Monday, October 8, 2007

The Action Committee Against Violence in Beit Shemesh - Petition Against the Violence Available for Signing

The Action Committee has prepared a petition against the violence and intimidation, with the help of many people, including Chareidim from Ramat Bet Shemesh Bet who are against the violence and intimidation. Our aim has been to develop a petition phrased in such a way as to condemn the violence and intimidation categorically, while also using Hebrew phraseology acceptable to even the most halachically meticulous in the Chareidi community.

We aim to use this petition as one of the steps in uniting all sectors of the community in Bet Shemesh against the violence, and showing that people of good will from all sectors CAN work together fruitfully to solve problems in our city. We will present the mayor and the police chief with the thousands of signatures which we expect to collect – but, more important than that, we will use this petition as a statement by the vast majority of the people of all sectors in the city that we will not tolerate violence and intimidation, and that we want to change the atmosphere such that Bet Shemesh will once again be noted as a quiet pleasant city, and will no longer be in the news mainly because of violent incidents.

We realize that full realization of this vision will probably take years, but we are willing to work step-by-step to galvanize the goodwill of the majority of people of all sectors in the city into a force that this city can be proud of. The more people who sign this petition the more it will signal to the hooliganistic elements, who are trying to intimidate the good people of Bet Shemesh, that people WILL stand up and be counted against such reprehensible behavior.

We request that all residents of Bet Shemesh from the age of 18 and up sign our petition (which is in Hebrew), the English translation of which is:

We, the undersigned, condemn all acts of violence and intimidation of residents of our city which are perpetrated, as it were, in the name of our holy Torah; behavior of this type is contrary to our holy Torah and demeans it, and at times even causes actual life-threatening danger. We appeal to the leaders and Rabbis of all the communities in the city to exert all of their influence to bring about an immediate cessation of all of these types of actions. We pray that our appeal will be warmly received, and that through our endeavors the verse, (Zechariah 8:19) "Love peace and truth," will be fulfilled.

You can download the petition from this website and print it and sign it and collect signatures of your neighbors – please contact Catriel Lev (054-762-9332) in Ramat Bet Shemesh, or Sharon Raanan (054-566-5105) in Nofei Aviv, when you have sheets full of signatures, so that we can collect them.

You can also receive petition files by sending an Email to Catriel Lev (Email: clev@actcom.com) requesting them.

Additionally, people can sign the petition online at the internet address:
http://www.lamitnadev.kaima.org/moatza/p2_7.html
And we thank HaMoetzah HaTziburit Lemaan Bet Shemesh for providing the web page where people can sign the petition online!

Please help make Bet Shemesh a better place by signing this petition and encouraging others to sign as well.

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