We are shocked and horrified by the terrible destruction that occurred at the beginning of the week when the Jerusalem Municipality, together with authorities, decided to trample all that is holy and precious – and to destroy the House of Hashem, a small sanctuary, the new Prayer Tent, which was erected at great expense.

While God-fearing Jews stood wrapped in tallit and tefillin, pleading before their Creator, brutish storm troopers entered with wickedness and terrible cruelty, trampling in corruption everything in their path. They did not relent until they smashed to the ground shelves filled with holy books and sacred ritual items, and this disgrace rose to the heavens.

Following the destruction of this small sanctuary and the horrific desecration of Hashem’s Name, in addition to the ongoing persecution of the Shuvu Banim community by the Jerusalem Municipality – a community that, for nearly four years, has prayed every day and every Shabbat under the open sky, without a permanent structure worthy of it by right, not by favor – thousands of community members, together with the community’s rabbis and led by Moreinu HaRav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, went out to protest the desecration of Hashem’s Name, the desecration of the small sanctuary, and the trampling of holiness.

On the day of the destruction – Sunday, the 27th of Tishrei, and the following day, Monday, the 28th of Tishrei – protest gatherings were held in the plaza of the Jerusalem Municipality at Safra Square. At both gatherings, Moreinu HaRav shlit"a stood and recited the Tikkun HaKlali, and afterward delivered a special shiur of chizzuk. In his remarks, he first blessed the mayor of Jerusalem, clarifying that it is not, God forbid, our intention to cause any harm, but rather our simple desire is to build a small sanctuary where more Jews can pray, study, and draw closer to Hashem Yitbarach.

Documentation of the destruction of the tent and the gatherings at Safra Square:

[caption id="attachment_55337" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Image: "Tzaddik HaDor"[/caption] [caption id="attachment_55340" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Image: "Tzaddik HaDor"[/caption]