Promoting Ahavat Yisrael NOT Divisiveness

As most of us already know, two Chareidi factions in the town of Emanuel (one ostensibly Sefardi and the other ostensibly Ashkenazi) are battling over the lack of acceptance of a Sefardi Chareidi girl to an Ashkenazi Chareidi institution.

Rav Yaacov Yosef (son of Rav Ovadiah Yosef) supports the Sefardi side, and encouraged a representative of that side to file a court complaint about the matter. The Israeli Supreme Court recently decided that this complaint was justified and ordered the Ashkenazi Chareidi institution to accept the girl. Since then, all sorts of manipulations have been attempted to avoid the Ashkenazi Chareidi institution's having to comply with the court decision.

Of course, the Ashkenazi Chareidi leadership (or at least the extreme elements in that leadership) have called for demonstrations, and we all have seen enough evidence as to how these demonstrations promote Sinat Chinam and usually lead to violence that none of us will be surprised if that is what happens here. In fact extremists have already invaded a Torah Shiur given by Rav Yaacov Yosef and disrupted it, and his supporters claim that the extremists threatened violence.

I do not know why the two factions handled their disagreement in a manner which included a court case. This does not seem to me to be the most productive way to handle the issues involved. I had thought that they could have resolved it somehow with a discussion between the Torah scholars supporting each side; but then again I am totally unconcerned with the warring Chareidi factions in Emanuel, and I do not know their motivations and underlying concerns.

However, I do know from our nation's previous experiences with this type of situation that the demonstrations proposed by Chareidi groups will only promote divisiveness and fan the flames of hatred, and will probably lead to violence. While this violence is officially opposed by the organizers of the demonstrations, there are some suspicions that some of those officially opposed to violence may actually desire a violent reaction!

Whatever the exact details are, I am certain that nothing good can result from these types of demonstrations, and I hope that all people who take their Ahavat Yisrael seriously will steer clear of these demonstrations!

Remember, we are all Jews!