The Commando Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was formed five years ago, bringing together three elite infantry units — Maglan, Duvdevan and Egoz. The brigade is trained for particularly difficult warfare behind enemy lines in situations of tactical and numerical disadvantage. It simulates clashes with Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, elite Hamas units and particularly daring special operations deep in enemy territory. It provides the IDF with a clenched fist — an integrated, fast-moving, mobile force for special operations.
The brigade’s soldiers never would have believed that five years hence the IDF would task them with a strange mission, in which the “enemy” is allegedly within. It wears bizarre black uniforms and maintains weird habits. The new task of this elite unit, with the support of soldiers from the Homefront Command and about 1,000 police, is one that has never been assigned to the IDF — saving the Ultra-Orthodox, suburban Tel Aviv town of Bnei Brak.
Bnei Brak is Israel’s most densely populated town, perhaps one of the most densely populated in the world. Its 200,000 residents are mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews. Unfortunately, it is not geographically isolated. On the contrary. Bnei Brak is crammed into the heart of Israel’s largest and most crowded metro area, within spitting distance of Tel Aviv, adjacent to and intermingled with the towns of Ramat Gan, Givatayim and Petah Tikva.
Life in Bnei Brak is frozen in time, replicating the mores of the 19th century Jewish shtetels in Eastern Europe. The deeply observant Jews spend most of their days in prayer and Torah study. The fertility rate is very high. Most homes do not have computers, televisions or smartphones and are not hooked up to the internet. They do have an abundance of holy books. A synagogue and yeshiva can be found at every corner and, of course, lots and lots of kids. This population lives in the year 2020 but is more in tune with previous centuries. It only obeys the edicts of rabbis on every facet of daily life. Life is dictated by the rules of the Torah or the Talmud and their interpretation by rabbis and spiritual leaders. They are cut off from the media and institutions of government, living in a ghetto surrounded by high walls of isolation and segregation.
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