Reactions of outrage and shock were heard from all strata of
chareidi Jewry in Eretz Yisroel and abroad, in reaction to
the arson perpetrated against the Degel HaTorah offices in
Jerusalem this past Friday morning, 17 Av. A group of thugs
who seek to force their malevolent outlooks down the throats
of the entire chareidi community, which displays total
loyalty to the Torah leaders of the generation shlita,
set a blaze in the Degel Hatorah movement's offices that
destroyed most of the contents. Thankfully, all of the
neighbors are safe and sound.
Based on findings from the initial investigation, at
approximately 4:00 a.m. a group of vandals arrived outside
the office, located on Hamabit Street in Geula. Breaking the
glass door at the entrance, they ignited a container of glue
and threw it inside the office, then fled the scene
undetected.
Moments later, noting the thick smoke and leaping flames,
dozens of families in the adjacent apartment building arose
from bed and evacuated their homes in a state of panic and
alarm. Firefighters from the Romema station arrived quickly
and managed to check the flames before they destroyed the
inner rooms, thereby saving some of their contents, including
a sophisticated computerized system for Eitz Hadaas. A
clothing store located on one side of the office was
completely consumed by the fire, but the residential building
emerged virtually unscathed.
Police and firefighters left the scene at 6:30 a.m., failing
to notify anyone from the office staff or to station a guard.
The first to arrive that morning, as he does every Friday
morning, was Deputy Mayor Rabbi Uri Maklev. "It was an
extremely difficult sight to see charred sifrei kodesh
and expensive office and technical equipment, all burned and
destroyed," he recounted. "The primary damage and the focus
of the fire was the public service center, where hundreds and
thousands of documents were lost. It is not just a matter of
the material damage, but living and breathing activity done
for the public's sake went up in smoke. The investment for
the sake of the public, letters sent by individuals --
everything was burned and is irrecoverable."
Police are currently investigating. The police have an idea
who is involved in the serious occurrence. Most observers
believe the vandalism was triggered by the role of the Degel
Hatorah representatives, under the direction of gedolei
Yisroel, in the recent passage of the Tal Law exempting
yeshiva students from service in the IDF.
The community was stunned by the low level to which those
unscrupulous thugs have plunged. The office sustained
structural damage and the contents--including furniture,
equipment, documents and sifrei kodesh--were almost
completely consumed in the blaze. They also jeopardized the
lives and safety of the neighbors.
This act of vandalism joins a long list of very serious
crimes perpetrated against the manhigei hador as well
as against rabbonim and communal public representatives. Such
behavior has no place in chareidi Jewry.
Rabbonim and communal figures said that the chareidi
community must cast out that group whose entire purpose is to
sew destruction among chareidi Jewry, and thereby to
undermine the loyalty of the Torah world to the gedolei
HaTorah. Significantly, they chose the offices of Degel
HaTorah as their target, a movement which symbolizes
obedience and subservience to daas Torah.
For years similar attacks took the form of badgering, threats
and horrible libel intended to ravage the foundations of the
religion and emunas chachomim, but now the level of
violence has stepped up to physical acts and they have
crossed all the red lines. "This group, which believes that
the ends justify the means and without any compunctions dares
to try and spread their malevolent viewpoints among the
public at large in so unscrupulous manner and must be
expelled from our midst in the sharpest manner possible,"
rabbonim said.
Rabbonim and roshei yeshiva from all circles of chareidi
Jewry asserted that we must not be frightened by those
elements and that we must strengthen ourselves in our
emunas chachomim and our loyalty to gedolei
haTorah, kevod haTorah, its leaders and those who study
it, since that is the key of our existence.
Degel HaTorah's offices have begun to assess the damages
caused as a result of the malevolent arson and are making
efforts to repair the damage. Workers have been summoned to
the site in order to renovate the offices, so that they will
be able to open shortly and to continue to serve the
community at large.
