Fifty thousand Orthodox Jews take over TEN BLOCKS of New York in protest over Israeli army plan..

AP ^ | March 10, 2014 | Staff

[C19fan]

The dirty little secret of these Ultra-Orthodox enclaves is they have some of the highest rates of Welfare use of any demographic group.

[wideawake]

Ping for your interest.

[Mercat]

Sound like useful idiots to me. Obama voters. Am I missing something?

[PapaBear3625]

'These kids, a lot of them don't know how to hold a gun. They don't know what physical warfare is,' said Long Island rabbinical student Shmuel Gruis.

That's the whole point of Basic Training.

[yldstrk]

I never understood the deal where the Jewish men sit on their asses studying Torah while the women get to make the money and figure out how to feed the children.

These young boys going into the Army could be the making of them. I think the Netanyahu brothers are very appealing.

[Blennos]

Orthodox Jews typically vote conservative. They are certainly not “useful idiots” for BHO. They are protesting the drafty in Israel.

[left that other site]

If they plan on living in NYC, why should they care what goes on in Israel?

If they wish to make Aliyah, then they should be willing to defend Eretz Israel from the rapacious wolves that surround her.

If these folks had been actual Israelites in the time of Joshua, I believe that G-d would have had very little patience with them.

[piroque]

You’re spot on.

[PapaBear3625]

The dirty little secret of these Ultra-Orthodox enclaves is they have some of the highest rates of Welfare use of any demographic group.

Here? They do in Israel.

[PapaBear3625]

I never understood the deal where the Jewish men sit on their asses studying Torah while the women get to make the money and figure out how to feed the children. These young boys going into the Army could be the making of them.

I wonder if it's the ultra-orthodox women who are the main supporters of that status quo? It keeps the men out from under foot, and makes them dependent "mama's boys".

One thing that military life does, is it shows a young man that he can live independently from Mom and Dad's control.

[wideawake]

You're missing a lot of detail.

These are the Satmar, one group of Hasidic Jews - as distinguished from the Lubavitchers, the Bobovers, the Skverers and other Hasidic groups.

They are arguably the largest group, and their official teaching is that the State of Israel should not exist.

While this does not stop them from taking enormous amounts of public assistance from the government, they object to serving in the armed forces of that same government.

There is a more extreme faction that is not part of the Satmar but has members who have been affiliated with it called the Neturei Karta - this group actively collaborates with Hamas to destroy the State of Israel.

It is a longstanding theological dispute, at the heart of which is the belief that only the Moshiach (Messiah) can restore Jewish government in Israel, that secular government is an abomination.

Among Hasidim, mileage varies on this theory.

[wideawake]

Here too.

[wideawake]

If they plan on living in NYC, why should they care what goes on in Israel?

Many of them are Israeli citizens as well as US citizens. Many of the people in this crowd were born in Israel. Every single one of them has close family in Israel.

Many of them want to study at yeshivas in Israel, and where they study and whom they study under has a big impact on who and how well they are able to marry.

If they go to Israel to study at those yeshivas, the Israeli Defense Forces could just draft them in and put their education on hold.

Their entire lifestyle and career path, they feel, is being threatened.

[left that other site]

That would be lovely for them if Israel were not fighting a daily battle for its mere survival.

[artichokegrower]

These kids, a lot of them don't know how to hold a gun. They don't know what physical warfare is,' said Long Island rabbinical student Shmuel Gruis.
As was the case with their grandfathers in 1930s' Germany. Time to quit being a victim and learn how to hold a gun. Radical Islam will treat you no better today than the Nazis treated your relatives 70 years ago.

[tbw2]

I’ve read editorials which describe it as some Orthodox misunderstanding the mandates to study Torah to mean you can do it to the exclusion of working and supporting your family, as well as some using it as an excuse to avoid military service and live off the state.

Israel cannot afford to have a growing chunk of the male population sitting on its butts, refusing to defend the nation or support the tax base.

[KeyLargo]

I watched a recent documentary about how those thousands live off the dole in Israel and do not contribute anything to the country that they reside in.

[moovova]

Basic training...

” ‘We’re all united against military service for religious men in Israel because it doesn’t allow for religious learning,’ “

Learn it now, or learn it later at the hands of a Muslim “teacher” swinging a sword.

[PapaBear3625]

These are the Satmar, one group of Hasidic Jews - as distinguished from the Lubavitchers, the Bobovers, the Skverers and other Hasidic groups. They are arguably the largest group, and their official teaching is that the State of Israel should not exist. While this does not stop them from taking enormous amounts of public assistance from the government, they object to serving in the armed forces of that same government.

OK, so the Israeli government could just tell them: have it your own way. While you can live here, you are responsible for your own security -- Israeli army elements will no longer protect your community, plus no more public assistance for you.

[ryan71]

It’s easy to sit in NYC and demand that Israel turn it’s tiny population into sheep.