cemetery, on the eve of the IDF memorial day.
Tzfas Municipality employees worked quickly to erase the writing at the entrance of the cemetery. They placed an Israeli flag to hide remnants of the graffiti to protect the feeling of the bereaved families.
Enlisting in the army has long been debated in the frum community in Israel with many fighting to avoid it. Chabad men typically enlist in the army after concluding study in Yeshiva.
Why aren’t there security cameras on our holy sites? BTW – this is the same handwriting as was sprayed around Beit Shemesh. Is the guy a ghost? Nobody seems to have seen him.
That is a shame, and those behamas who did that to you, will have to answer for their actions, if not in this world then certainly in the next one.
I challenge anyone, to show solid evidence that the Rebbe ever would have approved of people spiting on and cursing and throwing trash on someone, just for having helped protect Yidden in Israel, as soldier.
Do they do that to each other if one of them says Loshon Hara?
I seriously doubt it, and Chofetz Chiam says that Loshon Hara is what is keeping Moshiach from coming.
Bochurim should go to the army with all our blessings! Many American or European boys go too. It’s harder for us Americans to have our boys go when they didn’t grow up with that culture and see Israeli boys hanging out in the US to avoid army service.
We wish all our chayalim to be safe and we daven for them as they protect Eretz YisrAel!
Sad about the Ari kever. No respect!!
Is that because you are a soldier or because you are frum soldier. The behavior is bad in both cases but not to the same degree. The haridi/army issue is an old one and it’s far more complex than most people on these boards either know or are willing to let on. Not every recruiter has pure motivations. There is very much a ‘let’s get these guys in, in order to get these guys out..’ thing going on with this push. And this may (r”l) cause an actual going off the derech for many inductees (that’s putting it lightly). The… Read more »
chabad boy, from crown heights , and i cant walk in certain frum neighborhoods withut being cursed, spat on, have trash thrown at me
If you don’t support the soldiers and the army: stay out of and away from Israel. The people and country will be just fine without your presence.
Go visit Williamsburg for your next family trip.
Proud father of a former Israeli Soldier
Why think only Neturei karta could do this? This is a common belief in Geulah and Meah Shearim. Just take a stroll through the neighborhood
A yid would not do this
The LAST one to mess with is the Arizal, if you know good for you…
trying to secularize chabad.
we are not looking to distance our-self from those who are battling the war for the yeshiva bochrim.
a few bad apples, spraying graffiti, doesnt besmirch all frum yidden.
“Chabad men typically enlist in the army after concluding study in Yeshiva”
This is a new sickness (within the past year) that needs to be dealt with. Not every bochur/yungerman after Yeshiva should be going to the army.
And now to the main topic of this article, yes this is absolutely sickening and disgraceful! Hope they go after these guys and arrest them.(although it didn’t sound like they innvoelved the police in this incident) maybe install security cameras or something.