The main image shows a protest in Bnei Brak. The organizers of the protest had expected violence and hatred, but instead 50,000 bottles of water and free hot tsholant were given out, along with unifying songs. The author admits to disliking the crowded city of Bnei Brak in the past, however, their view changed when they witnessed the humanity of its inhabitants during the protest. The author notes that the protest was a spark of hope against the hatred being imposed upon large parts of society. The people of Israel showed that they are stronger than those seeking to spread hate. The author concludes by wishing the people of Bnei Brak a Shabbat Shalom Aleichem, with peace and understanding.
Peace be upon you, angels of Bnei Brak.
There are no winners in a war of brothers. Let’s start with what the organizers of the demonstration in Bnei Brak expected to happen last night: beatings, injuries, blood, shouting and expressions of hatred.
Instead, they received 50,000 bottles of water, thousands of servings of free hot juicy tsholant, speakers with unifying songs.
She didn’t plant: it could have looked different, but the people of Israel are alive and stronger than the hatemongers who seek to find another branch for the ultra-Orthodox to hang themselves on.
On a personal note, I must say. I don’t really like the crowded city in Israel, not because of the residents, some of whom are beloved family members, but physically: because even though I grew up in it for half of my childhood, I never managed to get along with its roads, with the (humane) traffic signs and parking. Today, almost always when I arrive in Bnei Brak and I know it will raise another parking ticket because of a strange traffic sign from the municipality of Bnei Brak or in a traffic jam caused by a curious-childish-puzzling gathering near an MDA ambulance and rescue motorcycles. That’s how it is, a matter of language and culture.
But yesterday, not only did I like Bnei Brak, I just liked her. Precisely because of the humanity of its inhabitants, which won the war, once and for all.
Residents of Bnei Brak, you defeated the war, the manifestations of hatred, the evil – which may also be within us – but you increased the good, you gave focus on the closer, on the unifier.
And not without reason, the play of that beloved Jew who tears up hearing “Shalom Aleichem, Angels of Peace”, the words sung on Shabbat evening in most Israeli homes – ultra-orthodox, religious, secular and traditional – scorched the web and evoked a real point of connection in the most sensitive point of a Jew – as a Jew.
We do not pretend to think that we have solved the problem. But if there was a need for a symbol, a sign, something to move from the realms of the vague hatred that some people seek to impose on large parts of them that simply weren’t there, this evening, yesterday, was a spark of hope after murky months. A ray of light against the dark side of people blocking an intensive care van for the sake of the ‘sanctity’ of the protests and theocracy, hoping to lead to an even greater change.
This evening last night, alongside the song Shalom Aleichem conquering hearts, was the first step of the people to say: enough, that’s it. Do not impose on us hatred that is not in us. Don’t make us feel sorry for the destruction that Ototo has brought – as the brothers on the other side asked.
The greatest victory in war, said George Marshall, is to prevent it. And the truth? Justice with him, even today.
Shabbat Shalom Aleichem, angels of peace and mercy, reconciliation and understanding.
According to Article 27 A of Copyright