Video: Fight In 770

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — No one ever believed 770 would devolve into utter chaos as it did this afternoon - not even the biggest sympathizers towards the Tzfati cause. Two members of the yeshiva's hanholo, Rabbi Kuti Feldman and Rabbi Zalman Labkowski, were both physically and verbally attacked by the same hooligans who have been running wild and unrestrained these past few weeks.

Today’s episode began when Rabbi Labkowski was about to give his weekly Thursday Shiur at 1:30 in the downstairs of 770. About a half hour before the Shiur began, a Tzfati Bochur, Tzachi Cohen, stole the microphone that is usually used for the Shiur in retaliation for the revocation of one Tzfati's visa.

Bochurim who wanted Rabbi Labkowski to give his shiur set up an alternative microphone - the Gabboim's system (with their permission), and the Shiur began on time.

As the Shiur began, a Tzfati Bochur, Eliyahu Singawi – the one who had his visa revoked, ran over to the cabinet where the microphone system is kept and grabbed the wire, pulling it away in order to tear it.

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Rabbi Kuti Feldman went after the Bochur to get the microphone back, and was attacked by a gaggle of Tzfatis who kicked, punched and slapped him, eliciting cries of outrage from the hundreds of people who were present in 770.

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That wasn’t enough; another Bochur began yelling at Rabbi Labkowski, while spitting at him and throwing things. He shouted: ‘you should die today,’ ‘yemach shimcha,’ and ‘you menuval.’

According to witnesses, all this took place in the presence of Gabbai R. Menachem Gerelitzky and R. Yosef Braun, both of whom did not intervene.

One bochur told Crownheights.info that a Poilisher chossid happened to be present, and he asked him if this was regular occurrence in the shul, and why nobody did anything about it. The bochur couldn't answer.

The incident concluded when Rabbi Labkowski left 770, and Shiur was canceled.