J, Northern California’s Jewish news weekly, reports on the phenomenon of yeshiva dropouts wandering through the margins of Israeli society:

Fervently religious society has been slow in recognizing the phenomenon. A public letter sent in May 1998 by a group of haredi educators to several leading rabbis stressed the dimensions of the problem:

Thousands of former yeshiva students have crossed the line, leaving the yeshiva to wander the streets, movie theaters, city squares and anywhere that a yeshiva boy should not be … We are not speaking about the marginal types; even those from the best homes, the most promising students. In recent times these youths have tarnished our name.”

Bands of roaming shababniks have reportedly turned some sections of Bnei Brak into violent crime zones where honest citizens are afraid to walk the streets. In Jerusalem, shababniks have been reported harassing women, intimidating shopkeepers and passers-by, and being involved in petty theft.

Full story here.