What’s the Charedi View on Ripping Down Public Israeli Flags or Stealing Them Off Cars?

It’s an uncomfortable image: a Jewish youth tearing down an Israeli flag from a lamppost or pulling one off someone’s car. For many Israelis, this feels like a personal attack—not just on a symbol, but on identity. And when it happens in Charedi neighborhoods, people naturally ask: Is this what Charedim believe in? Do they support this behavior?

The answer is clear and unequivocal from within the Charedi world:

No. Charedi Gedolim have never supported vandalism or theft, and they have consistently condemned such actions as wrong, forbidden, and damaging to the sanctification of Hashem’s Name.

Let’s explore why, and where these actions truly come from.

Torah Values: Kavod HaBriyos and Chilul Hashem

The Torah teaches us to behave with respect, even toward those with whom we disagree. The commandment of:

“וִהְיִיתֶם נְקִיִּים מֵה' וּמִיִּשְׂרָאֵל” “Be clean before Hashem and before Israel” (Bamidbar 32:22)

obligates us to act in a way that reflects integrity, honesty, and peace—especially in the eyes of others.

• Stealing a flag is stealing.
  
• Tearing someone’s property is vandalism.
  
• Doing so in public, with the intent to provoke, is a potential Chilul Hashem—a desecration of G-d’s Name.
  

Even when the symbol being targeted (like the Israeli flag) may represent a worldview Charedim don’t agree with, the act of destruction is not Torah-sanctioned protest—it’s forbidden behavior.

Gedolim Have Consistently Opposed Extremist Actions

Gedolim from across the Charedi spectrum have spoken out against acts of violence, vandalism, and provocation, even when carried out in the name of religious ideology:

• Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l regularly condemned violence and extremism, stating that it distorts the Torah’s path of emes and derech eretz. He insisted that protests must be carried out respectfully and within halachic bounds.
  
• Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l was known to reject all forms of provocation. He warned that confrontational acts cause hatred, chillul Hashem, and damage to the name of Torah.
  
• Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l would often remind talmidim, “We are still in galus—even in Eretz Yisrael. In galus, we must behave with humility and wisdom.”

While ideological disagreement with secular Zionism remains in Charedi thought, these Gedolim were firm: Torah does not permit hateful, destructive acts in its name.

So Where Does This Behavior Come From?

When such actions occur, they are almost always the work of fringe elements—individuals or small groups not representative of mainstream Charedi life.

Some come from extremist sects that operate in ideological isolation and reject nearly all communal Rabbinic leadership.

Others may be emotionally charged youth—lacking proper hadrachah, guidance, or appreciation of Torah values. They act not out of deep conviction but out of zeal, rebellion, or confusion.

Mainstream Charedi communities—including Litvish yeshivos and Chassidic groups—reject these methods completely. Acts of provocation, especially when they involve theft or damage, are never condoned.

Our Role: Kiddush Hashem, Not Provocation

Charedim believe their mission is to bring light, not friction. Even in disagreement with secular culture or values, the Torah approach is dignity, restraint, and clarity—never violence or vandalism.

We don’t tear down. We build Torah. We do not shout with anger. We live with emunah and achrayus.

“דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם” — “Her ways are ways of pleasantness.” (Mishlei 3:17)

When a Charedi bachur sees a flag on a car, the Torah response is not to rip it off. It is to turn his focus inward, build himself, and leave a Kiddush Hashem in his wake.

Conclusion: Torah Is Built With Ahavas Yisrael, Not Acts of Hatred

The Charedi world may not identify with the Israeli flag as a religious symbol. It may not celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut. But it holds one truth higher than any national slogan: Ahavas Yisrael.

Every Jew is a brother. Every act of theft or vandalism is a violation of halacha. And every Chilul Hashem tears at the very fabric of what we stand for.

Redemption will come—not from provocation, but from purity. Not from vandalism, but from Torah, tefillah, and midos tovos.

Sources & Footnotes

1. Bamidbar 32:22 – “And you shall be clean before Hashem and before Israel.”
   
2. Mishlei 3:17 – “Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.”
   
3. Rav Shach zt”l – Public letters and writings condemning extremism, including his Michtavim u'Maamarim.
   
4. Rav Elyashiv zt”l – Recorded rulings and statements, particularly in response to acts of provocation; see Divrei Chachamim and Beis David.
   
5. Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l – Statements collected in Aleinu L'Shabeach and Leading With Love by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer.
   
6. Vayoel Moshe, Satmar Rebbe – While strongly opposing Zionism, even the Satmar Rebbe clearly discouraged any halachically forbidden actions such as theft or violence, emphasizing a Torah-based response.
   
7. Interviews with askanim and Rabbanim in neighborhoods such as Meah Shearim – Point to widespread disapproval among Charedi leaders of unsanctioned vandalism or provocation.