Who believes this? "It is believed" is not an honest attribution. Give us some names or titles so we know who is on the record. These "yeshiva students" have got some serious problems - like not knowing the difference between supporting Torah and acting like hooligans. They should be arrested and prosecuted like any other hooligan. HOWEVER, throwing tomatoes and smashing windshields doesn't put people in danger of their lives. If some were actually beaten, then this is serious and the perpetrators should be prosecuted. But I doubt that the officials were in any real danger of losing their lives. Let those who "believed" the officials were in mortal danger stand up and be identified.

Lets stop this nonsense. (I'm not implying all Haredi are like this).

Am I missing something? While there is no justification whatsoever to the destruction of vehicles and threats to the lives of the tax-enforcement employees, I'm a bit confused as to the government's need to investigate a Gemilat Chessed (Charitable Fund) that receives donations and turns them around into interest-free loans to needy families and individuals? And if they swap dollars for sh'kalim at a better rate than the banks offer, is it the job of the government to interfere with the workings of an unfettered market?

they took document cuz of a investigation, but the "editor" knows for sure that it is fronts and that it is illegal! the police never said anything but you already decided! i wud expect them to sue you for your news piece here.

and throw away the key. Anyone who breaks the law like this needs to be punished - haredi or choloni.

This is insane when are we going to do something about these criminals that call themselves religious. There not paying taxes, riot, break the law etc... however they stay out of jail? WHY????

This article is written from such a biased anti charedi view point it is very hard to separate fact from fiction. What is true is that in the charedi sector and in charedi communities the world over there exists gemachim which are interest free loan societies that help the poor live from day to day. The fact that the Israeli government are targeting these interest free loan societies in furtherance of its “war against the charedim” absolutely disgusts me . It is high time that the Israeli government starts focusing on its real enemies and leaves the charedim alone!

They dont serve in the army and now they dont pay tax!!!! its time to end this game in the name of God!! Any one raising there hand should be punished heavly, Its amazing that they know how to resot to violnce when it comes for them to pay . We should put them on a boat and send them to America

Will there be prosecution, or is the government gutless ???

There are been repeated lawless and violent acts by large numbers of the Haredi community of late and they seem to be able to break the law with impunity. If any other sector of israeli citizens were to behave in such a manner they would be arrested and prosecuted (if that sector happened to be arab-israelis, G-d help them). When is the government going to step in and put a stop to these criminal acts?!

So lets see....they are breaking the law, and then, when they get busted, they riot. This type of BS goes on here in NY too. It's ok to screw with your taxes and cheat the government because you are doing it for Torah. What happened to respecting the laws of the lands you live in? I dont know how prevalent this is, and of course there are people looking to buck the system in all different types of societies. However, if you belong to a group that purports to be more religious, how much more hypocracy is it to cheat. This has to be against the Torah.

I know first hand, yah, been there, done it,in one of these "amutot" a similar one, not the same. So I can't speak for this particular one, but they are pretty much the same. I was AMAZED to see the corruption going on there, money laundering, extraordinate "salaries" for the top ones involved, lack of payment to the real poor workers, extravagant cars and ficticious positions, you name it. Far than a Hilul Hashem this is criminal. Why should me and you pay taxes and they won't? Needless to say I quited the place

for better or worse Israel is organized as a state accountable to the laws passed by a secular legislature... the contempt these folks show for the laws of man is only exceeded by their narrow, ultimately infantile interpretations of Jewish law. Haredism is not a 2 thousand year stream of Jewish life but a fundamentalist reaction to modernity that has at best a history of a couple of hundred years. I await for example someone explaining to me where the talmud states that the dress of polish nobilty is ordained...had their founding rabonim ended up in alska they would be wearing snow shoes on shabbat.

There is law and it needs to be respected. Those who break the law should be held accountable, whether they are Haredi, Secular, Arab, doesnt matter. No special priveledges. Shameful, if this is how the Yeshiva really acted.

Pick on someone else!!!

who live off people like me who honestly pay Income Tax( 45% in my income bracket). Why should I continue to work so hard & miss being with my family simply to support these spineless freeloaders?

Enough is enough already with these good for nothing parasites. Either assimilate them into Israeli society and make them productive and contirbuting members or expell them and let them live among their beloved Palestinians. The haredim have it down to a science. Anytime the State asserts its rights they riot and creatre havoc. The State backs down and lets them go on being the blood sucking parasites they are. This is unacceptable behavior in a civilized society. Their behavior is reminiscent of the Moslems that rioted because of Muhammad's depictions in the newspapers.

Whenever I saw a haredi man walking down the street, I used to think that these people reminded me of my Jewish identity, Today, I must say I am having a hard time identifying to them, for the way they are abusing their privileges. It is time to make a few changes with respect to these so called privileges, as they are acting shamefully, irrationally and definitely very unjewish like..

I see. So if someone is from the haredi community they are beyond criticism. If they break the law it shouldn't be punished and no one should dare to talk about it. They should freely be allowed to beat up people (so long as they are not also haredi). They should be able to destroy other people's property. Certianly they should be allowed to destroy the governments property. They should also be able to go in and destroy any businesses that they don't approve of, like an Internet cafe. Block roads, burn tires. All good. After all these are good deeds according to Torah. That is what you (and they) seem to be saying...

Avi, you are a leech! who lives off the merit of those who learn Torah. Without them you would not be here. Do the Holy city of Jerusalem a favor and leave. Go to America where you can make more money! You have separated yourself from the Jewish people, and joined all those who have ever hated us. If you don't know the value of Torah then you are already dead!

PAAALEEEEZE! Nothing against learning Torah and it's teachings. It's the behavior of those who claim to study and pracrice Torah that is repulsive.

lilmod al minas l'asos Will they pay?

If you are a man of the book, surely you must have learned to control your emotions. I am reading your talkback and I feel you are a very angry man, completely alieanated from what the Real Torah teachings. I suggest you revise your Judaic principles and reconsider your inappropriate attitude. Hopefully your next talkback will be peaceful and compassionate, just like the Torah teaches us.

Daniel Daniel you have things extremly mixed up in your head. The reason you can read the Torah at all is because Men like me keep you safe from the butchers, but that does not give you the right not to pay tax, and or serve in the army!! The more people like you open there mouth the more it seems you look for an excuse not to be part of the world. Time for you to understand what your learning or claim your learning from the torah and put it into practice rather than using it as an excuse.

1. Don't beleave everything you hear. I personally was as a Charedi rally of at most 200 people, that was reported as a riot of thousands with rock throwing. There were no thousands and no rocks! Just because you read it, don't beleave it without hearing from the other side. 2. The secular media has a blatant bias against Charedim. It just so happens that they have the lowest rate of, murder, theft, drugs, dropouts, and rape than any other group in Israel. They also have the highest rate of giving and practicing charity, as well as many other acts of kindness. Nonetheless, all the media portrays them as is rock throwers and draft dodgers. Isn't it enough that most of the world hates us! Why must we also pick on ourselves! Enough is enough! Maybe we can try and find the good in all of us instead of running with glee to exploit our faults. Maybe there is a reason those bearded Jews have been around longer then any other religion.

no one likes to pay taxes and most people don't like being investigated by the tax authorities, especially if they have done nothing wrong, never mind if their bookkeeping leaves something to be desired, but this is taking things to extremes. this is exactly the sort of behaviour that puts people off religion and haredim in particular. the rabbis of the students concerned need to issue a warning that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated as it chillul hashem, and that repetition of such behaviour will lead to suspension or expulsion from the yeshiva/s. whether there are actually any tax irregularities in the places concerned, or whether it is just poor bookkeeping, remains to be seen. we also need to look at how many of us take home biros from work, or use the office photocopier for our own personal stuff ? and how many people use the "black market guy" down the street to change money or cheques because its a lot easier not to mention cheaper, than trying to use the banking system for small amounts ? however a real tzaddik like the Chafetz Chaim would even tear up a stamp if he sent a letter by hand, so that the post office would not lose out financially. this is the standard that we all, hiloni and dati alike, should all aim at.

Explain Israel Valas' murder of his innocent baby and the resultant Haredi riots because of his arrest. What is disliked is the hypocracy not the person.

I am sorry that people in this talkback are lashing out at you. I guess you must have realized that you stepped out of line for a bit. Please try not to create Lashon Haraa again, as you have noticed, it does not pay. Peace be with you and the rest of us.