That is to assume that Schlissel is sane, of course. There is a lot of evidence to suggest he is not. If that is the case, there will have to be some serious heart searching within the appropriate Israeli agencies that released him back into society where he could kill a Jewish girl and wound five others. If he is sane, then I believe Schlissel is repulsive and evil.
Now I suppose we will see a race to condemn all haredi and non-haredi Orthodox Jews and tar them with a good deal of collective guilt.
It will be a mirror image of precisely the same process that had the world rushing to judgment over the death last week of an Arab baby allegedly at the hands of a Jew (or Jews). If the allegation is true and the perpetrator is sane, he is also repulsive and evil.
Both sets of critics – Israel’s and Orthodox Jewry’s – will issue their condemnations openly or by insinuation.
Prime Minister Netanyahu will point to the fact that the baby’s murder was condemned and abhorred by Israeli society as evidence of the chasm dividing it from Islamist states. He will cite examples.
His opponents will be unimpressed and claim the innate flaws of Israeli society gave birth to the sort of hatred that led to the attack.
Haredi leaders will point out that the murder of the girl at the gay pride parade was condemned and abhorred by the haredi world. They will cite the act’s disconnect from Torah and halacha.
Their opponents will sneer and claim that the innate flaws of haredi society gave birth to the sort of hatred that led to the attack.
I fear that the critics of both groups, although they will never admit it even to themselves, will secretly rejoice that they have more grist to add to their already busy mills.