Weekly Orthodox news roundup: protests, missed arrivals, and a crowded circuit of weddings and meetings

The week’s dominant thread was the fallout from the violence on Route 4 and the broader ultra-Orthodox response to the arrests and protests. The writer described the scenes as shocking and said the silence from Haredi elected officials was especially painful, even as the community online mocked the affair with slogans, jokes, and AI-generated content. He also cited a report from a Charedi detainee who asked a judge, “What is your exact home address?”, a remark that reportedly stunned the court.

At a large gathering for the conclusion of tractates at the Toldos Aharon courtyard in Mea Shearim on Tuesday, organizers expected Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shachter to attend, but he did not arrive. The column said the reason was that all of his grandchildren, who usually handle the family’s logistics, were away, including one in London, one in the United States, one at a family celebration in Bnei Brak, one in Jerusalem, and another, Aryeh Kroll, who serves as his driver, also in Jerusalem. A letter from Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch was read at the event while other family members were also abroad.

The roundup then moved through a long list of public and private appearances. Aryeh Deri held a sheva berachot on Thursday for the daughter of Yosef Chaim Kalef, but traffic tied to protests delayed the bride’s parents and almost delayed Rabbi Baruch Noyvirt, who reached a wedding by motorcycle. In New York and New Jersey, the writer spotted Israel Cohen at Shas headquarters, former minister Moshe Arbel near the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s grave in Queens, and several rabbis and communal figures at meetings, charities, and weddings.

Among the many notices were a massive wedding for the daughter of Shlomi Steinmetz in Boro Park, a packed event for the daughter of entrepreneur Yehuda Wetzler in Kotz, a wedding of the granddaughter of the head of the Torah world, Rabbi Dov Landau, and numerous receptions in Israel and the United States. The item also noted meetings on draft-related strategy, including a discussion in the Knesset between Aryeh Deri and coalition chairman Ofir Katz on legislation to halt arrests of Torah students, plus a consultation between key Vizhnitz figures and attorney Menachem Stauber over the conscription crisis.