Word in the Shtetl: Oct. 7th Coverage Recap

The Haredi Shtetls of New York and New Jersey, too, were impacted by the Oct. 7th attacks. Check out Shtetl's coverage to date.

View this email in your browser Dear , The October 7 attacks by Hamas on the Nova music festival and the villages in the south of Israel appalled the Jewish world. The slaughter, the hostage-taking and the bloody aftermath has monopolized the attention of Israel and the Jewish diaspora for the year since, overshadowing even otherwise pressing domestic issues. The Shtetl, like every Jewish community around the globe, has grappled with the consequences of October 7. As is often the case with Haredim, though, they responded differently from the wider Jewish community to the events that face them. Even the timing of the attack had a different quality for the Shtetl because it was on a Shabbat that was followed by a holiday. Unlike Israelis who only celebrate Simchat Torah, diaspora Haredim first celebrated Shemini Atzeret and then Simchat Torah so, theoretically, might not have been exposed to the news of the early Saturday morning attacks until Sunday night. But, despite the fact that Orthodox Jews don't use electronics like televisions, phones or computers, on Jewish holidays, the news reached them quite quickly, in a number of unusual ways People try to make sense of the world by applying what they already know to what they learn. For most that means viewing the news through a historical, political, or scientific lens, Haredim though, tend to see it through a religious lens. Following the attacks, many Haredi papers followed the Haredi tendency to see all events as acts of God and pushed the narrative that God was punishing the Jewish people, mainly the secular ones, for their bad behavior. Despite the sense that the tragedy didn't impact Haredim as much as other Jews — and that perhaps non-observant Jews in some ways deserved it — Haredim were shaken by the events and were anxious to show solidarity. So when a major D.C. rally in support of Israel, which would usually be ignored or shunned by the Haredi world, was organized by all mainstream Jewish organizations, many Haredim attended. In fact, Chabad officially organized buses from Crown Heights, and Agudath Israel (initially) endorsed the rally. Standing side-by-side with mainstream Jews was not without its costs, though, to relationships within Haredi institutions. Shortly after the November rally, it emerged that the strain of joining the event had caused a split in the Agudah rabbinic board between those who approved and those who thought it would have too secular an atmosphere. DONATE TO SHTETL Those who follow the evolution of the Haredi world of New York and New Jersey know that a simmering divide between the people and the leadership exists. One area in which this split is quite apparent is the attitude toward Israel. For decades, Haredim were opposed to Zionism and their support for Israel was tempered. But that has largely changed in recent years, and after October 7, the support for Israel amongst the Haredi grassroots burst out into the open. This tracks with their overall greater alignment with the Christian right on all matters of policy and support for Trump. Popular Haredi solidarity with Israel became apparent not only as Haredim attended the pro Israel rally in Washington, D.C., despite it being a smorgasbord of Jews from all denominations (and beyond them), but also when they held a rally in Monsey and when Haredi entertainers went out performing for injured IDF soldiers just before Thanksgiving. Despite these displays of Jewish unity, the Rabbis did not change their stance. Indeed, Satmar's official opposition to Zionism became a national issue in December, when Congressman Jerry Nadler invoked it on the floor of Congress in his opposition to a bill that would define anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism. But the tension between Haredi leaders and their communities became most obvious when the former had to openly remind their followers that they are anti-Zionists. A small but visible group of Haredim, known as Neturei Karta, have remained staunchly anti-Israel. Its members are largely from Satmar affiliated groups, and it regularly protests with anti-Israel groups. In March, the group even filed a lawsuit against the Town of Ramapo for flying an Israeli flag. But the influential Chabad rabbi YY Jacobson called them "sick people." Then there's the issue of the draft that has hovered in the background since before Hamas and allies carried out their brutal desecrations. Haredim, even those who now openly support Israel, its government, and its military, still largely oppose the draft of Haredi Yeshiva students. Despite widespread solidarity with a secure Israel, anti-draft sentiment is so strong that in August, American Haredim helped raise 85 million dollars for Yeshivas facing a funding shortfall as a result of the new draft requirements and recently attempted to organize a massive rally in NJ against the draft. For more coverage of the Shtetl visit Shtetl.org and to trace all of our October 7-related coverage back through the year, check out www.shtetl.org/tag/oct7 Please consider making a donation, so Shtetl can continue bringing you original reporting on what's happening in the insular Shtetl! Shtetl aims to be your go-to source for news in the Haredi world. Please support our ambitious endeavor to bring high quality Haredi reporting to the masses, both inside and outside the Haredi community. DONATE Copyright (C) 2024 Shtetl. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Want to change how you receive these emails? 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