for a long time already residents of a certain section of RBS B have been attacking people walking through the main road on Shabbos afternoon, but recently it has escalated.

The problem is that the city planner built RBS B, a neighborhood that was marketed for more extreme elements of Haredi society right on the main road between older Bet Shemesh and newer Bet Shemesh, including RBS A, and C (and future neighborhoods). The only way to walk from RBS A to a neighborhood in older Bet Shemesh is via the main drag of RBS B, which goes right through the heart of the neighborhood of the violent extremists.

While individuals walk for many reasons (i.e. a simcha, visit friends, or whatnot), they specifically target the Bnei Akiva youth group counselors that walk from RBS A to Bet Shemesh and back to lead their groups on Shabbos afternoon. Recently it has gotten so bad that parents and adults have been volunteering to walk and accompany these teens. That has not helped, and the level of the attacks has continuously increased.


Somebody has decided to hit back at the extremists. According to an anonymous pashkevil put up around RBS B a few days ago, a group of residents is threatening the extremists that if their violence continues they will report the illegal businesses of the extremists to the tax authorities, along with reporting their illegal construction and if any are US citizens, to also report them to the tax authorities there.

Nobody really knows, at least not publicly, who is behind this. The two theories are either the DL community, that is regularly attacked the most with the violence, or other local residents (non-extremist Haredim) of RBS B who are simply fed up with what is going on.

The pashkevil itself is designed and worded exactly like a Haredi pashkevil, so either the DL really upped their game this time, or else it really does come out of the Haredi community. As well, the people who would best know about the local illegal businesses and construction would be the local neighbors and not others fro other communities and sectors in other neighborhoods. It makes most sense (to me) that it is from local residents rather than from the DL community, but either way is fine.

Now we have to see if whoever this is actually follows through with the threats and hits them where it hurts - in the pocketbooks.

This past Shabbos yesterday, it did not help. Reports from people who were present say the violence continued with screaming and things being thrown from windows and porches at the people passing through and this time there was even fishing wire strung across the street in a way that was meant to hurt people.