An unprecedented attack by a secular cultural icon was leveled against people organized to fight the "Rashit" Torah core group in Ramat Hasharon.
In an interview given to Ma'ariv last week, Yehoram Gaon, himself a resident of Ramat Hasharon, chose to sharply attack the activity, comparing their publications to Der Sturmer, a weekly that was a centerpiece of Nazi propaganda.
"There are people here who hate Israel, and when they see one of them (a man with a religious appearance) they are appalled," Gaon said, adding, "So they threaten him to get out of here.I have already received text messages about all kinds of strange characters, who are moving around Ramat Hasharon in order to change the character of the place and to get rid of them, and when I read it, it reminded me of the old anti-Semitic Der Sturmer.
The Rashit community says that "Yehoram Gaon represents the majority of the city's residents who renounce the activity of the extremist and political minority that engages in incitement and hatred of the other, and believe in mutual respect and unconditional love."
In the past year a small group of secular activists called "Ramat Hasharon Free" has fought the Torah core group in Ramat Hasharon.
On its Facebook page, the movement notes that the Torah core group of the city is "messianic, whose declared goal is to bring all the residents to do teshuva (returning to G-d). Their rabbis openly speak out against other streams of society, such as the Reform and the LGBT community.All with the knowledge of the municipality, which closes its eyes and allows this takeover to deepen in the city ... Slowly and surely the Torah core in Ramat Hasharon usurps power and authority for themselves in the city."