This Is Disgusting - Sikrikim Victory Over Manny's

I can't believe that it's come to this.

Manny's, a wonderful seforim/Judaica store in Mea She'arim, has finally given in to the ridiculous demands of the unintelligent, chilul-HaShem-ridden vagrants known as the Sikrikim.

Now, the store will have a "machgiach" who will decide what seforim (Hebrew only, thankfully) can be sold in the store and a sign requiring modesty will be placed in their window display.

This is sick.

I remember going to Manny's frequently during my time in Israel. It's a great store, and I managed to buy a few titles that were out of print. I also ran into many old friends I hadn't seen in a long time or fallen out of touch and were attending different yeshivos/seminaries. There are also very few good, large bookstores that sell English seforim for decent prices (the Feldheim stores are okay, but limited for obvious reasons). The staff there are also quite friendly and very helpful if you can't find something or want some directions around their multitude of shelves.

While I don't think Manny's has quite the pull of the YU Seforim Sale, I'm sure a number of people met nice members of the opposite gender while they were browsing. I wouldn't necessarily bet money on it, but I imagine potential shidduchim could have come about through this sort of casual kosher socializing. Maybe that's what these hooligans are so violently protesting against. If true, that's another reason this foolishness needs to stop.

Just to remind readers, these are the very same ruffians who have been causing a ruckus over the religious Dati girls school in Bet Shemesh.

In short, they are perverts for staring at modestly dressed little girls, and gangsters who vandalize property with human excrement.

Certainly the Rabbonim should vehemently speak out against them, if that will even have any effect at all. On top of that, the Israeli police need to round them up and forcibly end their reign of terror. There is no question their tactics are entirely illegal. Perhaps the government is reluctant to get involved because they figure this is an intracommunal problem and let the chareidim handle it themselves - which we've seen by now with persistent, damaging issues like child abuse - is nigh impossible.

This sort of false zealotry is the real machalah plaguing Torah Observant Judaism these days, and contributes to many other factors that have been detrimental to the world's view of us, not to mention the perspective of the secular Israelis within Israel, and has harmed the cause of achdus in Klal Yisrael.

Enough is enough. If they only understand force, then the government should respond in kind, enforce the law, and put them in their place.

UPDATE: Hat tip to Emes Ve-Emunah, who linked an Arutz Sheva article that reports the police are beginning to crack down on these guys. Baruch HaShem.