I have always found subcultures, living within our society, as a fascinating topic. I recall first reading about the disco culture, Odyssey, and then 'Saturday Night Fever, before it exploded onto the scene.
And, Peter Maas's "King of the Gypsies"....amazing culture that few know about.
But I just read this, from the Daily Beast....
...about a secret police that exists within a sect of the Jewish community:
1. " Wearing masks, the men broke into her bedroom after dark to confiscate the evidence. They are not the law or the mafia, and she is neither a criminal nor a rat. Baila Gluck was just a 15-year-old girl, and it was just a cell phone, but to the Vaad Hatzniusthe self-appointed arbiters of right and wrong in the Satmar Orthodox Jewish communityBaila might as well have been holding a time bomb.
2. The Satmars, ... know and fear Vaad Hatznius, which means modesty committee, but most people have never heard of the group and its practices, which can include intimidation, threats and even arrestsfor example, of a girl who attends a party with boys, or a religious man who shaves his beard.
a. ...no official permission from the state to engage in law enforcement, Jews who live under the Vaads law say beatings, harassment and stolen property are all too common.
3. Many within in the community call it the Taliban as a joke, said Deborah Feldman, who grew up in Satmar Williamsburg ...They answer to no one. They can get away with whatever they want, Feldman said.
4. Some members of the community wont even acknowledge its existence....
5. Proponents of the Vaad argue that such a unique religious community is constantly under assault by the modern world, and that safeguarding the Satmar way of lifewhich centers on prayer, simplicity and familycan only be achieved by self-policing.
6. Scholars point out that the Vaad emerged to prevent any infractions of yichud, the Orthodox rule forbidding a man and a woman who are not related from being alone together, as well as to keep young women dressing modestlycovered arms, legs and collarbones, plus covered hair for married womenand away from music, movies and books that dont meet Satmar standards.
7. The Torah doesnt say, Make a modesty squad. They made it themselves, said Judy Genut, a victims advocate and resident of the community who says she grew up with the accused woman.
8. Feldman said she feared punishment from the group when she attended Sarah Lawrence College and drove on its campustwo actions Satmar women are prohibited from taking. Although her car had tinted windows, she said she was convinced a dark car with the Vaad logo was following her.
9. They are now comprised of people with a lot of financial power and spiritual currency, Feldman said, characterizing the committee as an outlet for the angry, the violent and the easily manipulated."
At Orthodox Sex-Abuse Trial, Little-Known Enforcement Group Comes To Light - The Daily Beast
Fascinating......but....
do I not hear echoes of other kinds of groups that enforce strict behaviors?
And, Peter Maas's "King of the Gypsies"....amazing culture that few know about.
But I just read this, from the Daily Beast....
...about a secret police that exists within a sect of the Jewish community:
1. " Wearing masks, the men broke into her bedroom after dark to confiscate the evidence. They are not the law or the mafia, and she is neither a criminal nor a rat. Baila Gluck was just a 15-year-old girl, and it was just a cell phone, but to the Vaad Hatzniusthe self-appointed arbiters of right and wrong in the Satmar Orthodox Jewish communityBaila might as well have been holding a time bomb.
2. The Satmars, ... know and fear Vaad Hatznius, which means modesty committee, but most people have never heard of the group and its practices, which can include intimidation, threats and even arrestsfor example, of a girl who attends a party with boys, or a religious man who shaves his beard.
a. ...no official permission from the state to engage in law enforcement, Jews who live under the Vaads law say beatings, harassment and stolen property are all too common.
3. Many within in the community call it the Taliban as a joke, said Deborah Feldman, who grew up in Satmar Williamsburg ...They answer to no one. They can get away with whatever they want, Feldman said.
4. Some members of the community wont even acknowledge its existence....
5. Proponents of the Vaad argue that such a unique religious community is constantly under assault by the modern world, and that safeguarding the Satmar way of lifewhich centers on prayer, simplicity and familycan only be achieved by self-policing.
6. Scholars point out that the Vaad emerged to prevent any infractions of yichud, the Orthodox rule forbidding a man and a woman who are not related from being alone together, as well as to keep young women dressing modestlycovered arms, legs and collarbones, plus covered hair for married womenand away from music, movies and books that dont meet Satmar standards.
7. The Torah doesnt say, Make a modesty squad. They made it themselves, said Judy Genut, a victims advocate and resident of the community who says she grew up with the accused woman.
8. Feldman said she feared punishment from the group when she attended Sarah Lawrence College and drove on its campustwo actions Satmar women are prohibited from taking. Although her car had tinted windows, she said she was convinced a dark car with the Vaad logo was following her.
9. They are now comprised of people with a lot of financial power and spiritual currency, Feldman said, characterizing the committee as an outlet for the angry, the violent and the easily manipulated."
At Orthodox Sex-Abuse Trial, Little-Known Enforcement Group Comes To Light - The Daily Beast
Fascinating......but....
do I not hear echoes of other kinds of groups that enforce strict behaviors?
