A gathering was held last night on Rechov Yoel in the Bais Yisroel neighborhood in Yerushalayim to protest against certain American bochurim living in the neighborhood who residents claim “are causing a lot of damage.”
Rabbonim spoke out against those who rent them apartments.
Advertisements have been published recently on the streets of Yerushalayim against “gangs” of young expatriates from the United States, as well as Europe, who live in Bais Yisroel.
Local residents claim that some young men from abroad who came to study in local yeshivos did not find their place in yeshiva after they did not comply with certain regulations, such as a rule against having smartphones. Some were thrown out of yeshiva, but decided to open a special chaburah, or “group,” in the area for all those bochurim. Initially, it was indeed a solution for those who did need some kind of framework, but later on, the group began to grow to dozens who found their place there. Residents claim that many of them joined without their parents’ knowledge, the parents thinking that their children were studying at the Mir Yeshiva.
The chaburah is conducted without any supervision and without a framework, so the boys allegedly do whatever they want. In the last two years, more and more young men started to open the same style of chaburos, which resulted in dozens of young men – including many chassidishe bochurim – who have deteriorated in their Yiddishkeit and walk around the neighborhood without any supervision.
“They behave in a way that is inappropriate for the neighborhood and other ways that cannot be detailed,” said one person at last night’s gathering.
One of the parents in the neighborhood said, “Why do our children have to see all these guys sitting on the phones and watching forbidden things, and doing other things?”
As a result, a special committee was established to maintain the character of the neighborhood. The committee has worked with landlords not to rent apartments to boys who do not act according to the hanhagah of the neighborhood.
{Matzav.com Israel}
This could be true. It may takeh be a problem. BUT, who gives the right to these poisonous greedy arrogant landlords to charge outrageous rent prices for the ehrliche Bnei Torah bachurim who have come from the US to shteig in Torah??? Many of the bachurim do NOT come from wealthy homes and can not possibly afford to pay these outrageous ginaiva fees for a simple dira! B”H numerous Yeshivos HAVE signed a kol korei not to rent from these evil greedy wicked landlords who charge above a certain price. So don’t shed any crocodile tears for these ganovim.
The way capitalism works is that owners charge as much as the market can bear and those who can’t afford don’t buy. That’s standard in USA.
I guess Choshen Mishpat is no longer relevant.
The title is dishonest. No, they’re not protesting against american bachurim persee who are learning in bais yisroel area. They are protesting against american chassidish chaburos that were formed for boys who were rejected from Mirr or other serious places and were formed as a place for them. Those chaburos are wreaking havock in areas that are truly sheltered and should be mechabed. The boys walk around with smartphones and drink and do drugs at times and are ruining life for the rest of the area. While The rosh chaburos are probably accomplishing good things they shouldnt be doing it in an area like Mirr that holds hundreds of thousands of serious american boys that are interested in learning; those boys the residents dont mind and it’s not against them whom they are protesting.
The way capitalism works is that owners charge as much as the market can bear and those who can’t afford don’t buy. That’s standard in USA.
and capitalism has what bearing on the Jewish approach to things? not to mention this is israel not america!
You know what this will accomplish? It will push them completely off the derech.
Hliteihi lerasha…
why do 20 year old MEN need supervision? This is an opportunity to do kiruv to some bochurim that are on a journey, do they want these bochurim to go to tel aviv? in tel aviv the biggest party night is Friday night.
Yes. Actions that befit Tel Aviv should be done in Tel Aviv.
Not every opportunity for Kiruv is a good thing. v’haser satan m’lifaneinu um’achareinu.
When I was 20, I left Yeshivah for Tel Aviv. I am not involved in Tel Aviv now, but they actually party more on Thursday night. A ben Tel Aviv might not be שומר שבת, but its still a day off. The issues pertaining to Tel Aviv is that it’s 0% compatible with being a Jew. I think קירוב would help these people that the article speaks about.
Good for them
Take back the neighborhood from the loafers
Kol Hakavod
Gasp! Owning a smartphone?! Crime of the century!
Really?? Is this the best we can do about it??
It is well known that the area of Bais Yisroel operates as a mafia, making sure all stores in the area are closed early each night, threatening them with losing their hashgacha.
On to the subject of the bochurim not in the mir, first of all it’s disgusting of this supposedly unbiased Jewish publication to call them “expatriates” especially when they’re pitted against a small group of extremists living in israel, who have no concept of respecting another persons property. These degenerates, inasmuch as they literally live off the Israeli government’s money and donations from wealthy Americans, spend their waking hours spitting in both of their faces. They openly loot and riot, burning down stores at whim. Yes you may be right that there are some American bochurim that may not live up to their judaic standards, but they have no right to expel them, let alone shatter their windows and chase them down the streets like dogs. Matzav.com makes it sound as if there are myriads of lawless bochurim roaming the streets, abusing drugs and alcohol. The truth is they are few and far between. These extremists are targeting a way larger group of bochurim, the “mediocre” group if I may. While they are definitely not learning all day, they daven 3 times a day, learn a few hours a day and do their best to fit in. Writing that 20 year olds must be in a rigid and structured system with “supervision” is absurd and quite frankly, ignorant. The writer of this article is clearly a very narrow minded individual, with zero journalistic sense. The starting inability of doing the basic research before writing such a bombastic article honestly scares me. While we’re all wailing about the New York Times singling us out in a nasty editorial, who would have thought we need to worry about a Heimishe publication singling out our own teenagers, especially boys that already have faced rejection and are struggling as is to fit in to the box built by our society.
The only thing such an article can accomplish is to further alienate the teens on the fringe.
Interestingly enough, the article doesn’t even quote on of these so called “expatriates” to hear their side of this story, the only thing matzav.com is interested in is generating controversial pieces that will generate more clicks.
You wanted controversy, here you go. I don’t believe in cancel culture but if anyone should be cancelled, it should be those hooligans in mesh shearim. Let’s chase them out of our towns when they come to collect money to live the life they do. Let’s demand retribution for the business they torched as if they were a macys on 5th avenue, just for not abiding by their rules. It’s one thing to stay quiet when they attack the Israeli government, but we cannot stay quiet when they attack us, and we should definitely not side with them!
You claim to be unbiased and truthful. But you are perpetuating the ” them” and ” us” mindset. I don’t know what’s happening there. And I daresay, neither do you. There is no rationale or condoning burning stores. However those who are doing it are a minute fraction of the people you are bashing.
And I really don’t think anyone is protesting again ” mediocre ” bachurim who are davening and learning…..
These “bochurim” should be given a choice:
Either:
1. Join the IDF
2. Lose their student visas
Frum neighborhoods without big ישיבות don’t have these types of people in large numbers.
But if this article was talking about the general idea of students taking rooms en masse, I’d agree. Not every neighborhood is about a ישיבה even if it’s vital for כלל ישראל. Having more people in town for certain times of the year might not be what the local_Jews agree with.