Q: Why don't
Charedim display self-sacrifice like Religious-Zionists?
A: Throughout the
generations, Jews have displayed self-sacrifice for the Land of Israel, whether
by making Aliyah, establishing settlements, or serving in the army. This has included Religious-Zionists, secular
Jews and the Charedim (Ultra-Orthodox).
Charedim – whether the students of the Vilna Gaon or the students of the
Baal Shem Tov - made Aliyah and established settlements with great
self-sacrifice. For example, Charedim
established Me'ah She'arim within an Arab settlement with self-sacrifice, the
city of Petach Tikvah despite the malaria for which many paid with their lives,
and the neighborhood of Nachalat Shiva in Jerusalem, which was an extremely
dangerous place. Even Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav
Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld ztz"l, one of the harshest opponents of Zionism,
said that we cannot abandon even one place in the Land of Israel – even if
there is danger involved. The story is
told in the book "Ha-Ish Al Ha-Chomah" (vol. 2, pp. 175-180) that
during the Arab Pogrom of 5689 a multitude of Arabs descended on Me'ah
Shearim. Their leader had his sword
drawn and they screamed, "Slaughter the Jews!" When they passed the flour mill, two Charedi
Jews came out. One wielded a pistol and
shot and killed the leader of the gang.
The second threw a hand grenade.
The entire gang fled with the two of them in pursuit – one with a pistol
and the other with a hand grenade. The
Arabs killed many of their own trampling one another in their panicked flight. The next day, Ha-Rav Zonnenfeld, who lived
within the walls of the Old City, had to go to Me'ah Shearim for a brit
milah. He left through "Sha'ar
Shechem" (the Damascus Gate), and in front of his eyes lay the dead
Arabs. His students said to him:
"Rav, what about safeguarding one's life?" He answered them: "If we surrender
walking through 'Sha'ar Shechem,' there will be no Jews." And by the way, the Charedi Jew who fired the
pistol was Ha-Rav Aharon Fischer, the father of Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Yisrael Yaakov
Fischer, who was the Av Beit Din of the Ultra-Orthodox community until a few
years ago. We therefore see that the
Charedim did not fear anything - not diseases and not Arabs, and they even used
a weapon when necessary.
