A Modest Proposal

Female IDF instructor demonstrating a move (Jerusalem Post)

Whenever someone prefaces a comment with the disclaimer ‘I’m no prude but…’ you can be sure it is going to have a moralizing tone to it.  A prude is someone that is easily shocked by matters relating to sex. Living in a culture where sex is as common ice cream, I am not shocked when I encounter immodestly dressed women in the street. Which is a daily event in the summer. But commonality should not be the only basis of modesty in dress.

That said generally speaking - what is and isn’t considered immodest - is a matter of what people are used to. So that the aforementioned woman walking down the street wearing tight  shorts in the summer hardly registers a blip on the modesty radar screen.

But this is not how Halacha understands the term. Modesty in Halacha covers many areas outside of sexual matters or clothing. But it clearly includes them. 

How to define modesty in dress Halachicly is a matter of debate that has far reaching consequences on our daily lives. On the extreme right even a picture of a woman’s face is considered immodest. Extremes like that should never be the basis for policy. But mainstream views about it - should be, as long as they don't inconvenience anybody. How should Israel - a country that has a significant number of religious recruits - deal with this?

That question is raised by a story in the Jerusalem Post: 

The Israeli army is warning commanders to implement IDF policy of protecting the rights of female soldiersas reports that they are being excluded for religious reasons have increased in recent months.

“Such strict [practices] are in violation of army orders and policy, do unnecessary harm to wide-scale groups serving [in the army] and are inconsistent with the IDF commanders’ responsibility,” wrote the Head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate Maj.-Gen. Moti Almoz.

Citing cases where female soldiers were banned from wearing white shirts in general and bathing suits in pool areas, the army’s top human resources officer stated that orders must be followed to the letter by commanders.

Almoz was referring to a recent “ban” on women wearing white shirts at the Shizafon training base in the South, which came after religious male soldiers said that the shirts would be see-through and therefore immodest.

“The orders regarding appearance, dress and the common service are binding orders, and they must be acted upon as they are written. No commander may decide on his own to harshen or lighten them,’ he said, stressing that the IDF is above politics.

“In the wake of reports of a number of cases in which commanders decided to tighten the rules of appearance and clothing written in the orders – for example by prohibiting women soldiers from wearing a white shirt or prohibiting wearing bathing suits in pool areas, [this] unnecessarily hurt large groups of servicewomen,” wrote Almoz. 

OK. As far as women wearing bathing suits in pool areas is concerned, they ought to have that right. What should a woman wear at a pool? Men who don't want to see a woman in a a bathing suit can just stay away from the pool. I don't think the army requires men to go swimming. 

I don’t know about white shirts being automatically see through. Apparently however the IDF shirts i question are - somewhat. What ever happened to common sense? Why would any woman want to wear something like that? Is that really a feminist goal? Is white a see through shirt more comfortable color than one that is more opaque?  Or is it just an old fashioned desire to look attractive and draw attention to oneself?

I can understand why men would want that. That is just the way sexuality works for men. I am willing to bet that it was men in the military that had designers of female uniforms design them with low cut slacks a few years ago. There is clearly no military need for that.

Common sense should tell us that as long as matters of Tznius do not hinder ones ability to perform their military duties, why not accommodate reasonable standards of modesty in the army? How does that hurt anybody?

One may quibble about whether women should serve in combat. I can hear both sides of that argument – although I am strongly opposed to it for reasons beyond the scope of this post. But to allow or even require women too  wear sexy clothing (as in the case of the aforementioned low cut army slacks) is unfair to those find it religiously offensive. 

It’s easy to say just don’t look. But if there is an elephant in the room, it’s kind of hard not to notice it.

In this age of #metoo, where just yesterday the CEO of CBS, Les Moonvez, was accused of sexually harassing several women under his employ…  why contribute to a climate where everything is sexualized? Shouldn’t the smart money be on more modesty in the public square - including the army? It’s not like a soldier can just walk out if he doesn’t like what he sees.

Why not follow the example of the Miss America contest that has eliminated judging women by how sexy they look in bikinis? 

I mean... really! Are army officials that clueless? Or are they doing this on purpose - desiring to create a more sexualized environment? And who in the end are the winners and losers here? Perhaps feminism is a winner, But women may in fact be the losers.

Common sense, people. Common sense!

The Unconventional Kiruv of Agudah

Camp Nageela 

Yakov Vinnik is a pretty smart fellow. Over Shabbos I had a discussion with him on a variety of issues and found him to be bright and knowledgeable. Including on the subject of religion in general and Judaism in particular. While admitting that he was not religious he nevertheless had some very positive things to say about Judaism.

What makes this significant is that Yakov is only 12 years old. I met him at Camp Nageela Midwest, over Shabbos. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue tee-shirt and a baseball cap with a pro USA slogan on it. More about him later.

Nageela is a summer camp for elementary school age children (through 8^th grade). It caters to boys and girls in separate periods. Campers come from non observant homes and operates under the auspices of the Agudah. I was there last Shabbos during the boys session.

Nageela also has a teen division where the campers continue their encounter with observant role models. Many of them end up at NCSY at their suggestion.)

What I found quite astounding (beside the fact that Agudah is not known for Kiruv) is that none of the campers were asked to be religious even while they were there. Aside from the fact that they ate Kosher food provided by the camp they were left to their ‘own devices’ from a religious standpoint. 

For example most of the boys did not wear a Kipa. Nor were they told to. I was surprised to see a Dvar Torah given by a boy whose head was uncovered. Chilul Shabbos was practically ignored. No one said a word unless they were specifically asked. Which would be responded to with an honest answer. Otherwise they were left alone.

The counselors (from high school and beyond) are all volunteers - mostly from right wing Lakewood type Yeshivos. But you would not know that to look at them because they dressed the same way the campers did. They wore blue jeans or shorts, polo shirts or tee shirts, and a variety of hats not associated with Judaism. Like baseball caps worn backwards. The only telltale sign that they were Charedi was the black velvet Kipa they wore when they weren’t wearing a cap, cowboy hat, or the like. 

Counselors are not allowed to wear their ‘uniform black hat look’ except on Shabbos - clothing that is ordinarily de rigueur  for these young men. Most of them had nothing to do with secular Jews of any kind. For the most part they associated only with people like themselves - other Charedim. All of a sudden they are placed into an environment unlike anything they were used to – or had ever experienced.

As if that weren’t enough, secular music could be heard all day long blasting through a loudspeaker. Even during the three weeks (including the 9 days!). Nageela even had live music during that time. All, (I assume) with the approval of the Agudah Moetzes.

One might wonder how this was in any way a Kiruv camp if this was the attitude and atmosphere? How could the Agudah Moetzes allow this kind of camp or participation in it? What is gained if the campers go home and continue their non observant ways as before?

The answer might surprise people who see the right wing as caring only about themselves. The goal is continuity of the Jewish people. By instilling in these campers a love of Judaism they might just decide that it is important to marry a Jewish woman someday when that time comes. While this may seem like a drop in the bucket in the face of a 70% intermarriage rate by 90% of the Jewish population, every Jew counts.

This is what Camp Nageela is about. Instilling a love of Judaism into these young campers. By providing them an experience heavily peppered with Jewish culture – a culture based on Halacha and tradition, the hope is that they will end up with a positive association to Judaism to the point that when they become adults and seek marriage - they will not want to end their line of Jewish descent by marrying out. If there is more than that - all the better. But even in those instances they have to be careful.

Sometimes they are even more successful than they  want to be. One staff member told me that a bunch of campers started asking for Tzitzis. I guess they like the way it looked wearing them out and the sense of Jewish identity it gave them. Counselors were told to advise them against it in most cases. They feared it might produce a backlash from the parents if their children came home looking like that. That would be counter-productive to their goal.

Nageela is not only about the campers though. It benefits the counselors too by exposing them to a world they did not experience. One where they can be inspire - and be inspired! They learn a lot just by interacting with these campers. When camp ends many of the staff are overcome with emotion after their experience. And return each year for more the following year. All without any pay or even tips!

What about the campers themselves? Do they come back? I was told by camp director Ari Strulowitz that they have an over 70% retention rate! Many of those kids come into camp not having a clue what Orthodox Judaisms is all about and leave with a positive attitude about it.

I saw this for myself in my discussions with Yakov. Even though he is not religious he has a profound respect for Judaism and he determinedly expresses it. He wears a baseball cap in public school as a means to cover his head. He calls it his Kipa and refused to remove it when asked by his teachers. His belief in God as the Creator  is based on his own rational thought. As are his beliefs of how the Torah's narrative of the 7 days of creation is compatible with scientific theories on the subject. I was truly impressed by this youngster. I asked him why he keeps coming back (this was his 4^th year at Nageela) and he told me he loves it and said that they must be doing something right if he keeps coming back.

One might wonder how Agudah was able to devise a program that deals effectively at a Kiruv level - never having done so before. That’s where NCSY comes in.  When the property was donated to Agudah it was on condition that at least part of the time it would be used for Kiruv. So they turned to NCSY for advice. (NCSY was part of the program at first as a joint project. But Agudah wanted its own stamp on the project. So after Nageela learned some of NCSY’s methods they parted ways.) 

 What they have learned they have successfully integrated them into their summer camp program. I saw a lot of it there last Shabbos. In fact some of those campers end up in NCSY which is recommended to those who are felt will benefit from it. 

I cannot speak highly enough about what I saw at Nageela Midwest over Shabbos. If only there a lot were more summer camps like it.

Updated: 7/31/18

Liberals Ain't What They Used to Be

Jeremy Corbyn

“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.” So said Conservative Republican, President Ronald Reagan when he was asked why he became a Republican. How right he was then. And how even more right he would be if he had said it now. In fact the very definition of liberal has changed.

Positions formerly held by the Democratic Party are now pretty much mainstream Republican positions. Just to take one example all we need do is look at one of Dr. Martin Luther King’s most famous statements from his “I have a dream’ speech:  ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.’

That used to be the position of liberal Democrats.  It is now the position of conservative Republicans. What has changed is that now liberal Democrats do look at the color of someone’s skin. It’s called ‘Affirmative Action’. The color of one’s skin carries weight in how universities evaluate applications for entry. In effect it is reverse discrimination. This is not what Dr. King said or meant. He wanted what conservative Republicans want: to judge people without reference to color at all. Skin color should never be a factor.

This is not to judge the value of Affirmative Action. It is to explain what has happened to both parties. They have both moved to the left. Liberal Democrats have moved well past the center to – in some cases – to the extreme left. And conservative Republicans have moved from an elitist exclusionary right to a more inclusive political center where liberal Democrats used to be.

While this is a bit oversimplified, I think it more or less describes the evolution of both parties. Which is why someone like me who is in the political center and used to think of himself more of a liberal Democrat now find himself more at home among political conservatives.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the liberal political parties are still moving to the left and have long ago abandoned any semblance of politically centrist values. That has been made obvious both here and in the UK (United Kingdom).  

The problem is that many Jews – even some Orthodox ones tend to be liberal Democrats – in spite of the fact that the party has become less tolerant of religious values – which are virtually always overridden by civil libertarian values. So that in a contest between religious rights and civil rights - Democrats will always favor ignore religious values in favor of secular ones. Republicans tend to favor and protect religious rights. Secular Jews have evolved right along with the liberal Democratic party as more of them continue to devaulate thir religious heritage. They too tend to favor civil rights over religious rights.

It was the Democrats that once championed the fight against antisemitism. Conservative Republicans were the ones that practiced  the soft bigotry of antisemitism of exclusion and quotas.  Jews were exteremly limted in their a variety of participation in American enterprises. Such as getting into top universities. Membership in exclusive country clubs, inabaity to buy homes in certain neighborhoods. Democreats championed the fight against all of that. They fought valiantly to give Jews and other minorities equal rights.  Republicans resisted.

Now the antisemitism is in the other foot. Especiialy as it relates to Israel. One will find a lot more criticism of Israel among Liberal Democrats than they will among conservative Republicans. As they will a legislative agenda that is not as friendly to religious values (as noted above) as  a Republian agenda..

The once bipartisan support Israel enjoyed is shrinking.  It is the conservative Republicans that are Israel’s champions now while liberal Democrats have become more critical of Israel.

But nowhere has this phenomenon been more represented than in the UK. The liberal Labour party is now been deemed antisemtic by the three major Jewish newspapers.  From  the World Jewish Daily: 

All three U.K. Jewish newspapers, normally fierce competitors, published the same front-page editorial on the danger posed by the antisemitic Labour party and its Jew-hating leader Jeremy Corbyn.

"We do so because of the existential threat to Jewish life in this country that would be posed by a Jeremy Corbyn-led government," stated the editorial. 

"We do so because the party that was, until recently, the natural home for our community has seen its values and integrity eroded by Corbynite contempt for Jews and Israel," it continued.

"With the government in Brexit disarray," it added, "there is a clear and present danger that a man with a default blindness to the Jewish community’s fears, a man who has a problem seeing that hateful rhetoric aimed at Israel can easily step into anti-Semitism, could be our next prime minister." 

Not that I am all that surprised that a European country has revealed its core antisemitism by  chosing Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of one of their 2 major parties. He is an unapologetic antisemite who disguises it as anti Zionism.  He denies being an antisemite. But those 3 major newspapers see right through him.

That there are members of his party that are outraged by Corbyn does not change the fact that he was in fact chosen by that party to lead it. They may not have chosen him because he is an antisemite. But they clearly didn’t care if he was.

Corbyn could very well be the next Prime Minster of England. The current Prime mister, Teresa May’s tenure is on shaky ground right now. It remains to be seen who will lead the UK if elections are called. But it is not at all far fetched that the next Prime  Mister will be the most antisemtic leader of England since Menashe ben Israel prevailed upon Oliver  Cromwell to allow Jews back into their country in the 17th century.

It is unlikely that anything like this will happen in the US in the foreseeable future. I don’t see an angisemite like Corbyn getting any support to run for the Presidency in either of our 2 major parties. While it’s true that in the not so distant past there have been antiemsemties from the right that have held public office. Former KKK member David Duke having been elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives.  

But that was an anomaly that never went further than the Louisiana House. And aside from a fringe candidate for the Illinois house running as a Republican (and who doesn’t have the slightest chance of being elected) there are no antisemites like Corbyn who have risen to his level of prominence and power.

That’s the way things stand now as I see them.  Frankly, I don’t understand how anyone that cares about their Judaism could support the Labour party in the UK now.  And if things keep moving in the current direction here, I may have to ask that question later to Jewish Democrats.

I would have loved to see a bipartisan condemnation of the antisemitic violence in Europe. But at east one important Republican official has made the American position very clear. From the World Jewish Daily: 

Vice President Mike Pence condemned antisemitic violence in Europe, saying it "must end. 

Speaking at a State Department conference on religious freedom, Pence said, "The world has watched in horror as these attacks on Jewish people have taken place."

 "In France and Germany, things have gotten so bad that Jewish religious leaders have warned their followers not to wear kippahs in public for fear that they could be violently attacked, and in too many cases, that’s exactly what’s happened,” he added.

Drawing a comparison with the Holocaust, Pence stated, "It is remarkable to think that within the very lifetimes of some French Jews — the same French Jews that were forced by the Nazis to wear identifiable Jewish clothing — some of those same people are now being warned by their democratic leaders not to wear identifiable Jewish clothing."

"These acts of violence and hatred and anti-Semitism must end," he asserted.

Second Thoughts

Israel's Minster of Education - MK Naftali Bennett (Times of Israel)

I’m having second thoughts. When Israel passed its Jewish Nation State law a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was merely a formalization of an existing reality. Israel is in fact a democratic Jewish State. I don’t see how it could – or should - be anything else. That is how any Jew who places any value at all on their Judaism should see it.

Although I saw that law as superfluous, I thought it did not do any harm either.  Others saw it as racist. I thought: How can it be racist if all it says is what is already obvious?

The devil in this case is in the details.

Upon my first reading of those details I saw nothing that made Israel seem racist at all. But others did. Not just the antisemites of the world like Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who called Israel’s leaders fascist  and compared them to Hitler. (How curious it is to see a fascist like Edrogan calling Israel leaders fascist.)

That an antisemite spoke of Israel that way is not surprising. He has been doing that for years at every opportunity But even those that are not antisemites are upset by it. Lucy Aharish, a TV reporter for Israeli television who is both Muslim and Arab - strong defender of the Jewish State said the following: 

“I feel like the state has been taken from me,” she said. “They’re taking the state and excluding me from the community of Israelis that you so want me to belong to. And it hurts me. It hurts me because you’ve excluded me. You’ve excluded me and 20 percent of the population.” 

Lucy Aharish is not someone that Israel should alienate. But it isn’t just one Israeli Arab that feels that way. The Druze community, Israel’s most supportive non Jewish citizens are hurt by it, too. That has caused Minster of Education - MK Naftali Bennett to question it as well. 

Minster Bennett is one of Israel’s most right wing legislators. He is a strong supporter of unfettered expansion of Israeli  settlements all over the West Bank. He makes Israel’s Prime Minister look like a liberal. If he is saying that this law needs to fixed, I don’t think there is any doubt that it should be. Form the Times ofIsrael , here is what he said about it: 

“After discussions with many of our Druze brothers, it has become clear that the manner in which the nation-state law was enacted was very damaging especially to them, and to anyone who has tied their fate to the Jewish state,” Bennett said. “This, of course, was not the intention of the Israeli government.” 

I think he’s right about that. I don’t think the government’s intention was in any way to damage this highly supportive Arab community. I don’t think it was Israel’s intention to harm any of its non Jewish citizens. Which is why I didn’t think it was all that big a deal to formalize into law what was an already existing policy ever since the beginning of the State.

So what is it that bothers everyone so much? It is a matter of interpretation. And when things are subject to interpretation it leaves a lot of room for discrimination. It is one thing to have the situation described in this new law as Israel’s reality. But when you turn it into the equivalent of constitutional law which can be interpreted in discriminatory ways, that causes more harm than good.  Here are some of thing seen as problems From the Times of Israel: 

Similar to a constitution, the Basic Laws underpin Israel’s legal system and are more difficult to repeal than regular laws. The nation-state law, proponents say, which became a Basic Law, puts Jewish values and democratic values on equal footing. Critics, however, say the law effectively discriminates against Israel’s Arabs and other minority communities.

The law also declares that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, sets the Hebrew calendar as the official calendar of the state, and recognizes Independence Day, days of remembrance and Jewish holidays. One clause of the bill downgrades the Arabic language from official to “special” standing... 

Here is some of the actual language (in translation form the Hebrew) of this law: 

The state will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles

The state will strive to ensure the safety of the members of the Jewish people in trouble or in captivity due to the fact of their Jewishness or their citizenship.

The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation. 

It is rather easy to see how this can be interpreted as discriminatory. Even if that was not the intent. That I don’t see it that way doesn’t mean that others don’t.

Which is why in my view that law should not just amended as MK Bennett suggests. It should be repealed. Israel will not lose by doing so. They can still maintain the status quo ante and at the same time regain the respect of its staunchest non Jewish citizens. 

Just my two cents.

Good Government Policy or Antisemitism?

Image of Kiryas Joel for illustration purposes (Times of Israel)

I have no illusions about antisemitism in the world. It clearly exists in all four corners of it. The question is how much it impacts us. It matters how any given type of antisemitism will be acted upon - and in how that impacts us. But even if it is menial - it is obviously wrong and should not be tolerated.

It is also important to recognize when a government policy impacts Jews negatively, it is not always because of antisemitism. Sometime that policy makes eminent sense despite of how it impacts us. Of course sometimes there might be a little of both in such polices. Which makes it almost impossible to recognize whether a government policy is really antisemitic or just good public policy.

That being said, let me reiterate what I believe to be the case in our day. I believe that the majority of European society still harbors some degree of antisemitism - even after the Holocaust. That it existed in spades during the Holocaust need not be said. It didn’t suddenly go away. It’s still there. 

This of course does not mean all Europeans hate Jews. Far from  it. Just as I am convinced that most of Europe harbors at least some form of latent antisemitism I am equally convinced that a sizable number of Europeans do not have an antisemitic bone in their bodies. 

This scenario has been reflected in numerous ways on the  European continent where Jews have established thriving Jewish communities (in places like Berlin, no less). And on the other hand - where some European countries have anti Shechita and anti Bris laws are on their legislative tables. And in places like Poland where its current leaders refuse to recognize their past history of violent antisemitic behavior which was reflected by the fact that so many Poles were eager participants in Nazi genocide.

The US does not have an especially glorious past regarding antisemitism during that period either. Without going into detail all one has to do is see how the US State Department handled Jewish refugees trying trying to flee the Nazi genocide taking place in Europe. What was happening then was well reported in the press. So that not only did government officials know what was going on, so did anyone that read a newspaper. And yet existing quotas immigration remained unfilled – leaving Jews to the slaughter.

But things are different now in the US - post Holocaust and post Vatican II.The Jewish people are no longer considered pariahs. They are now the most admired people in America. Which is one of the reasons there is so much assimilation and intermarriage now. The freedom we enjoy today is unprecedented even factoring the Golden Era of Spain and of Germany. Nothing comparable has ever happened to us going all the way back to the second temple era. 

This does not mean it doesn’t exist at all. It surely does. On the right there are fringe groups that still parrot the Nazi slogans of the past. But they are a minuscule number with no practical impact on our lives today. Hardly a blip on the radar screen of relevance to us as Jews On the left, universities are filled with antisemitism masquerading as anti Zionism.

I don’t mean those who are just opposed to the current Israel govenrment. I am talking about those that embrace BDS. They believe that Israel is an abomination; Israelis are the the new Nazis; it should be destroyed and replaced by Palestine taken over by its rightful owners. Their influence should be a concern to all of us. But I digress.

But as bad as that kind of antisemitism is on those campuses, it has thankfully not filtered out to the general population. too does not really impact what mainstream America thinks about the Jews. Which should be obvious to anyone that lives here.

Which brings me to an article in the Times of Israel: 

A Quebec court on Sunday ordered a group of Hasidic Jews to leave their summer homes by the end of the month for violating zoning laws by using a residence as a place of worship.

The decision came amid complaints from local residents of late-night disturbances from the group.

Town Mayor Denis Chalifoux told local media that the group was taken to the Quebec Superior Court because they were using the residence as a place of worship, which is in violation of local zoning laws.

There were also complaints from the town that the group hold rowdy gatherings until 2 a.m., and fail to keep properties according to the cleanliness standard of the site. 

True - Quebec is not the United States. But Canada is America’s kissing cousin. In many ways indistinguishable from us. Hard to tell the difference between an American and a Canadian.  I assume that their attitudes about us are the same. No reason to make them an exception. (Although I admit that Quebec is a bit of an outlier in terms of how American they feel. But let us assume that at least as it applies to the Jewish people they are the same.)

Is what happened there antisemitism? I don’t think antisemitism had anything to do with it. The description of what happened speaks for itself. Chasidic Jews have lived in Quebec for many decades under circumstances similar to those of the US.  Free of any persecution; free to live their lives as they choose.

What they did in Quebec is break the law. Doing so in ways that had a negative impact on their non Chasidic neighbors. Those neighbors were well within their rights to try to preserve their neighborhood’s character from the Chasidic attempts to change it to their liking. The right of Chasidim to live as they choose does not extend to inconveniencing others. 

But that didn’t stop the Chasidim from screaming antisemitism. It seems that the antisemitism card is always pulled out when the government gets in their way.

Their right to build a Shteibel  (multiple ones in multiple houses) does not override the noise and commotion that it generates that disturbs their neighbors.  The neighbors have rights too.One of which is to not have their way of life disrupted by some noisy Chasidic Shteibels. Not to mention the fact that zoning laws that forbids using a house for a public place of worship were completely ignored!.

What is happening in Quebec is that those Chasidim did what was comfortable for themselves without thinking – or perhaps even caring what ‘the Goyim’ think.  And they cry ‘antisemitism’ without giving it a second thought. So self centered are they that they might even believe they have done nothing wrong despite the obvious fact that - to everyone else that they have.

This scenario has been playing itself out in American enclaves as well.  I have a very close relative that lives in Monsey. He is a hard core Charedi. He has mentioned many times with pride how zoning laws there are ignored. Stealth contractors will appear overnight to demolish a building so that they can build a multi-unit building and profit handsomely from them. 

True there might be a housing shortage in those neighborhoods which should be no surprise considering  the exponential growth of families that live there. But that does not excuse ignoring the complaints of - not only their gentile or non observant Jewish neighbors - but even many of their religious neighbors. They don’t like seeing the peaceful serenity of a country lifestyle they sought when they moved there turn into a suburban version of Boro Park. 

Is that antisemitism? Clearly it is not. I wouldn't like to see my neighborhood turned into Boro Park either. If I wanted to live in Boro Park, I’d  move there.

If I – as an Orthodox Jew am not comfortable with a change like that, I can only imagine what non Jews that are used to living in the wide open spaces of their communities where until recently the only houses of worship were a few churches widely dispersed.

I agree with Rabbi Yosef Bechhofer who said the following in a Facebook post on the subject:

This is a problem all over. Many Orthodox residents see such occurrences - daily in Monsey, Lakewood and elsewhere - as antisemitism rearing its ugly head.They decry ordinances against building shuls as discrimination.

I counter such positions by explaining that ordinances against building shuls are not inherently antisemitic. The tendency we have towards the proliferation of multiple shtiblach rather than central shuls is understandably vexing to neighbors to whom central churches are the norm.

To which my interlocutor would continue to question whether protests against shuls are based on real concerns, or are just thinly veneered efforts to "keep the Black Hats out."

To which I would respond that even in "Black Hat" neighborhoods the shteibels are incredible nuisances. I know. I live in Monsey.

Religious Zealots or Religious Thugs?

Israeli MK Rachel Azaria - running for Mayor of Jerusalem

Nebech. All  they want is to live their lives Al Taharas HaKdeosh (which basically means living in ways even holier than they need to be lived). And the world condemns them for it. True they may have gone a bit too far. But they are only children. And the Reshaim that run this country deserve no better. They insist on foisting Treif values upon us. Forcing us to to gaze at Shmutz (filth) on our buses. Buses are our primary means of transportation. Who can blame these poor young souls for trying to eradicate that from our midst?!

Besides… the idea of a woman as mayor of Yerushalyim Ir HaKodesh is a disgusting thought! Especially one that is not religious. (I have no clue whether that’s  true or not. But to these people the fact that her picture is plastered on the sides of over 300 buses that traverse our community and used primarily by them - is tantamount to proof to them of that.)

We will fight these evil people with everything we’ve got. We are NOT going to allow them to infiltrate our community with their filth and anti Torah agenda. We will continue to fight them and NEVER allow anything like this to happen again.

This is the kind of reaction from Eida HaChardis types (both leaders and lay people) living in Meah Shearim and its environs that one might hear to what happened there recently. From the Jerusalem Post: 

Jerusalem mayoral candidate Rachel Azaria’s bus posters were defaced in the capital by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) extremists overnight between Sunday and Monday, shortly after the end of the observance of Tisha Be’av.

Azaria rented ads on 300 buses with the slogan “Believe. It is possible to live together.” She said she received video clips of haredim destroying the posters from haredi friends.

“This violent attempt to harm the election does not reflect Jerusalem, Jerusalemites or the haredi population of the city,” Azaria said. “This was just an extremist fringe group. We in Jerusalem know how to live together in mutual respect, even if it is not always easy. We won’t let the extremists decide for us.”

This was not the first time Azaria has had to fight to get her face on Jerusalem bus ads.

In 2008, Azaria turned to the High Court after a company that worked with the Egged bus cooperative refused to put her campaign advertisements on buses because they feared a photo of a woman would upset haredim. The High Court forced the company to run the ads just three days before the municipal election. 

I have heard the above kind of response to similar situations before. Usually in articles in Charedi Magazines fawning all over a community like this as the epitome of a Torah community. Articles that praise the ‘beauty’ of living their lives Al Taharas HaKodesh. Wishing that we could all rise to their level of observance and holiness.

Those articles go about describing how they live their lives in near perfect isolation from all the negative influences we are all subjected to on a daily basis because of our own life circumstances. Such as the need to provide for our families by working in a less than pristine Torah environment.

Those who so praise this community might say that we should all take a lesson from these holy people and start to change our lives along their holier lines.  Lives that revolve around Torah  and doing Mitzvos in the most Mehudar (beautiful) way possible. Adding a thought like - if only our collective Yetzer Hara could be as subdued as theirs is... 

They might conclude by saying something like - these people are the real deal... roles models for us all by virtue of living a lifestyle dedicated to God in ways that their rabbis taught them is best way to live a Torah lifestyle. And doing so without any compromises!

What about the fact that they defaced public property? They might respond by saying OK. Maybe they shouldn’t have done it. But it is only the more zealous youth among them - and who can blame them? We should not be looking at pictures of women anyway.

This is where the problem lies. It isn’t just a problem of extremists doing things against the will of their community leaders. They are not extremists. They are young people that take seriously their commitment to live their lives in ways their rabbis tell them to. And if that means defacing a few pictures, then it isn’t only permitted. It is a Chiuv – a Halachic obligation to keep the environment as pristine and pure as possible. And erase (or deface) the Shmutz form their midst when they encounter it.

And since they are young they can take the heat. Allowing themselves to be blamed and absolving the adults of any responsibility for their vandalism. It’s kind of a built in ‘plausible deniability’. These young people are pretty much the same people that have done much worse along these lines. Insulting, embarrassing, and even causing physical harm to innocent people that they see violating their standards.  Which will elicit a similar responses plus a ‘plausible deniability’ from the rest of their community - saying things like it is only some misguided overly zealous albeit righteous youth.

What will it take for the mainstream Charedi world to recognize what is really going on? And stop fawning all over this community? To recognize that scenes like the one in the video (below)  are a Chilul HaShem that constantly shows Jews percieved to be the most religious Jews among us to be vandals living in isolation that care little about anyone but themselves. To recognize that in keeping their world ‘pristine’ they make Judaism into something horrible and uncivilized. 

It is not enough to say that they don’t represent us. The fact is that they do. Whether we like it or not the entire world - Jew and gentile alike - recognizes that these Jews look the way they do because of how religious they are. If this is how the ultimate Jew is supposed to behave, then who needs them?! What is so good about Judaism? Why should we look to the Jewish people as a light unto the nations? ...as people whose behavior we should emulate? What they represent instead is a people that consists of self centered thugs that should not be emulated but shunned!

That is the image they project.

These people are not role models anymore than the thugs that vandalize the streets of New York and Chicago are. They have in common the fact that they care little about anyone but themselves. And think nothing of hurting innocent people and damaging property if it suits their purposes. 

True their set of values are not the same. But they have a lot in common. Their youth are the criminals and thugs. And their community that supports them with apologetics.  The only real difference in their behavior towards others is the way they look. Their actions are the same.

What good is it if one buys a nicer more expensive Esrog  for Sukkos if they act like criminals to the rest of the world. What difference does it make of they spend more time in daily prayer if they behave like thugs and gang members when they aren’t praying? What difference does it make how Kosher the food that goes into their mouths is if what comes out of those mouths is Treif? What good is the supposed Chesed they do for each other if they treat outsiders like dirt?

What will it take for the rest of the religious world to wake up and see just how much damage these people do to Judaism in their way of pursuing of holiness? It isn’t enough that I call them out. It should be universal. All this fawning over them about how holy they are ought to end once and for all. Looking Frum is not the same as being Frum.

Sexual Abuse in the Orthodox World

Image from JTA for illustrative purposes only

Is Orthodox Judaism a greater source of sexual abuse than it is in the general population? I am flabbergasted to say that it very well might be. At least at the more extreme ends of it. I had always believed that abuse in Orthodox communities of all kinds was pretty much the same as that of the general population. But  it appears that might not be accurate. From JTA, here is what recent study showed: 

(I)ndividuals who have left the Orthodox community are more than four times as likely to have been molested as children than the general population. 

Lest anyone think there was some sort of anti Orthodox bias in this study, it should be noted that psychologist Dr. David Pelcovitz, one of the most respected Orthodox mental health professionals - considered an expert in sexual abuse - was part of the professional  group that conducted this study.

It appears that the more insular; the more extreme the religiosity of a community, the greater the chance that it will happen. And the likelihood of going OTD seems to be almost guaranteed.

Is there a causal relationship? From JTA: 

While Rosmarin said he hasn’t fully fleshed out the causal relationship between abuse and the abandonment of religion, he believes the study “was pretty conclusive” that there is one. 

It seems as though there is. Why that is - is something we can only speculate about. But - using anecdotal evidence and some common sense - here are my thoughts.

Experts tell us that the majority of sexual abuse is done by people known to the victim. People that have easy access to them.  Like a beloved relative or a charismatic teacher. Being molested by someone like that who in many cases is seen an exemplar of Torah can be pretty shocking to the victim. It goes against everything they have been taught about modesty in Jewish law.

When they report it to authority figures in their own communities they are often disbelieved, ignored, or told to just get over it.  Sometimes even parents will advise that – believing the stigma of being a survivor of abuse will only make things worse.

And stigma there is. In spades. Not just for the survivor, but for the rest of the family. Shidduch chances become exponentially more difficult even for siblings that did not experience any abuse. Why would anyone want to get involved with a family that has been traumatized like that? Better to avoid dating anyone from that family. This is not an unusual thought process for parents and young people ‘in Shidduchim’.

There is also a feling in the survivor of great disappointment. To be sexually abused is clearly the opposite of what Orthodoxy teaches about modesty.  Which may be the most focused upon Mitzvah in the more extreme version of Orthodoxy.  After being harangued about it by their religious teachers and leaders (practically from birth) - and then seeing how those very same people react when it happens to them - that is a prescription for leaving observance. There is no greater hypocrisy than that.

This attiude also results in abusers continuing to abuse new vivtims freely since no one is going to do anything to them. In fact the more insular Chasidic communities have in the past actually forbidden  reporting abuse to  the authorities – considering it Mesira - the grave sin of informing on a fellow Jew.

That most of Orthodoxy does not see Mesira that way doesn’t concern them. If abusers are allowed to roam free what can we expect?

Additional motives for these cover-ups (and that’s what they are) is the desire to not make the community look bad. They believe it is far worse to put a community in a bad light then it is for a survivor to get justice and to rid the community of abusers.

These are just some of the thoughts about why sexual abuse might be more prevalent in the more extreme and insular Orthodox communities.

I should note however that there has been some criticism of this study from unexpected sources. From JTA: 

Some have expressed skepticism regarding the research by Rosmarin and Pelcovitz. While declining to comment on the study directly, Lani Santo, executive director of Footsteps, an organization that helps former haredim integrate into mainstream American life, said that while “we certainly see high rates of abuse reported by people” who have left the community, the decision to leave Orthodoxy was not necessarily due to the abuse itself…

Queens College sociologist Samuel Heilman, an expert on American haredi Orthodoxy, questioned the study’s methodology, telling JTA that he believed that the study undercounted haredim from the more insular Hasidic movements, especially as much of the questioning was done online.

The connection between abuse and the abandonment of religion was also not particularly simple, Heilman said, calling it a chicken and egg scenario.

Those who are already “on the borderline of ‘deviance’ are much more liable to be the subject of abuse because the abusers figure these people are already borderline and are less likely to be believed if they say something,” he said.

Heilman used “deviance” in the sense of individuals who deviate from the religious norms of their religious communities, which often include shunning secular education, limiting social contact with non-haredim and dressing according to distinct rules of modesty. 

I hear that. But I also hear my initial thoughts on the subject. What is or isn’t true here is still to be determined. But I tend to side with Dr. Rosmarin who said that the evidence is pretty conclusive.

Food for thought, anyway.

Is an Egalitarian Space at the Kotel Really Needed?

A daily prayer service at the Egalitarian Section of the Kotel (Times of Israel)

I know this might seem like overkill since I have dealt with this issue so many times, but I can’t resist pointing out the obvious. Not because of some sort of cheap thrill I get out of it. Far from it. I don’t. But because it clearly demonstrates the hypocrisy of heterodoxy’s claim to need an egalitarian prayer section at the Kotel. What it may in fact demonstrate is that there is a greater need for another Orthodox prayer section.

Yesterday was Tisha B’Av - a day where Jews all over the world mourned the destruction of both the first and second temples (the Batei Mikdash). Which is what the Kotel is all about. Although it is not a remnant of the actual temple walls (although there is a minority opinion that it is), it is a remnant of the outer wall surrounding the Temple and the closest thing to it. It is where the Shechina (God’s presence here on earth) still resides.

That is why on that day, the Kotel area is filled with mourners lamenting the tragedy of losing those temples. If one is a sincerely religious Jew they not only fast on this day, but they spend it in a state of mourning for that loss. There is no more logical place to do that then the Kotel. 

So that even though it might be difficult to sit outside in the hot sun in the middle of summer while fasting, one will find many Jews doing that. These are the Jews that understand what that day is all about. They are sincere about following Halacha of which mourning the destruction of both Temples is part of. And do it on Tisha B’Av in the most logical spot despite its difficulty.

Tisha B’Av would have been a magnificent day for heterodox Jews – or at least some (or even one) of its rabbis to do the same at the egalitarian plaza. But it appears that the egalitarian section of the Kotel was completely empty yesterday. Not a single Conservative or Reform Jew or even rabbi showed up, apparently.  

Makes me wonder if they even care about the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash or whether any heterodox Jew even fasted on that day.  Or even knew that it was Tisha B’Av.  My guess is that very few did if any did, except for their rabbis, who apparently don’t care enough about Tisha B’Av to preach about it.. 

It’s a good thing no one showed up. The Jewish Press reported the following:

A stone was released on Sunday morning and fell from the Western Wall, crashing on the stair leading up to the Israel Section platform used by the mixed prayer groups of the Reform and Conservative movements... Miraculously there were no worshipers and no one was hurt...

Thank God for that. But the fact that no one was there begs the question of why they need a section of the Kotel in the first place if they don't use it even on Tisha B'Av? It can’t be because they care about what it represents. I would be willing to bet that not only don’t they mourn for its loss, but that they don’t think it should ever be rebuilt! 

How many heterodox Jews want to return to an era of sacrificing animals on an alter in the holiest of places? 

I’ll take a stab at the answer: Zero! I’ll bet if you asked any heterodox Jew if he longs for a rebuilding of the temple and restoring sacrifices they would balk at the idea! And probably say something like… animal sacrifice is an ancient barbaric ritual that should never be restored. (Although there is a minority opinion that there will no longer be animal sacrifices in the next temple, it is a minority opinion. The vast majority of the rabbinic opinion is that sacrifices will be restored. But I digress.)

And then there is this. The fact that no one uses the egalitarian plaza is no longer true. It is apparently being used on a daily basis. But not by any heterodox Jews. From the Times of Israel: 

Dozens of Orthodox yeshiva students hold separate-gender services every day at a Western Wall prayer space specifically set aside in a government decision for egalitarian, pluralistic worship… 

I don’t think that any heterodox rabbis have complained about this. Yet. Probably either because they don’t even know about it - never bothering  to show up there unless it is for political purposes, or because they don’t care since no one else uses it anyway.

Perhaps the Israeli government should consider making this area another Orthodox section and expand it to accommodate the overflow of Orthodox Jews that pray at the Kotel in huge numbers at various times during the year (at which time there is still no one doing it at the egalitarian section)?

All of this should therefore make it very obvious that heterodox demands for an egalitarian section of the Kotel has nothing to do with the desire to pray there. It has only one purpose, to gain legitimacy for heterodoxy. Something the more honest rabbis among them have already admitted.

If that is really the case, why give them something based on the false premise that they need it… that heterodox Jews are dying to pray at the Kotel in egalitarian ways when they rarely do so now? Should Israel ever honor demands based on a false premise?

That heterodoxy wants recognition and legitimacy is understandable. Let them fight for that. It is their democratic right. Let them make any arguments they want about the value of pluralism in Israel. And let Orthodox Jews exercise their democratic right to try and prevent pluralism in Israel which they see as a destructive force. But using the Kotel as a prop for  achieving their pluralistic goals is demeaning to the Kotel and ought not be part of that conversation. 

Unless and until they can demonstrate a real need by a significant number of heterodox Jews that believe they can pray best only together with members of the opposite sex - their requests ought to be denied.  

Finally, I want to reiterate what I have said about this issue in the past. It gives me no pleasure to fight this fight. It is a source of great pain to me. I wish there were no denominations at all. That we were all just one Jewish people – some more religious. Some less. And some not at all. That is how it used to be before the advent of any denominations. Let the Jewish people - the people of Israel live by the credo of this great country  - the United States of America:  One nation, under God… with liberty and justice for all. Justice best achieved under God by following His Torah. Not the winds of societal change.

Why?

I will surely consume them, says the Lord; there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade; and what I gave them will pass away from them. (Yirmiyahu - 8:13)

Eicha? How could it happen? That’s the ultimate question about the tragedy of losing the Beis HaMikdash. It is asked every year on this day of Tisha B’Av. I ask it about the Holocaust. Not just on Tisha B’Av but every time I see Holocaust era images. 

Images like Kristallnacht - where Jewish business were vandalized and all manner of antisemitic behavior was the norm. Where Jews were blamed for all the troubles in  Germany - and even the world. 

Images of Jews being forced into cramped ghettos where disease was rampant, and people were starving and dying in the streets. 

Images of slave labor where Jews were worked and starved to death.  

Images of groups of Jews being forced to dig their own graves, stripped and shot into them – their naked bodies left to rot. 

Images of Jews herded into ‘showers’ en masse day after day; stripped naked as they entered; doors locked; and then gassed to death. After which their bodies were cremated. 

Images where Jew turned against Jew just to survive. 

Images of little babies smothered to death in an effort to keep them quiet so the Jews in hiding would not be discovered.

Images of Jews selected for torturous and often deadly  medical experiments. 

What exactly was it that motivated the barbarism of so many of the German people? ...where the majority who saw it happening just shrugged it off?  ...or actually  believed that the Jews had it coming? True there were some heroes that helped some Jews escape the deadly fate of their brethren. Some even risking not only their own lives but those of their families. But they were exceedingly rare compared to the vast number of people all over Europe that just stood by and watched it happen. 

The entire world was closed off to Jews that tried to escape Europe during the Holocaust. Jews got slaughtered while good men did nothing. There was no way out.

If there was a manner of torture that existed, it was used against Jews by Nazis and their collaborators and sympathizing Eurpeoan antisemites during the Holocaust.

What evil could anyone possibly see with German Jewry? Religious leaders and lay people. Jews with beards and Peyos. Observant Jews that were well integrated into the culture and even non observant Jews who lived their lives no differently then their gentile neighbors. Jews that were as patriotic as their next door neighbors; Jews that fought gallantly for Germany in previous wars. Jews with medals for bravery; Jews that gave so much to Germany in every facet of life becoming doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, builders, and all manner of successful business people. Jews who were prouder of being German than they were of being Jewish! Not a single Jew was spared! 

Why did both of my parents and my brothers have to suffer? Why did my father have to experience the loss of his first wife, two of his sons, and 2 twins baby daughters? (Which my two surviving brothers experienced with him.) Why did they have to suffer the indignities of running and hiding in underground bunkers - fearing for their lives if they were caught - until they were liberated by the Russians? 

Why did my mother have to hide in a forest, hunting down food at night, usually scraps of food discarded by Poles. Why did she have to see her mother step on a land mine while running from Nazi soldiers chasing her down? And then telling my mother to keep running.That was the last time my mother saw her mother. I know of no gentler soul than my mother. Why was she subjected to this horrible fate along with the rest of European Jewry?

Jews were a despized ‘race’ in Germany despite their high level of integration. For some reason Jews were blamed for everything. So despised were they that Germany’s leadership thought they should be eradicated from the face of the earth. So strong was that belief that even when they knew they were going to lose the war, they accelerated their ‘death machine’ to kill as many Jews as they could before being totally defeated. As though it was a religious mission!

How could it be that the Chosen people of God were subjected to this in ways that were for the most part inescapable? I ask this question all the time.

Survivors were traumatized for life. Some were mentally impaired beyond help. But most readjusted quiclkly to their freedom and made new lives for themselves in new countries. Especially Israel where – after declaring its independence - opened it’s borders to all Jewish refugees from the holocaust who were no longer welcome in their former homes in Europe.  Many surviving in Displaced Persons (DP) camps until a country was found that would take them. But even as they readjusted to their new lives, the horrors of what they lived through never fully left them.

This was the utlmate Tzadik V’Ra Lo. The ultimate question of why bad things happen to good people. Many survivors lost their faith because of this experience. It’s not too difficult to understand why. The Satmar Rebbe is puported to have said that any Jew that lived through the Holocaust had paid his dues and would be granted Olalm Habah even if they stopped being observant because of it.

But many survivors retained their faith and returned to a fully observant life. This was the case with my parents. But that doesn’t answer the question. Clearly the hand of God was in this. It could not have happened if God did not will it so. The question is, why?

Some people have tried to provide answers to that question. But I believe they are all foolish for trying. It is impossible to know the mind of God under the conditions of Hester Panim. God’s face is hidden from us now. For His own reasons. We no longer have Nevi’im - prophets with whom God directly communicates. Speculating about His motives only causes pain to the survivors and their families. There is no rational explanation for the Jewish people having experienced the virtual Tochecha the Torah describes. But experience it our people did.

If not for the Holocaust, I would not be here today.  The fact that my father lost his first wife caused him to marry my mother.  Had it not been for the Holocaust, all of my children, my grandchildren and I would not exist.

I am perplexed by this whole situation and remain with those questions as I ask the ultimate why? Why am I spared anything remotely like this? Why do I get to live in complete freedom and great comfort? Never having suffered a tiny fraction of what my parents and brothers suffered? Why do I even exist? Why do my children exist? By what sense of Divine Justice does any of this make sense?

I have no answers. Only questions even as I remain a believing Jew.

The Right Goal -The Wrong Method

Conservative Rabbi Dov Haiyun (Times of Israel)

It did seem a bit like Gestapo tactics. The arrest of Conservative Rabbi Dov Haiyun at 5 O’clock in the morning was clearly not necessary. The optics alone made made the Chief Rabbinate look like the Gestapo. And made the police look like his SS henchmen. Not to mention the fact that this was overkill in the extreme, despite the law that generated it. Rabbi Haiyun should not have been put through this humiliating experience. It has exacerbated the anger – and even hatred of the Rabbinate as well as current Israeli leadership.

Israel is not a theocracy. Its laws are not for the most part governed by Torah law. It is a Jewish Democracy that allows non observant Jews to stay non observant with impunity. 

That’s how the original status quo agreement at the founding of the State was structured. The Chazon Ish agreed to the religious conditions that existed at the time. Which – as I understand it - basically protected Yeshiva students from the draft and allowed the state to cater to both the religious and non religious communities. Laws relating to that which were in place at the time would remain so. 

One of the things agreed upon in this vein was that all religious matters would be in the hands of the Chief Rabbinate. No exception. 

That worked pretty well until a few years ago. After the FSU desolved and Jews were allowed to immigrate to Israel - tons of them did. But many of those were not Halachcly Jewish. (Even though they considered themselves such and were well integrated into the culture). That created a demographic time bomb for the Jewish state. The solution by Religious Zionist rabbis was to convert them  as quickly and expediently as possible –  using long ago abandoned lenient Halachic opinions that allowed them to remain unobservant. The right wing protested saying those conversions were illegitimate and creating a genealogical nightmare. They managed to get some of their own people involved in the Rabbinate who then sided with them.

Fast forward to today. The esteem of rabbinate has deteriorated rapidly since that time. In most cases undeservedly so. Although some of the criticism may have been deserved a lot of it was political. At least from an Orthodox perspective. If the rabbinate was given control over all matters religious they have a right to implement that mandate in any way they choose. No matter who objects or why. The Rabbinate is Orthodox. Always was from day one. There was never any question about that.

It is their assertion of that very Orthodoxy that is causing so much angst - and even anger among Heterodoxy. Which is what is going on with planned extension of the egalitarian portion of the Kotel.

Heterodox rabbis will have none of this. They see themselves as equals to Orthodoxy.  Which is anathema to Orthodoxy and therefore to the Rabbinate.

Which brings me back to Rabbi Haiyun.  The State of Israel has – in the spirit of the status quo agreement – passed a law that any marriage ceremony not done under the auspices of the Chief  Rabbinate is not only illegitimate and not recognized... it is illegal and punishable by a 2 year jail sentence. 

I happen to disagree with this law. It will only make martyrs of heterodox rabbis that violate and it will create a massive backlash. Not only by heterodox rabbis but by the entire world that will say that Israel is turning into another Iran.

But as I said, although I disagree with the law I agree with its intent. Which is to eliminate illegitimate weddings from Klal Yisroel. Rabbis like Rabbi Hiyun generally do the kind of weddings that the rabbinate will not do for Halachic reasons. They will for example marry a divorcee to a Kohen, which is forbidden by Halacha. Why should the Rabbinate allow that to happen if they can prevent it?! Although in some cases Chief Rabbinate has used their authority in questionable ways, I believe that in most instances they were acting on behalf of Halacha.

The arrest of Rabbi Haiyun has generated a huge outcry by Heterodox rabbis and secular Jewish organizations that support them.  They are fuming over this! From an article in the the Times of Israel here are some of the reactions : 

“Today’s actions against Rabbi Haiyun marks a new and dangerous step in the ongoing attack on religious freedom and civil liberties in Israel,” read a statement from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism released late Thursday, expressing “outrage” over the move.

USCJ head Rabbi Steven Wernick sent a sharp letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest the detention, Haaretz reported.

“Bet you didn’t know that performing a non Orthodox wedding in Israel is punishable by 2 years in prison? And now with new nation law, why wouldn’t we be worried about Israel’s direction as a democratic State? This is OUR @RabbiAssembly colleague,” Wernick wrote on Twitter.

“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing reports” of Haiyun’s detention, said a statement from US Jewry’s umbrella group, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.

The United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York also said it was “disturbed” by the incident.

“Today’s action is dramatically inconsistent with Israel’s promise as the home of the entire Jewish people, and its commitment to equality and respect for all its citizens,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York.

In a separate statement, the Jewish Federations of North America said it was “deeply disturbed” by the detention.

“We have high expectations and hopes for Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. It is meant to be a home for all Jews and a reflection of Jewish values,” the statement read.

The US-based Rabbinical Assembly, which represents Conservative rabbis worlwide, also said it was “outraged” by the detention of Haiyun, a former president of RA-Israel, describing the incident as “shocking.”

“Today’s detention of a respected former President of the Israel RA gravely undermines the integrity of government institutions and is contrary to the values of Israel and the Jewish people,” said RA CEO Rabbi Julie Schonfeld…

I’m not surprised by any of this. And I do believe it could have been avoided. But what is missing from all these reactions is any comment at all anyone or group representing Orthodoxy. For obvious reasons, in my view. Although they too might object to the heavy handedness of this - and the terrible optics, I’m sure they agree with their objectives. There is no possible way any Orthodox rabbi worthy of the title would consider violations of Halacha an acceptable practice in Israel – no matter what the intentions of the violators would be. 

What about the loss of Diaspora support this might generate? There could be substantial financial consequences if that support is lost. The vast majority of Jews in the Diaspora are in fact not Orthodox. That is an indisputable fact.

It is true that this event will not help matters. But it is really only a matter of time before any of this matters anyway. As is rather well known by now, intermarriage among non Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora is at a 70% right now. I do not see that percentage going down. If anything it will increase. In fact some very prominent Jews actually advocate intermarriage preferring it over in-marriage – seeing that as racist. And creating a ghetto of 2!

There is little if anything that can be done about this trend. Which has been accelerated by a Heterodoxy that either ignored it or accepted it. As did Reform who considers the non Jewish partner in such a marriage if they live their lives Jewishly (whatever that may mean to them). And a Conservative movement that already has some of of their rabbis performing intermarriages.

Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before the great tragedy of losing millions of Jews will happen.  I don’t see any way out of this – even as Orthodox outreach intensifies and has become more successful than ever. It is still a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of Jews that will intermarry out of Judaism.

Back to the issue at hand. True, all the screaming and anger could have been avoided. But the handwriting is on the wall. There is no way that Israel should in any way legitimize heterodoxy, because that will not only NOT help our continuity as a people - it will hinder it by creating the same conditions in Israel that exist in America.  That should never be allowed to happen. 

I know this is an unpopular view among many of my Orthodox  friends to my religious left. But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.