Now that Bais Tefillah (American Haredi shul in Ramat Beit Shemesh) has gotten involved, maybe the Gra shul in RBS under the leadership of Rav Elimelech Kornfeld will get involved to defend against the child abusers? It is high time that American haredim who pride themselves on maintaining "normalcy" not allow themselves to be dragged down the path of brainlessness and fanaticism.

Just for the record he said "metchukmak" which means translates something like "lousy little school". In any case this quote really is quote of the day if not of even the year. He is revealing his cards here, the way he sees it and his intentions.

Basically Deputy Mayor Montag is saying that as far as he is concerned he doesn't need to fight the battle against Orot as he has already won the war for Beit Shemesh.

Rafi - precisely.
However, it should be noted that at the same time that he says fighting over one building is pointless considering, he also says he guarantees the balance of populations will remain. I dont see how that can be, and it contradicts his first words.
Is he paying lip service? Is he serious? Does he think he has a plan to build so much for haredim while keeping the balance? I dont know, but it is something to consider.

From today's Haaretz article:

"Abutboul, who has been abroad (for a meeting between Shas members and Palestinians in the framework of the Geneva peace initiative ), said that the girls had to be kept at a distance to prevent a "blood bath," since the neighborhoods where the extremists live are like "Arab villages" that police are afraid to enter."

Mayor Aboutboul should stop licking up to the Palestinians and start protecting Jews from child-abuse in Beit Shemesh.

yeah. he cant keep peace between Jews in his own city, but he is going on delegations to make peace between people at odds for decades...

Mayor Aboutboul is obviously a blithering idiot who needs to be removed from office sooner than later. Any mayor who can't defend the community from child abuse should seek other employment.

Maybe Abutbol will join some of his friends from Bet to meet Ahemjaned in Iran.

Sorry but standing around and looking like fools screaming "shiksa" is not child abuse and you demean the term by using it so nilly willy. Its like the word "Holocaust" people bandy that word around and the meaning is eroded. Also, what does Rabbi Kornfeld have to do with any of this and why do you use child abusers in the same sentence and accuse him of defending them? Who in their right mind would defend such people?
Where are we - la la land? There is obviously alot of bad feelings here about what is going on at OROT but common decency demands we refrain from personal insults, invective and innuendo. If you want to accuse people of being dopes, fools or boneheads that's one thing but really. We are near the High Holy days and will be davening in Shul soon begging for forgiveness and people here are engaged in terrible ben adom l'chavero conduct and accusing some silly charedi guys of being child abusers and somehow being connected to Rabbi Kornfeld? Do any of you realize the enormity of what you are saying? Have we really descended this low? Have a nice day.

Wow, Mr. B. on what planet is yelling an insult at an innocent child NOT child abuse? I agree, Rosh Hashanah is right upon us. I suggest you engage in some serious cheshbon hanefesh if you have the nerve to minimize this terrible chilul hashem as just some "silly haredi guys". I'm sure the terrified girls trying to go to school don't feel the same way.

Rafi, please post the real quote as Montag doesn't speak English. Thanks.

99% of the things i put in qotd are translated, as almost everything said in Israel is in Hebrew..

anyway, here is the original, from Haaretz:

המאבק שמתרחש כעת בחוץ הוא לא על צביון העיר", קבע מונטג, "עיר שבונה 30 אלף יחידות דיור לחרדים לא נאבקת על בית ספר מצ'וקמק. זו עיר שעוברת שינויים דמוגרפיים, שזה דבר לא פשוט ולא קל. אנחנו מנסים להרגיע את הרוחות כל הזמן, לשמור על אווירה טובה. אני מבטיח לך שבעיר הזאת יישמרו האיזונים בין המגזרים. לכולם יהיה מקום בבית שמש"

Are there no cities, towns, villages, hamlets - you can call them whatever you like - left in Israel that are not free of this pernicious theocratization?

Does every aspect of public life in Israel have to be tainted by this ever-spreading plague? What happened to democracy, equality and the basic human right to think and speak for oneself?

Or perhaps the charedi master plan, apparently being executed in RBS by the so-called 'sikrikim' is to force more moderately minded Jews to pack up, get out and return to their former homes in the Diaspora.

This callous exercise in RBS has all the hallmarks of the actions of the National Socialists in Germany in the 1930s.

to get back to the original point of the post, i think both Rafis misunderstood muntag.
I understood him to say that depite the demographic change in the city, i.e its becoming more chareidi, he will still make sure that everyone will get what they deserve, at an even cut of the pie, whether it is land for shuls or budget for events etc.
He just meant that in the overall picture there is no reason to argue abour one school buiding.

Please, "Revolted in Rochester NY", do not use National Socialist (Nazi) comparisons.

As much as I detest these Jewish hooligans and I do my best to work against them, they have not by any means reached the Nazi level.

I understand that you feel that some of their actions resemble the Nazis in their early years, but it is just not at all productive to compare to Nazis, though this is NOT at all to say that these hooligans are justified in any way.

It is just that, as evil as some of these hooligans are, they don't reach Nazi level. No one has yet been killed by them to the best of my knowledge; and though I do not know exactly when the Nazis began with active murder, it was always in their plan (as Hitler made clear in Mein Kampf).

These hooligans are dangerous and must be stopped; however, I urge all sides in all arguments, especially in Israel, to refrain from using Nazi comparisons. Even when there is some similarity, it is far from a great enough similarity to merit the use of Nazi comparisons, which also bring up many painful memories for many Jews still alive today.

"Please, "Revolted in Rochester NY", do not use National Socialist (Nazi) comparisons."

You use your similes and leave me to use mine, Catriel.

As it happens, I feel very strongly about any sort of religious coercion and what these Bnei Brak bigots (is that more to your liking?) and I firmly believe that they are a suppurating carbuncle on the face of democracy in Israel.

Rochester,
you can deal with Rochester and leave us to deal with Beit Shemesh.
Thanks
p.s. beit shemesh is not bnay brak they are about 45 minutes away from each other. so when you sort out your issues in Rochester and you come to israel to sort out our problems, make sure you go to the right city

"you can deal with Rochester and leave us to deal with Beit Shemesh."

A smart and snide response, but not one that adds a single syllable of sense or purpose to this debate.

I am well aware of the geographical relationship between Bnei Brak, Yerushalayim and RBS, amd my credentials for taking part in this discussion are impeccable.

I lived in "old" Beit Shemesh for 23 years while serving in the IDF and I still have a house there. Machaneh Schneller in Yerushalayim was my "second home" during the week.

But while I am teaching in the US it is a tad too distant to return home to Beit Shemesh every night.
The fact that a person does not live in Beit Shemesh on a daily basis does not disqualify him or her from participation in this thread.

Your use of the phrase "leave us to deal with Beit Shemesh" implies that the cancerous spread of the influence of kanaim and sikrikim is a purely local, internal issue. Do not kid yourself.

Today the target for the holy hooligans is a "metchukmak" school in RBS, but if this plague of bigotry and religious coercion is not erased and eradicated now Israel will soon turn into an Iranian-style theocracy, but one ruled by rabid rabbis rather than mad mullahs.

i agree that the comment didn't add too much but anyways nothing is going to be settled here on the blog and everyone else gets mean here and there so why not me jump in the game also.
And besides, i don't think it is true that anybody is looking for religious coersion, i think it is more of a live and let live ideology that drives these people. they don't usually impede on other people unless it is in yerushalyim where they are worried about kedushas yerushalayim and see it as their calling to defend the kedusha, having inherited the task from their parents. or otherwise if it is their neighborhood or next to it.
this is why you don't see tnius demonstrations in hertzeliyah or tel aviv and don't see anybody putting up tznius signs in the stores in Big mall or in Merkaz hair of old beit shemesh.
if people would recognize their real demands and deal accordingly, all would be peaceful, which is part of the reason of the calm that exists relatively under abutbol compared to vaknin.
(this is my understanding, though I amsure there will be those that argue. - but I happen to be closely enough connected to these guy to understand what makes them tick)

Sounds a little like he's getting some early points for a run for mayor in 2013. Statements like that on the record could garner the Charedi vote (and they, unlike the rest of us, almost always vote as a bloc) if all else falls into place for a run. Does that make sense?

I would translate metchumkak as "puny". The building is not run-down. it is brand new.

my question would be though, if a city that is building 30,000 units for haredim does not need to fight over one puny building, then why are they? why not just put the whole thing down and tell them they are getting almost everything else and just let the DL have this stupid building...