Last Friday, a festive interview with Shaika Levy was published in Israel Today (Supplement "Shabbat", December 6, 1999) on the occasion of his 80th birthday. I read it eagerly. The ultra-Orthodox, also of my generation, also grew up on the pale skyscrapers, many of whom are considered clean and innocent even for an ultra-Orthodox ear. I even remember sitting with my late grandfather, who is also anxious, and we both listen to groping and laughing together. It seems, they are some of the last consensus left in our country.

That is why it was so painful and out of place to read, and not for the first time, Levi's reference to the ultra-Orthodox sector. "Everyone says 'we are brothers,' but we are not brothers," he said.

He added: "Most of the poverty in this country is ultra-Orthodox and Arab, and the ultra-Orthodox do nothing, donate, only take budgets, invent inventions, and they always sit on tap."

It is unclear where the need to soothe an entire public, especially when it comes to a beloved and successful coach, the desert has taken away a huge public who loved and loved him and his works. And in his words: don't the ultra-Orthodox contribute? Indeed? Need to mention the countless nonprofits and charitable organizations that help everyone - ultra-Orthodox, secular, Arab and Circassian - without scrutiny in tits?

And there was also an internal contradiction in Levi's words: If we "always sit on the tap," as he puts it, how is it that "most of the poverty is for ultra-Orthodox and Arabs"? We're supposed to take care of ourselves with this fat tap, aren't we? "Moshe Gaffney," he complains, "always sits on tap." That's right, MK Gaffney really has been the chairman of the finance committee for many years. What's wrong with that? Gaffney is very much appreciated in the Mishkan by all the Knesset members, and has been involved in securing budgets for many important goals, most of which have nothing to do with the needs of the ultra-Orthodox sector.

What do he love anyway? Those in America; "That's where they act normal." This is a regular argument, by the way, for orthodox haters, and like any stereotype, it is also wrong. The ultra-Orthodox in the US are just like the ultra-Orthodox in Israel. They have blessings, some work, some are good and there are less people. Just like any other sector.

It is worth noting, though, that Levi made sure not only to stun us, the ultra-Orthodox. We were only last in the list of goals in this article, which included Adir Miller, the theater, Miri Regev and the Oriental songs. And make no mistake: We have no longing for Shaika Levy to recognize us as his "brothers." Good for us with the rest of the brothers and sisters. But it is a pity that instead of hating, the mythical explorer does not seek to acknowledge.

Hanani Blich is an ultra-Orthodox journalist