Sep 3, 2013

Rachel Ibenboim forced to step away from politics

Just a couple days ago Racheli Ibenboim, a Haredi woman from Mea Shearim from a family of Gerrer Hassidim, announced that she would be on the Habayit Hayehudi party list for the Jerusalem City Council.

It turns out that Ibenboim's political career was very short-lived. And it is a shame why.

Ibenboim announced that she has to step down, and it is because while she had the drive to help the city and people through the Jerusalem City Council, some people decided to threaten her and her family, get her kids thrown out of school, banish her from the community and ruin her life. Being that politics was a means and not an end, it is not worth sacrificing herself and her family for that.

What a shame that a person who wants to help others has to be stopped like that. Each person can help in their own way, why must such a person be threatened and have to decide whether to sacrifice so much in order to help.. why do people feel threatened by someone who wants to help to the point that they need to threaten them? There is something wrong with this system..

I say let whoever wants to give up of himself or herself for the community do so. If you dont like her, or him, don't vote for her, but dont stop her from trying to help in her way.





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3 comments:

  1. Question: Where are we going with the internal Haredi 'peer pressure'? I totally understand being subservient (for lack of a better word) to a rav, but there seems to be more cases of other zealots who seem to not respect what other Haredi rabbis have paskened to their followers and violence and threat of violence seems to be tolerated whether it's against a company building homes, school girls, or political candidates from a different hassidut.

    When will there be a watershed in the Haredi community about intolerance?

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  2. I didn't sound like she asked reshut from her Rav, who, if he had given her permission, could together stand up against threats. She has a personal obligation to her family, so her actions are understandable and appreciated. Yet, "revolutionaries" make sacrifices in the face feral attacks that justify the terror as an emanation of Jewish and republican virtue. It is a shame no one could convince her to follow her ideals.

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  3. in her article she says she had permission from her rav, but the askanim dont care about that

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