Residents of the neighborhoods in the vicinity of Rechov
Yechezkel have been campaigning against the Photo Alain store
for many years. The storeowner, Elchanan Chakon, has been
selling various movies for years to young people; some of
them were obscene. Many were illegal copies. Many attempts
were made by activists, residents, and local rabbonim to
remove this scourge from the neighborhood, but they all came
to nothing. Innocent young people continued to remain exposed
to the terrible educational pitfalls of these movies.
Local rabbonim, led by HaRav Chaim Pinchos Sheinberg, called
upon residents about a year ago to undertake all lawful
measures to ensure that this abomination was removed from the
chareidi neighborhood. Residents of the surrounding
neighborhoods demonstrated many times demanding the closure
of the store. However, the storeowner, a secular resident of
Yerushalayim stubbornly refused, and each time used violent
means against the demonstrators. Many attempts were made to
get the storeowner to leave this chareidi area voluntarily,
but none of the agreements were honored by him.
A private investigator from Amit Systems was hired to film
the events in front of the store, since activists knew from
long experience that no action was taken by police against
the violent storeowner, despite repeated official complaints,
as will be explained below.
Two weeks ago on Monday, two avreichim came to the
store. The storeowner suddenly came out and hit the two
avreichim who were standing quietly next to the store
with his fists and also with an electric prod. That same day
in the afternoon the storeowner attacked the avreichim
again, spraying them with tear gas, and he called the police.
The police and, predictably based on past experience,
arrested the avreichim on the basis of the store
owner's claim that he been "locked into" his store.
Unprecedented Backing From The Police
The violent storeowner received the astonishing backing of
the Jerusalem police, which had stubbornly refused to
cooperate with the activists and had even ignored warnings
that the storeowner was selling and hiring out obscene
material to chareidi youth against the law.
Two days later on Wednesday afternoon some demonstrators
gathered next to the photo store on Rechov Yechezkel. A
private investigator filmed the whole scene from the other
side of Yechezkel Street. In the film, a copy of which was
given to police, the storeowner is clearly seen running out
of the store in a fury and threatening the two demonstrators,
who refused to leave. One-and-a-half hours later a police
patrol car arrived at the scene.
The storeowner is seen speaking to the police for a few
minutes, and a few seconds later he started hitting the
demonstrators. Next to him was another man: his son-in-law
according to the police. One of the demonstrators, a local
avreich, received blows covering his whole body from
the storeowner and his son-in-law. The movie clearly shows
the son-in-law grabbing the avreich's beard and trying
to pull off his beard and payos.
Throughout this whole incident the movie shows the police
standing only a meter away and doing nothing to stop the
violent acts of the storeowner and his son-in-law. At that
stage Rav Yehuda Samet zt"l, 71, a distinguished
Toldos Aharon chossid, passed by on his way home from
his morning seder. When he saw what was happening, he
started pleading with the two men to stop behaving in such a
brutal manner. The two of them then stopped beating the
avreich and attacked the elderly man instead. They
pushed him a few times, making him fall to the floor. He hit
his head on the steps of the police patrol car, which was
parked right there.
Murderous Blows In Front Of The Police
The police remained inside the patrol car, doing nothing to
stop what already looked like murder to the cameras, even
though the actual death only occurred a week later. The whole
thing took no more than about four minutes.
During those critical seconds when Rav Samet lay on the
sidewalk, with blood flowing from his head, the police still
did not intervene against Chakon. Instead of arresting him on
the spot they started attacking some people from the crowd
that had gathered there. Some of them were arrested and later
released.
When the storeowner realized what he had done, he went back
into the store and locked and bolted the doors. Some of those
present tried to stop the blood flowing from Rav Samet's
head. They called an ambulance and Rav Samet was taken to
Hadassah Har Hatzofim hospital. The open wound in his head
was stitched up and he was sent on his way. As he was leaving
the hospital he collapsed and lost consciousness.
He was then rushed to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in critical
condition, and his family did not leave his bedside. Last
Thursday afternoon, a week later, he returned his soul to his
Maker. Shortly after he passed away, when his widow heard the
bitter news, she had a heart attack. The tzibbur is
requested to daven for Soroh bas Chaya Frieda
Yehudis.
A Bitter Community
The incident infuriated the residents of Yerushalayim. A man
tries to break up a fight -- really the job of the police --
and is beaten severely, blows which turn out to have been
murderous.
Chareidi MKs and activists demanded that the storeowner be
arrested immediately. Shortly afterwards he was investigated
by the police together with his son-in-law. The police were
also presented with the movie taken by the private
investigator. The storeowner was taken in but later released
after feeling unwell in order to be taken to hospital. The
following morning he was detained. The judge released him
under restrictive conditions and forbade him to go near his
store for one week.
While chareidi Jews are arrested for insignificant reasons or
for taking part in demonstrations, the court set free a man
who had behaved in the most brutal manner and ultimately
caused the death of an innocent Jew.
On Thursday night hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate
opposite the photo store on Rechov Yechezkel. That night the
store, which had sold obscene movies to young people, was
burned. However even after all that the main concern was to
rid the neighborhood of that evil influence.
"The Police Will Draw Its Own Conclusions"
The Chairman of the Knesset Affairs Committee, MK Rabbi Moshe
Gafni (UTJ), convened a special meeting of the Committee to
discuss the grave incident at Rechov Yechezkel. The movie of
the events was shown by the Chairman of the Finance
Committee, MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman (UTJ). The storeowner was
clearly seen holding a gun in his hand (containing tear gas
in all probability) and directing it towards passersby and
demonstrators. He and his son-in-law were also seen using the
electric prod and the gun against anybody who dared to come
close to the store. The police's failure to lift a finger to
stop this brutal behavior is evident, as are the brutal
arrests of demonstrators.
The chareidi MKs argued that this was a dangerous and violent
man who belongs in prison. MK Litzman said that it was not
clear why the police did not arrest the storeowner
immediately in order to prevent physical danger to
demonstrators and passersby.
The police representative at the meeting, Deputy Inspector
General Ilan Franko, Deputy Commandant of the Jerusalem
police force, said that this was the first time he had seen
these pictures and asked that they be transferred to police
investigators (who already received the movie about a week
earlier). Franko said that the police were preparing an
indictment against the storeowner. "The police are
investigating this whole affair and will draw the necessary
conclusions."
We should point out that this topic was also discussed in the
Knesset plenum in the context of urgent motions for the
agenda.
Deputy Minister for Internal Security, Gidon Ezra, said that
although this was a very grave incident, it was a local,
limited one. "An intensive investigation into these events
has been set up, and material is currently being examined
pending the submission of an indictment against the
storeowner. The storeowner was arrested and imprisoned. . . .
The following day he was released by the court under the
following restrictive conditions to which he agreed . . . A
vehicle hired by the chareidim with a loudspeaker announced
that the store had actually closed."
MK Ezra added, "The police investigation of these events is
continuing and charges will be brought against those
responsible. . . . The police will investigate the matter and
draw conclusions about its methods of operation."
Thousands At The Funeral
Last Thursday afternoon Rav Samet passed away. In
Yerushalayim a bitul melocho was announced for the
duration of the levaya last Thursday, and all the
stores in Geula and Meah Shearim were closed during the
funeral, which started at 7:00 p.m. Many thousands gathered
at Kikar Hashabbos to accompany Rav Yehuda Samet zt"l,
who was murdered while protesting the sanctity of
Yerushalayim.
MK Ravitz: "Inflammatory Statements and Secular Education are
to be Blamed "
By E. Rauchberger
MK Avraham Ravitz told a Yated Ne'eman correspondent
the following: "There are two aspects to this criminal act:
first, this was a vile act of murder no less severe than the
murder of Ghandi or of any other Jew. . . . Those responsible
for upholding law and order did not consider it necessary to
take simple measures against this murderer, which are taken
against any murderer.
"The main thing we can learn from this shocking incident is
that we are living in a society in which the blood of
religious Jews is considered worthless. We should not be
surprised by the lack of a response to this criminal act in
the media or any reaction from the leaders of the nation, who
have yet to denounce the murderer. This is the result of the
secular education in this country. We shall see if anyone
from the secular sector will beat their breasts and confess,
as religious leaders were told to do after Rabin's
assassination. We shall see if anyone has the courage to take
responsibility for this rotten fruit of the secular education
system.
"Certain MKs do not tire of their incitement against
chareidim. This is their main party ideology and is its very
raison d'etre. This terrible murder is a result of this
incitement. These MKs and some of the media will have to
account for their deeds, which led to this murder."
MK Gafni: "Full Force of the Law against the Murderer"
MK Gafni gave the following response: "First of all, I wish
to express my condolences to the distinguished family.
"Jerusalem District Police Officer Commander Mickey Levy and
Deputy Commander Ilan Franko promised me both in the Home
Affairs Committee and in private conversations to deal
harshly with the storeowner for his acts of violence. I have
to point out that one of the members of this Committee, MK
Yosef Paritzky, did not consider it appropriate to offer even
one word of denunciation against this vile act of
hooliganism, which brought about the death of a Jew who did
no harm to anybody. Instead he found it fit to continue his
incitement against the chareidi population: the same
incitement, which led to such terrible results."
Rav Yehuda Leib Shlomo Samet zt"l
By Betzalel Kahn
Rav Yehuda Leib Shlomo Samet zt"l was born in the
summer of 5690 (1930) in Yerushalayim to Rav Yoel zt"l
and Gittel Zelda o"h. Yehuda Leib was a grandson of
HaRav Osher Zelig Margolios zt"l, one of the
distinguished personalities of Yerushalayim.
In his youth he learnt in the talmud Torah Shomrei
Hachomos and afterwards in Kamenetz Yeshiva. From early
on his considerable talents were recognized by all.
He married the daughter of Rav Pinchas Saltzman zt"l,
a prominent Karliner chossid. Throughout his life he
worked for a living. He set up the slaughterhouse in Meah
Shearim. About half a year ago, after the slaughterhouse was
closed on the instructions of the municipality, he decided
not to give in, and turned to all the chareidi activists in
the municipality demanding that they obtain a permit for it
to be reopened. He pointed out that many residents of Meah
Shearim made a special point of shechting in this
slaughterhouse instead of going to places further away.
Many years ago in 5718 (1958) during the campaign to preserve
the Rambam's grave in Tiveria when some people wanted to dig
underneath the grave, he traveled to the northern town and
stayed there for two full weeks to make sure that no one
touched the grave. He did not budge from the town until the
danger was averted. Several years later when it was proposed
to set up a secular club very close to Meah Shearim, he went
to demonstrate against this proposal, and even sat in prison
for half a year together with HaRav Binyomin Rabinowitz, a
member of the Badatz of the Eida HaChareidis.
He was a happy and kindhearted man, and his friends loved to
be in his company. He set up a series of morning
shiurim in the Toldos Aharon Beis Hamedrash in Meah
Shearim. He would phone all the participants every morning to
wake them up and come to the shiur. Afterwards he made
everybody cups of hot coffee.
Last year his father Rav Yoel Samet passed away. About a
month ago at the end of the year of aveilus he decided
to write a Sefer Torah leiluy nishmoso, but,
unfortunately, he was not zocheh to see this
through.
Having married off his seven children, he spent most of his
day over the last few years in the Lutzk kollel. He
had chavrusas for all three sedorim.
Two weeks ago on Wednesday, after morning seder, he
passed Rechov Yechezkel on his way home, where he protested
against the presence of a store and tried to separate between
the violent storeowner and an avreich who had come to
demonstrate, but the storeowner threw him to the ground and
injured him. Last Thursday he passed away.
He leaves behind a widow, who is in need of rachamei
shomayim after suffering a heart attack last Thursday,
four sons: Rav Mordechai Yitzchok, Rav Pinchos, Rav Aharon
and Rav Yaakov Zvi; three daughters married to talmidei
chachomim and grandchildren all following their
grandfather's derech in Torah and yir'oh.
