Yesterday, a 14 year old Yossi Eishenthal was run over by a bus during a demonstration. A child. A life. A family that will never be the same.
Let me be clear. The only person at fault for the actual act of running over a boy is the bus driver who did it. Period. I am not interested in spreading blame in all directions or hiding responsibility behind slogans.
And at the same time, we have to be brave enough to look at the atmosphere we are creating, because atmospheres have consequences.
I strandle the dati leumi and the charedi community. I love and cherish both deeply. Both communities raise beautiful, ehrlich, menchlich kids.
And in both communities I am witnessing a trend, especially when it comes to boys that is unsettling.
When we raise children inside an atmosphere that tells them they embody the highest value of the community, certain behaviors are bound to follow if humility is not taught alongside it.
This is not about Haredim alone. I see this pattern across communities.
Hilltop youth feel that they are protecting the land of Israel and making it flourish. That is a powerful ideology. It often comes with a feeling that the ends justify the means. And no, I reject out of hand the accusation of blanket "settler violence", but I see kids engage in rhetoric and sometimes actions that are somewhere between stupid, unruly, and dilusional.
In the mainstream dati leumi world, boys grow up knowing that at 18 or 19 they will go to the army, defend the country, and possibly make the ultimate sacrifice. Most are amazing beyond belief. Many scorn at authority and think they know better than their officers, teachers and parents.
In the Haredi world, boys are raised to learn Torah, the highest ideal of their community, and they know from a young age that they are carrying something sacred and elevated. Sometimes, it makes them feel entitled like everyone around should back over backwards to accommodate them.
I am not here to argue whose values are better, purer, or more correct. That argument gets us nowhere.
What I am saying is this: when boys grow up believing they represent the highest value of their community, and no one teaches them humility, accountability, and basic menschlichkeit, entitlement creeps in.
I see it in my own children at times. I see it in the kids I work with in our organization. And I have seen it too many times to ignore.
A 25 year old married kollel student who takes a job and assumes three women his mother’s age should bend their schedules around his learning hours.
A young man using a nonprofit corporate card, donor money, to buy cigarettes (we made him pay it back!)
Eighteen year old boys assuming they should be driven everywhere in taxis and reimbursed for it without authorization (they were not).
Yeshiva boys at demonstrations being violent, unruly and disrespectful of authority.
These are not monsters. These are our sons. And this is exactly why this is painful to say.
There are many wonderful, earnest, respectful boys in every one of these communities. Truly. They give me hope every day.
But there is also a growing pattern of excessive self-assurance, entitlement, and unruliness that we, as parents, cannot keep excusing in the name of ideology.
Living a value does not grant special privileges. Making sacrifices does not excuse bad behavior. Carrying a holy mission does not place you above basic responsibility and restraint.
When a group of yeshiva students thinks it is acceptable to attack a bus because they are angry about the draft, something has gone deeply wrong before that moment. And that failure does not start in the street. It starts at home.
If we do not teach our sons humility, respect for others, and limits, no ideology will save them. And no slogan will protect them from tragedy.
This is not about blame. It is about responsibility.
As parents, the atmosphere we create is the world our children grow up in. And if we do not change that atmosphere, we should not be surprised when it explodes in our faces.
May we all be worthy of making a tikkun and may that tikkun be leilui nishmat Yossi Eisenthal.
You may not be here to state who is at fault but you completely missed the point. When a major segment of the population especially one that claims the moral high ground refuses to share the security burden and have the GALL to claim Torah excuses them from communal responsibilities, they are perverting Torah and perverting Judaism and become dependent on parasitic behavior to exist.
Over the past few years, many Jerusalem bus riders, including myself, have experienced serious issues with driving quality: unsafe speeding, skipped stops, abrupt braking, and a general lack of attentiveness to passengers. Despite reporting these concerns to the bus companies with detailed documentation, no meaningful response has ever been received. The bus companies complain of a dire shortage of bus drivers, requiring hiring from "minority" groups. Clearly, something in the system needs improvement.
Why not actively encourage Chareidi men to join the ranks of bus drivers? This could address multiple challenges at once:
(a) bringing in drivers known for patience and compassion;
(b) offering Chareidi men a respectable livelihood without academic barriers;
(c) increasing cultural sensitivity on routes serving Chareidi neighborhoods;
(d) improving reliability and punctuality;
(e) strengthening communication with local passengers;
(f) providing stable, long-term employment;
(g) creating positive role models within the Chareidi community.
(h) removing bus companies' almost complete reliance on a pool of not-well-qualified drivers.
Charedim can already apply to be bus drivers, why don't they?
And some other things:
1) "bringing in drivers known for patience and compassion" - since when are charedim are known for patience and compassion?
2) Why do you assume that hiring charedim rather than Arabs would have the effect of "improving reliability and punctuality" and "removing bus companies' almost complete reliance on a pool of not-well-qualified drivers"? Sounds racist.
You’re absolutely right that the ideal is for everyone to shoulder their fair share of the security burden. But getting there won’t happen overnight. Integrating more Chareidim into the workforce isn’t a substitute for service -- it’s a practical first step toward greater responsibility and participation overall.
Strengthening employment, strengthening connection to the broader society, and strengthening shared daily life can only move things in the right direction. Far from being a lose‑lose, it could dramatically improve the fabric of life here for all of us as Israelis.
Wouldn’t you agree that progress -- even incremental -- beats staying stuck?
Every death and injury can be laid at the door of the gedoilim. They have blood on their hands….so much blood
This from Leah Zach Aharoni
I am writing this as a mother.
Yesterday, a 14 year old Yossi Eishenthal was run over by a bus during a demonstration. A child. A life. A family that will never be the same.
Let me be clear. The only person at fault for the actual act of running over a boy is the bus driver who did it. Period. I am not interested in spreading blame in all directions or hiding responsibility behind slogans.
And at the same time, we have to be brave enough to look at the atmosphere we are creating, because atmospheres have consequences.
I strandle the dati leumi and the charedi community. I love and cherish both deeply. Both communities raise beautiful, ehrlich, menchlich kids.
And in both communities I am witnessing a trend, especially when it comes to boys that is unsettling.
When we raise children inside an atmosphere that tells them they embody the highest value of the community, certain behaviors are bound to follow if humility is not taught alongside it.
This is not about Haredim alone. I see this pattern across communities.
Hilltop youth feel that they are protecting the land of Israel and making it flourish. That is a powerful ideology. It often comes with a feeling that the ends justify the means. And no, I reject out of hand the accusation of blanket "settler violence", but I see kids engage in rhetoric and sometimes actions that are somewhere between stupid, unruly, and dilusional.
In the mainstream dati leumi world, boys grow up knowing that at 18 or 19 they will go to the army, defend the country, and possibly make the ultimate sacrifice. Most are amazing beyond belief. Many scorn at authority and think they know better than their officers, teachers and parents.
In the Haredi world, boys are raised to learn Torah, the highest ideal of their community, and they know from a young age that they are carrying something sacred and elevated. Sometimes, it makes them feel entitled like everyone around should back over backwards to accommodate them.
I am not here to argue whose values are better, purer, or more correct. That argument gets us nowhere.
What I am saying is this: when boys grow up believing they represent the highest value of their community, and no one teaches them humility, accountability, and basic menschlichkeit, entitlement creeps in.
I see it in my own children at times. I see it in the kids I work with in our organization. And I have seen it too many times to ignore.
A 25 year old married kollel student who takes a job and assumes three women his mother’s age should bend their schedules around his learning hours.
A young man using a nonprofit corporate card, donor money, to buy cigarettes (we made him pay it back!)
Eighteen year old boys assuming they should be driven everywhere in taxis and reimbursed for it without authorization (they were not).
Yeshiva boys at demonstrations being violent, unruly and disrespectful of authority.
These are not monsters. These are our sons. And this is exactly why this is painful to say.
There are many wonderful, earnest, respectful boys in every one of these communities. Truly. They give me hope every day.
But there is also a growing pattern of excessive self-assurance, entitlement, and unruliness that we, as parents, cannot keep excusing in the name of ideology.
Living a value does not grant special privileges. Making sacrifices does not excuse bad behavior. Carrying a holy mission does not place you above basic responsibility and restraint.
When a group of yeshiva students thinks it is acceptable to attack a bus because they are angry about the draft, something has gone deeply wrong before that moment. And that failure does not start in the street. It starts at home.
If we do not teach our sons humility, respect for others, and limits, no ideology will save them. And no slogan will protect them from tragedy.
This is not about blame. It is about responsibility.
As parents, the atmosphere we create is the world our children grow up in. And if we do not change that atmosphere, we should not be surprised when it explodes in our faces.
May we all be worthy of making a tikkun and may that tikkun be leilui nishmat Yossi Eisenthal.
You may not be here to state who is at fault but you completely missed the point. When a major segment of the population especially one that claims the moral high ground refuses to share the security burden and have the GALL to claim Torah excuses them from communal responsibilities, they are perverting Torah and perverting Judaism and become dependent on parasitic behavior to exist.
Over the past few years, many Jerusalem bus riders, including myself, have experienced serious issues with driving quality: unsafe speeding, skipped stops, abrupt braking, and a general lack of attentiveness to passengers. Despite reporting these concerns to the bus companies with detailed documentation, no meaningful response has ever been received. The bus companies complain of a dire shortage of bus drivers, requiring hiring from "minority" groups. Clearly, something in the system needs improvement.
Why not actively encourage Chareidi men to join the ranks of bus drivers? This could address multiple challenges at once:
(a) bringing in drivers known for patience and compassion;
(b) offering Chareidi men a respectable livelihood without academic barriers;
(c) increasing cultural sensitivity on routes serving Chareidi neighborhoods;
(d) improving reliability and punctuality;
(e) strengthening communication with local passengers;
(f) providing stable, long-term employment;
(g) creating positive role models within the Chareidi community.
(h) removing bus companies' almost complete reliance on a pool of not-well-qualified drivers.
It truly seems like a win‑win proposition.
Charedim can already apply to be bus drivers, why don't they?
And some other things:
1) "bringing in drivers known for patience and compassion" - since when are charedim are known for patience and compassion?
2) Why do you assume that hiring charedim rather than Arabs would have the effect of "improving reliability and punctuality" and "removing bus companies' almost complete reliance on a pool of not-well-qualified drivers"? Sounds racist.
"Since when are charedim are known for patience and compassion?" - You sound anti-Chareidi and antisemitic to me.
"Why do you assume that hiring charedim rather than Arabs ...". I never mentioned Arabs, you did. You sound racist to me.
Based on your response, you sound like a clueless person who doesn't ride public bus transportation in Jerusalem. Come back when you have.
Lol, it's not "anti-Chareidi and antisemitic" to state that charedim do not have a particular reputation for patience and compassion.
You didn't use the word Arab but you spoke of "minority" groups which presumably means Arabs. What else did you have in mind?
If they don’t serve in the army and shoulder their fair share of the security burden it’s a lose-lose.
@David Ilan:
You’re absolutely right that the ideal is for everyone to shoulder their fair share of the security burden. But getting there won’t happen overnight. Integrating more Chareidim into the workforce isn’t a substitute for service -- it’s a practical first step toward greater responsibility and participation overall.
Strengthening employment, strengthening connection to the broader society, and strengthening shared daily life can only move things in the right direction. Far from being a lose‑lose, it could dramatically improve the fabric of life here for all of us as Israelis.
Wouldn’t you agree that progress -- even incremental -- beats staying stuck?
This is a tragedy for the family, and המקום ינחם אתכם. But everyone must remember that דינא דמלכותא דינא, whatever one’s personal views may be.