A Necessary Clarification on Recent Events in 770
On Wednesday night, during a weekly Shiur on Geulah and Moshiach held at 770, a disturbing incident occurred. Two masked Bachurim entered the Ezras Nashim and hurled eggs down into the men’s section, directly toward participants attending the Shiur. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the act itself crossed a clear and troubling line, Again • Full Article
By Shraga Crombie
Several months ago, I heard a tense interview with Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, following footage that had surfaced at the time showing masked Jewish youths throwing stones and setting Arab homes on fire. The interviewer attempted to force Dagan to take responsibility for these disgraceful acts. Dagan responded forcefully and unequivocally:
“There are a handful of criminals who must be dealt with. A Jewish youth who burns a house is a dangerous criminal. No one around them supports this. Everyone opposes it. There are 20–30 criminals—stand with me and demand that the police arrest them.”
Sadly, a similar phenomenon exists within Chabad as well. A small number of delinquent, violent youths act with complete disregard for authority. They do not listen to the Rabbonim, the Yeshivah Hanhallah, or the 770 Gabbaim. As in Yehudah and Shomron, the damage they cause to Chabad as a whole, and especially to matters of Moshiach is enormous. Their actions result in a severe Chilul Hashem and disgrace the holy name of Lubavitch and The Rebbe.
This past week’s incident was yet another ugly display of this behavior. Eggs were thrown at participants attending a weekly Shiur on Geulah and Moshiach in 770, simply because the Magid Shiur was not to their liking.
There is therefore no choice but to state this clearly and unequivocally once again:
A Bachur who engages in violence has no place in Chabad. He is a criminal who must be dealt with accordingly.
There is no difference between masked youths throwing stones in Yehudah and Shomron and masked youths throwing eggs inside 770. Both are criminals, and both must be handled by the appropriate authorities.
At the same time, it must be emphasized: just as in Yehudah and Shomron, these individuals receive no backing from their surroundings. They refuse to accept authority of any kind and inflict immeasurable harm on the very public they claim to represent. It should be noted that following incidents of violence at the end of Tishrei, Bachurim who participated were permanently expelled from their yeshivah. A step for which the Yeshiva administration deserves full credit.
(Additional parallel worth noting: just as some exploit the actions of a few violent individuals in Yehudah and Shomron to smear the entire settler community, so too there are those who use the actions of violent individuals in 770 to malign all Meshichist Chassidim. But just as there, here as well—these are criminals in every sense, and they do not represent the broader public.)
It is time for matters to be stated plainly:
A Jewish youth who burns a house is a dangerous criminal who must be arrested by police.
A Jewish youth who throws eggs at participants of a shiur on Geulah and Moshiach is a criminal who must be removed from 770.
And the sooner this is addressed, the better.
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