Spitting at Charedim

Charedim enlisting in the IDF (Matzav)

There was a very disturbing incident involving a young Charedi recruit to the IDF. It is described here:

A yeshiva bochur who recently enlisted in the IDF described a painful and humiliating confrontation he says he experienced at a train station in Haifa, where a woman allegedly screamed at him for not serving in the military — and then spit in his face after he showed her proof that he had just signed his enlistment papers.

One of the biggest issues plaguing Israel right now is the conflict between the Charedi world and the rest of Israel with respect to the draft. Charedi leadership will simply not hear of mandatory enlistment. They are willing to ‘starve’ rather than serve. To that end, they have been collecting funds to prevent the ‘starvation’ of their young men who do not serve – The leadership opposes all attempts to get them to serve voluntarily.

Just last week the Charedi leadership — in both Israel and the United States joined forces in yet another huge fundraising campaign. This time in South America appealing for funds to replace generous funds the government now refuses to restore to the Charedi world unless their young are subjected to the draft.

What these leaders found was huge crowds of enthusiastic supporters. These leaders need to duplicate last year’s successful fundraising goal of $100 million in donations. There appears to be great deal of wealth in the Charedi world there right now.

How long they will be able to maintain this massive effort is hard to predict. But I just can’t see even wealthy Charedim coming up with that kind of money year after year for what they call the “Olam HaTorah” — as though they have a monopoly on Torah to the exclusion of everyone else.

The thing is, as I’ve said many times, I actually agree with them about the importance and primacy of Torah study. I admire and support those who dedicate most of their waking hours to mastering it. What I do not support are the vast numbers of people in that “Olam” who are nowhere near achieving it — whether because of personal limitations in their abilities or because their talents lie in other fields. Not everyone is cut out for that kind of lifestyle. And should not automatically be a part of it.

Their insistence that all choose this lifestyle — whether capable or not — be compensated for it, and that they be exempted from serving in the IDF, is a gross misuse of the dictum of VeHagisa Bo Yomam VaLayla— the Torah’s requirement to study Torah day and night. Upon which they base their lives. This does not mean that every Jew must sit in the study hall all day and all night and do nothing else. If one sets aside short regular times for learning during both the day and the night, they satisfy that dictum.

My objection is not to the values they espouse, but to how broadly they apply them. And to the cost of that policy to the welfare of the entire population of the State of Israel.

That there are occasional cases of Charedi enlistment is very laudable. But these Charedim are often sneered at by their own people for bucking the system. I have yet to hear any leader speak positively about these Charedim. It is almost as if they do not exist. Well, they do — although their numbers are comparatively minuscule as of yet.

As far as I am concerned, Charedim like the above-mentioned enlistee are heroes. They actually have a conscience. They realize that others doing the fighting and dying while they do nothing is the height of irresponsibility. And they understand that taking pride in draft evasion is the height of arrogance. Especially when so many of those who serve in dangerous combat units are as devoutly religious as the Charedim themselves. And yet, for the vast majority, there seems to be no guilt about dodging the draft…

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Peace in Our Time?

47 years of the same message from Iran

Last night the president announced that peace may now be at hand. The U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed on a basic memorandum of understanding for a peace deal between them. One that would immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore the free flow of oil that Iran has blocked since the beginning of the war. That blockade is why fuel prices have risen to near unprecedented levels and continue to climb, along with the price of food.

The war against Iran is highly unpopular among the American people, mostly because of how negatively it has affected their pocketbooks. I can’t say I blame them. Except that most Americans seem oblivious to the fact that a nuclear-armed Iran is a mortal danger to the entire free world.

When a fanatical religious regime has been screaming “Death to America” from its very inception, the U.S. would certainly be in its crosshairs sooner or later. Once they have nuclear weapons, preventing a nuclear catastrophe would become infinitely more difficult. And when religious fanatics have their hands on the nuclear button, they will surely have no compunction about using it.

And this doesn’t even address the mortal danger a nuclear-equipped Iran would pose to one of America’s most important allies: Israel.

Sadly, politics have played a nefarious role in the rhetoric surrounding the war against Iran. Supporters of the 2015 JCPOA (Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran) argue that a deal was already in place that would have prevented exactly that - a nuclear-armed Iran. They say that the president’s decision to tear up the deal is why Iran came so close to acquiring a nuclear weapon in the first place.

What they don’t say is that the deal had a ten-year expiration date, that Iran was discovered to be cheating on it anyway, and that the agreement did not include stopping Iran’s ballistic missile program or preventing it from arming terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East, most of whom were aimed at Israel. That support is what enabled Hamas to carry out the October 7^th attack, which precipitated the chain of events leading to where we are now.

The president’s stated goals are to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear capability, halts its ballistic missile production, and stops spreading terror through its proxies. Those goals are supported by America’s ally, Israel, which is why the war effort against Iran became a joint effort with Israel.

Sadly, isolationists on the right and Democrats on the left in Congress share the belief that the president was dragged into the war by Israel’s prime minister — a narrative that smacks of antisemitism and one they continue repeating despite denials from both Israel and the United States.

So here we are now, with a deal apparently at hand, the details of which we know next to nothing about.

A number of media pundits who tend to agree with the president’s critics are already saying the deal will probably resemble Obama’s JCPOA agreement. The obvious message being that had Trump not withdrawn from the deal in the first place, we could have avoided the war, preserved the economy, and spared countless lives. They argue that the regime is now even more hardline than before, making this a net loss for both the United States and world security.

I always find it remarkable when people who know virtually nothing about the details of an agreement - one that is far from being finalized - somehow already know exactly what it entails and how it should be judged.

We do not yet know what this deal says… 

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Ben-Gvir's Deserved Condemnation

Ben-Gvir taunting handcuffed flotilla activists (BBC)

Much like his mentor, Rabbi Meir Kahane, Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, understands the reality behind much of the world’s antipathy toward Israel. And much like his mentor, he shouts that from the rooftops. Nothing gets his ire up more than anti-Israel protesters trying to prove how inhumane Israel is. That motive is exactly what lies behind those occasional European flotillas attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Despite Israel’s war in Gaza having ended months ago, and humanitarian organizations working freely to feed Palestinians there, food shortages still persist.

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What better way to embarrass Israel than to suggest it is doing nothing about the situation by sending a boatload of activists carrying food toward Gaza’s shores — knowing full well that Israel’s security measures will not allow them to disembark without first being detained and the vessel inspected to ensure there are no hidden weapons aboard intended for use by the still-armed Hamas!

That is exactly what they did.

And as expected, Israel detained them, handcuffed them, and then deported them. With highly respected media outlets like BBC and other European news organizations, always eager to portray Israel negatively, certain to cover the story. The flotilla activists’ mission to smear Israel: accomplished.

Only this time, before they were deported Israel’s security minister decided to make matters far worse by personally showing up and taunting these handcuffed “humanitarian” detainees - on camera…

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Thomas Massie, Democrats, and AIPAC

Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein

If there is one phrase that would describe Representative Thomas Massie’s view about American support for Israel, it would be ZOG (“Zionist Occupied Government”). One might remember that phrase from a while back. It was used by antisemitic fringe groups like neo-Nazis and white supremacists who believed that the legislative branch of government was occupied by people owned by AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) - the Israel supporting lobby. Accusing his colleagues of putting Israel’s interests ahead of those of the United States.

While it is, of course, true that lobbyists who support Israel will naturally support candidates with favorable attitudes toward Israel, that does not mean those candidates were bought by an Israel supporting lobby — any more than politicians are “owned” by any other lobby in Washington.

The right to petition our government is a constitutional right. The notion promoted by some politicians that AIPAC is somehow doing something unethical - is not only pure nonsense, but often an indication of underlying — if not overt — antisemitism.

This describes the lame-duck congressman from Kentucky, Thomas Massie, who just lost the Republican primary for reelection to an eighth term. His primary opponent, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, defeated Massie by 10 points.

Massie’s thinly disguised antisemitism is similar to that of Tucker Carlson. Whose rhetoric about Israel’s “control” of Congress mimics that of fringe antisemites on the far right. He may as well have used the term ZOG to describe Congress.

Nor is he the first Republican member of Congress to say similar things about his colleagues. One may recall former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel — later Secretary of Defense under Barack Obama — saying something along the lines of, “Some members of Congress forget which country they represent.” That was in reference to the overwhelming financial support for Israel within his party.

Thankfully people like this are not mainstream. They are mavericks who delight in the publicity they get from their controversial views. And now this latest ‘maverick’ will soon be gone

Massie’s defeat is good news for Israel. One less antisemite will be replaced by a pro-Israel supporter who was hand-picked and endorsed by the president.

The media points to the president as being responsible for Massie’s loss. As was the case with virtually all of the candidates Trump has endorsed in primaries across the country. The Republican Party has increasingly become the party of Trump. If you support him, he endorses you and you are likely to win among Republican voters. If you oppose him on almost any issue, you are politically finished. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, a two-term veteran of the Senate, found that out the hard way, losing to his opponents, the relatively unknown Julia Letlow and John Fleming, who advanced to a runoff.

Although it is now a hard political reality for Republicans that they are either “with him or against him,” and that this determines whether they can run successfully as Republicans, I think there was more at play in Massie’s case...

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The Billion Dollar Plan

Dr. Paul Vosolov (Mishpacha)

I subscribe. Despite the fact that Mishpacha Magazine reflects an almost exclusively Charedi perspective on the issues affecting the world of observant Jewry, I agree with Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein’s effusive praise in Cross-Currents of the magazine and its accomplishments.

But just like Rabbi Adlerstein, I have my issues with them. One of which I have discussed quite extensively. Which is their refusal to publish any pictures of women regardless of how modestly they are dressed. But I understand what’s behind their editorial policy. As noted in the article:

There are things that Mishpacha still cannot do, say, or challenge. If it would, the entire enterprise – sensitive to both the demands of a very diverse market, and the censorious barbs of extremists – could collapse.

I don’t know about collapse. But it would certainly hurt their bottom line. Mishpacha is in the business of making money. Magazines make money through paid advertisements. Rates are set by the number of readers. The greater the readership, the higher the advertising rates — and the more money they make.

I do not say this disparagingly. I am a capitalist. Mishpacha is entitled to make as much money as it can. And to use whatever ethical means are at their disposal to make that happen. But that doesn’t make me feel any better about the editorial policy that results from it. About which Rabbi Adlerstein makes some very valid points.

Mishpacha’s recent cover story is about Dr. Paul Vosolov’s plan to build a billion-dollar fixed endowment fund for yeshivos in Israel. That would solve the financial crisis facing what they call the “Olam HaTorah”. A crisis resulting from the government conditioning any further financial aid on thier participation in the IDF. Which the Charedi world overwhelmingly rejects - accusing the Israeli government of waging a war against the Torah itself!

Without explicitly saying so, Mishpacha’s editorial views on this issue seems to be identical to that of Israel’s Charedi leadership — a perspective that I have long questioned. And to this day cannot understand. Even though I am 100% certain that this is their genuine belief. As is their belief that the “Olam HaTorah” is exclusively their domain. They do not see any other form of yeshiva as a valid expression of Torah Judaism.

There are few issues of public concern to the Jewish people that upset me more than this.

Rabbi Adlerstein is far more of a gentleman than I am and would never put it the way I do. At the same time, the commentary in his article suggests that, in his heart of hearts, he may be as upset as I am. For the same reasons.

Although he admires the dedication to diligent Torah study that is the hallmark of the Charedi yeshiva world, he nevertheless recognizes its serious shortcomings, which the Mishpacha article ignores...

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The Tragic Legacy of Rabbi Meir Kahane

Screenshot of masked Jews storming a West Bank village on April 17, 2026 (TOI)

Meir Kahane was right. This may be shocking to those who know my views about his extremist policies, which — let me repeat — are as damaging to the fabric of the Jewish people as are the policies of Israel’s far left. But that does not take away from Rabbi Kahane’s keen perception of reality as it pertains to the Arab mindset about the Jewish state.

I have never changed my opinion about that ever since I first read his views as a weekly columnist for the Jewish Press back in the early seventies. He was way ahead of his time. Although many Israelis slowly came to understand his views and ultimately agreed with his perspective, it wasn’t until October 7^th that virtually the entire population of Israel did as well.

But his solution to the problems he so correctly identified - was a failure of moral turpitude of such great magnitude, that it led Baruch Goldstein, one of his more devout followers, to mass murder 29 Palestinian worshippers at Maaras HaMachpela in Chevron and wound 125 more before he was subdued and himself killed.

Rabbi Kahane’s many followers responded by setting up a shrine at Goldstein’s gravesite and making frequent pilgrimages there to honor his memory. Which, in my view, was a massive Chilul HaShem — and which, thankfully, the Israeli government eventually outlawed.

That said, one cannot overlook the fact that Rabbi Kahane’s views generated quite a following long after he was assassinated during a visit to the US. Views that are unapologetically held by his political heir in the Knesset, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who to this day considers Goldstein one of his heroes.

What makes this significant is that Ben-Gvir has quite a substantial following — far greater than Rabbi Kahane had at his peak. His party, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) won six seats in the Knesset, compared to the single seat Rabbi Kahane won at his peak. Six seats translate to well over 200,000 supporters. That does not even include those who might be sympathetic to his views but, for political reasons, voted for another party. And it certainly does not include voters who were pushed over the line after October 7^th.

Among those supporters are extremists who take that support to the next level. Armed with Rabbi Kahane’s perspective and attitude about Palestinians, they have taken it upon themselves to do what they believe Rabbi Kahane himself would have done were he still alive — a belief not all that far-fetched considering his militant past in the US and his solution for regaining all of Eretz Yisroel by resorting to the forcible transfer of Palestinians out of the country (if they did not agree to accept Jewish sovereignty over all the land).

Some of his extremist followers harass Palestinians living in villages with hardcore acts of violence, leading to destruction of property and even death or injury of innocent Palestinians. Often claiming self-defense. Which may or may not be true. That a Palestinian living in Yehuda or Shomron (the West Bank) may hate us and even wish us dead does not mean we may cause them harm. But those extremists are surely acting on what they believe would have met with Rabbi Kahane’s strong approval, As they believe would have been his approval of Baruch Goldstein.

(I am reminded of the effusive eulogies of Baruch Goldstein given by some Religious Zionist rabbis after his death. Which Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, publicly condemned as a major Chilul HaShem at the time.)

Making matters worse is the fact that even among those followers who would never attempt such acts themselves, there is public support for - or at least a defense of them by hundreds of thousands of sympathizers. And let us not overlook the silence of many Religious Zionist rabbis and educators, which seems to indicate sympathy for for the religious fervor, zeal and motivation behind the violence, if not outright support.

This brings me to Rabbi Yosef Blau…

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Is the President a Friend of the Jewish People?

What does it mean to be antisemitic? The quick answer might seem the most obvious one, but not necessarily the correct one.

Antisemitism surely reached its peak under Adolf Hitler’s Germany. The Jewish people were targeted for extinction, and that hatred was acted upon with such urgency that six million Jews were systematically murdered for the “sin” of being Jewish. But is the mere fact that someone identifies as a Jew really what upsets the classic antisemite?

If you think about it, there are actually Jews who themselves express antisemitic views. One example is Zack Polanski, the head of the Green Party in England. Even though he denies being antisemitic and uses his Jewish background as proof, his fierce anti-Zionist rhetoric and public defense of Jermey Corbin a shows a clear anti-Jewish bias. There is nothing Jewish about him other than an accident of birth,

If someone condemns the very existence of a Jewish state while accusing it of genocide, they are showing complete disregard for the welfare of the seven million Jews who call Israel home. Which makes me wonder how Jewish Democrats are so quick to abandon the Jewish people in the holy land… and instead buy so easily into the media’s regurgitation of the Palestinian narrative - as the truth.

How, then, can we know whether statements from public figures who claim sensitivity to the Jewish people are sincere, or merely platitudes for political purposes? Too often, those positions shift with the political winds. That tendency has become increasingly apparent ever since October 7, 2023 when Israel decided to respond forcefully to the constant attacks against its people by Iran’s proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

It is now fashionable among parts of the progressive left to portray Israel as a nation led by Netanyahu, a genocidal maniac that should not receive another dime of American support for its supposedly “Nazi-like” military actions.

Sadly, this disturbing political development has found a home within one of America’s two mainstream political parties. Democrats are increasingly distancing themselves from Israel. (Although some Republicans have as well).

The closer Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu becomes to the president, the more ire it seems to generate among Democrats... 

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Rights Endowed by The Creator

The Supreme Court Justices

What are the constitutional limits on the kinds of conditions a government may impose on religious schools as the price of participating in funding programs?

Can a religious school limit who may send their children there by virtue of its religious doctrine and still receive government funding?

On the surface, it would seem unconstitutional for the government to support a school whose religious rules violate the civil rights of members of the public. If an LGBTQ couple is denied enrollment for their child because a religious school’s doctrines do not permit such a couple to be part of its community, it would appear to conflict with their constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. Additionally it would raise First Amendment concerns about the separation of church and state. But what about the school’s religious rights?

The classic argument has been that while a religious school may have the right to discriminate based on religious doctrine, the government ought not fund it because of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

But that is not necessarily the case. The Supreme Court has recently ruled that denying religious schools funding available to everyone else can itself constitute a violation of religious liberty under the very same First Amendment. As noted by Michael Helfand in City Journal:

“After a decade of decisions barring governments from excluding religious institutions from public-funding programs, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy will move the fight to new—and far murkier—terrain: what to do about conditions imposed on government funding that collide with schools’ religious commitments.”

The argument made by religious schools is that denying them public funding because they implement their religious principles amounts to unequal treatment. They contend that educational funds should be distributed equally to all citizens regardless of religious belief or practice.

At the same time, the government may impose standards for receiving those funds—standards that also apply to public schools. The question then becomes: how far may those standards go? What happens when they cross the line into the religious rights of the school? Do the rights of a religious school to deny admission to an LGBTQ family violate the civil rights of that family? When that conflict inevitably arises, who wins…

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A Charedi Agenda that is Oblivious to Reality

The current ‘Daas Torah’ of the Charedi world

It has become abundantly clear to me that Charedi leadership in Israel could not care less about the welfare of the country in which they reside. A country whose legitimacy as a Jewish state they refuse to recognize.

Their participation in the government is entirely for self-preservation purposes. The fact that they occasionally vote on issues outside of their immediate concern that also benefit the public welfare is only incidental to their primary purpose.

They see Judaism solely in terms of the Charedi world. A world that places the study of Gemara and its commentaries above all else. A community defined largely by the degree to which its members abide by the rulings of ‘Daas Torah’. An appellation given to the views of their rabbinic leaders that borders on near-divine omnipotence. Veering from this attitude effectively excises one from that community, which, as noted, they define as the entirety of the authentic Jewish world.

To illustrate - I recently heard part of a podcast in which a Charedi Rosh Yeshiva in Israel of American extraction was interviewed. When asked about how a particular Gadol once responded to a question about his grandchildren by saying that he did not even know all of their names, this Rosh Yeshiva explained that, even though we might not understand it, this Gadol was on such a high level of holiness that we dare not judge him by our standards

This is what happens when Gedolim are placed on a pedestal too high. Behavior that would be criticized in anyone else is lauded as holy when done by a recognized Gadol. Such figures thereby become effectively infallible. And this Rosh Yeshiva is mainstream Charedi who is highly respected and heads an extremely popular Yeshiva. This is how his students are indoctrinated. And this is how the current living Gedolim are seen.

These words may sound harsh…

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The New York Times Blood Libel

New York Times reporter, Nicholas Kristof (JI)

First off, it goes without saying that sexual abuse of Palestinians by prison personnel is condemnable in the extreme. It is among the most un-Jewish thing any Jew could ever do. If the allegation made by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times is anywhere near true, the proverbial “book” ought to be thrown at the perpetrators. Anyone worthy of being called Jewish ought to be disgusted by it. Those abusers should be ostracized and shunned by the Jewish world for the rest of their lives.

That being said, I have my doubts about Kristof’s assertion that it is widespread — or that it exists at all in any significant capacity. That it may have happened at all is a function of the reality that every society has its bad apples. There is no such thing as a nation totally free of miscreants. Such is the nature of humanity. The larger the population, the more likely it is that one will find just about every type of human aberration. The measure of a society is not whether such people exist. It is what that society does about them when it happens.

What is particularly galling is the “convenient” timing of this hit piece against the Jewish people. (And let’s not quibble about who is being accused here. Israel is a Jewish state. That is how it identifies itself, so when Israel is accused of systemic heinous crimes like this, it is the Jewish people being accused. The more one identifies as a Jew, the more it applies.)

Allegations of widespread prisoner sexual abuse have, to the best of my knowledge, never been made until now.

Why now? Never mind. I’ll tell you.

It is my firm belief that these allegations were generated in response to the clear and undeniable sexual abuse perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The day they massacred 1,200 Jews and took over 200 captives. Hamas’s denials to the contrary have been refuted by the many photos and videos taken that day, as well as testimony from victims and witnesses.

That, of course, made Hamas terrorists look far worse than merely a group of “militants” fighting for “justice in Palestine” - the preferred narrative of the New York Times. The fact that rape was added to their terrorist rampage stripped away any illusion that they were simply “freedom fighters” who had gone too far in pursuit of a “just” cause.

The Times was not about to allow that changed narrative to go unchallenged…

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