Haredim Recruited To Protest UN Inquiry: Will Yell “Schabas!”

Bnei Brak, September 18 – In a bid to harness the youthful energy and accumulated experience of the Ultra-Orthodox population in protesting violations of the Sabbath in their neighborhoods, the Israeli government has launched a program to recruit Haredi men and boys to harass and yell “Schabas!” at the members of the UN Human Rights Council Commission, headed by William Schabas, that is investigating IDF conduct during the recent conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Community leaders among the Haredim approached their representatives in the Knesset who, despite sitting in opposition to the current government, expressed concern over the inherent bias of the Schabas Commission, headed by a man with an averred antipathy toward the Jewish State. The Canadian has even called for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be tried for crimes against humanity. The community leaders suggested that the MKs of the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael parties spearhead a program to channel into diplomatically useful outlets the outrage and sense of persecution among so many Haredi youth that stereotypically manifests in the shouting of “Shabbes!” at passing cars on the Sabbath, exploiting the phonetic similarity with commission head’s name.

Although a fraught compromise was arrived at in many such neighborhoods to close the major thoroughfares of those neighborhoods during the morning and evening prayer times, in practice the roads often remain closed to traffic the entire Sabbath – from sundown on Friday until Saturday night. Drivers who circumvent the makeshift barriers and nevertheless proceed down the streets, either in ignorance or provocation, are often greeted with the yelling and occasional stone-throwing. Member of Knesset Moshe Gafni agreed with the community leaders that the protesters’ exuberance and zeal could be harnessed for the benefit of the entire country, a rare opportunity to demonstrate the solidarity and contribution of the Haredim to society at large when their public image has suffered as a consequence of eschewing military service in favor of Torah study.

“In general the Haredi contribution to the people of Israel is more subtle,” said Gafni, “in that it focuses on preserving a high level of Torah study to maintain our spiritual integrity and, we hope, afford the nation a measure of divine protection. What we have proposed to the government – and it looks like the program will be approved and launched soon – is a way to assign shifts of Haredim who otherwise might exacerbate sectarian tensions with their protests to register the entire nation’s displeasure at the biased mandate and attitude of the commission. ”

It remains unclear what opportunities the Haredim will have to yell “Schabas!” at the investigators, as the Schabas team is likely to spend little time in Israel proper. They are more likely to pass through Israel on their way to and from the Gaza Strip, but Gafni expressed confidence that even that situation would allow the demonstrators to line the roads between Ben Gurion Airport and the Gaza Strip in order to do their shouting.

As for the effectiveness of the program in affecting the outcome of the investigation, Gafni voiced confidence that the shouting of “Schabas!” would be just as effective in preventing an adverse result as the yelling of “Shabbes!” is in preventing Sabbath violations.