Former chief rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef strongly denounced the rioters who clashed with security forces in Bnei Brak, saying their actions constitute a desecration of Hashem’s Name and have no place within the Torah community.
In a sharply worded statement responding to the disturbances that erupted in the city in recent hours, the former Rishon Letzion declared that the behavior of the violent demonstrators must be unequivocally rejected.
“We must strongly condemn the handful of rioters who are desecrating G-d’s Name. The Torah of Yisroel teaches ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace. There is no place among us for such conduct. They must be denounced and cast out from our camp.”
The Chief Rabbi emphasized that the path of Torah is defined by dignity, restraint, and peace, and that those who engage in violence and public disorder stand in direct opposition to those values.
The unrest reportedly began after female soldiers entered Bnei Brak, leading large crowds to gather in protest. Clashes later broke out between demonstrators and police.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said the incidents were the actions of “a small extremist minority that does not represent the broader chareidi public,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid stated that “there must be a wave of arrests.”
{Matzav.com}
We must greatly heed these immensely wise words of Mussar from this Great Gadol B’Torah. Before we dwell on the numerous serious Issurim involved in this wild behavior, it should be basic common sense that such terrible actions will only bring terrible results. For whenever protestors do violent destructive things, the only thing that they accomplish is that they give tremendous boost & support to what they are protesting against.
For people seeing their violence understandably, think that they are bad people and their opinion that they are violently protesting for must be a wrong opinion. People further think that the recipients of the violence are innocent victims and are good people and their opinion, which is being violently protested against, must be a correct opinion.
Concisely, when protestors employ violence, they drive people away from sympathizing with them and supporting them to, instead, sympathize with and support the other side.