A Moment of Sanity in the Chareidi World...

Who'd have thunk it? According to this article from Arutz 7, some Chareidi Rabbanim in Bnei Brak are telling the protesters to knock it off:

Leading hareidi-religious rabbis say that anti-Gay Pride Parade protests should be put on a low burner. "Prayers are more effective than rallies," they say.

Rabbi Shmuel HaLevy Vozner, Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, and other leading rabbinical sages in Bnei Brak have issued a statement against participation in the "protests and similar events" against the upcoming gay-pride parade in Jerusalem...

"We again warn regarding the gathering of youngsters in the streets of Bnei Brak for protests and similar events," the rabbis wrote, "and we hereby present our position, the position of Torah, that the Sages are not pleased with these gatherings, and whoever studies Torah should guard himself and stay away from them."

The rabbis even say that it is known that the organizers are reckless and "do not have fear of G-d opposite them, and joining up with them is a spiritual danger... A significant number of them are not yeshiva students, but youngsters from other towns who are looking for an excuse to go wild, burn trash bins and destroy public property... Our strength is in our mouths, in prayer to G-d that He will bring down a spirit of purity to enable us to serve Him truly."

A broadcaster on a hareidi radio station told Army Radio today that even participation in "peaceful" demonstrations is not recommended. "We feel that the best way to deal with this issue is quietly," he explained, "so as not to expose our children any more than necessary to this evil [of homosexual behavior]."

Some rav in Bnei Brak must have read my blog, and maybe a bunch of others, denouncing the violence of the protesters.

I especially like the last bit about not exposing children to all this. As I mentioned earlier, none of these kids should even know what sex is, much homosexuality.

The question I have is: Why didn't these Rabbanim say something last week? Further, now that the fires have been stoked to a very high heat, will anyone listen to them? Even after these rabbis' admonitions, the Chareidim still plan on protesting:

At the same time, placards have been posted around the city calling to "bodily block the disgrace" - though without violence. The posters read, "At 5 PM, we will stand at the corner of Agron and King David Streets, and along the way up to Liberty Bell Park, and we will block the march of disgrace with our bodies. There is no need to lift a hand, no need to yell or condemn. We will stand quietly and with a prayer to the G-d of Israel, and we will not move until the organizers of the march and the police understand that the march cannot happen and they will disperse to their homes. We call upon the people for whom Jerusalem is precious to take part." Separate areas for men and women will be available.

They're saying it's going to be quiet, and let's hope it will. But will it, really? I have my serious doubts. We'll all find out tomorrow.

Oh, and the part about having separate areas for men and women? That's just too precious. Might be more tznius in this case to have the men blocking the lesbians and the women blocking the gay men...:)