The Baruch Goldstein Brigades

Rodfim. That is what these rogue settlers are.

A rodef (plural: rodfim) is an individual who pursues another person to the point where the pursued may be killed. The Torah provides that one may kill the pursuer as a matter of self-defense in order to preserve the life of the pursued. This is, in fact, the rationale given in Jewish law for permitting an abortion when the life of the mother is threatened by a pregnancy: the fetus is considered a rodef.

I submit that those settlers who continue to harass their Palestinian neighbors - people who have done nothing to them - qualifies them in a moral sense, as rodfim.

That is how evil these people are in my eyes.

First, because it is immoral in the highest degree to inflict harassment upon innocent people simply because they resent you or because terrorism stems from among their ranks. This is not justice. It isn’t even vigilantism. It is pure evil. And if a Palestinian dies in the course of that harassment, it is murder. Plain and simple.

What makes these people rodfim is that by terrorizing innocent Palestinians, they increase by orders of magnitude the world-wide hatred of Israel and Jews. Which lends credence to antisemitic accusations that Israel is an apartheid state guilty of genocide and ought to be boycotted. Or better - even dismantled!

It increases Palestinian terrorism against all Israelis. The very terrorism these miscreants claim to be fighting - they are actually increasing!. They are, in essence, pursuers by virtue of behavior that is likely to increase death and destruction to our people. They must be stopped by any means necessary!

I believe calling them the Baruch Goldstein Brigades is apt name for them. Baruch Goldstein is likely an icon to them. An example to follow. Goldstein was a mass murderer who killed numerous Palestinian Muslim worshippers at Ma’aras HaMachpela before he was finally subdued and beaten to death by Palestinians who came to his victims’ rescue.

Goldstein has since been revered as an almost godlike figure by extremists like these and their sympathizers. Many of whom used to make pilgrimages to his gravesite – treating it like a shrine. (It has since been made illegal by the Israeli government to do that.)

Goldstein represents, for them, a model of how Jews should treat Arabs. Especially Arabs living in parts of Eretz Yisrael that consist of Palestinian villages. These extremists have an ultimate goal of eradicating these villages and re-settling them exclusively with Jews.

Not only do these people directly endanger the lives of all Israelis - they have also caused the wrath of one of our biggest supporters to descend upon Israel.

The Jewish people cannot afford to treat these people with any kind of leniency. Nor does the argument that Arabs commit violence against us exponentially more often than these settlers do have any redeeming value. These people are evil to the core. And yet they consider themselves among the holiest of Jews because they are on the front lines of settling Eretz Yisrael - risking their lives to do so.

They may think they are holy. They may even be meticulous in the observance of many Mitzvos. But to whatever degree they may be observant, it is all wiped away, in my eyes, by their despicable behavior.

I should add that anyone who tries to defend them or ‘explain’ why they might have some justification for terrorizing innocent West Bank Palestinians - are guilty of contributing to it.

And yet there are plenty of people who support these ‘Jewish terrorists to the point of worshipping at the gravesite of Baruch Goldstein, as though he were a tzaddik to be emulated. I am sure that these settlers feel exactly that way about Goldstein. Hence, the title “The Baruch Goldstein Brigade.”

What sparked my latest outrage is the following report from the Associated Press:

QUSRA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers have besieged three homes in the occupied West Bank for several days, including one owned by a Palestinian American, in what the U.S. ambassador called a “horrific act of terror” on Thursday.

Mike Huckabee’s remarks on X represented an unusually sharp rebuke from the Trump administration of the latest episode in a surge of settler violence in the region.

Starting Sunday, settlers gathered around three houses in the village of Qusra, according to local officials, Palestinian American homeowner Loui Ridi, and Ridi’s brother. At times numbering dozens, the settlers threw stones, attempted to bring down a stone wall nearby, and prevented the occupants from leaving as their food and water dwindled.

Israeli troops intervened to try to restore order. On Thursday morning, Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida, who had holed up in the house with his own teenage son to defend it, said they were moved by Israel’s military to another home but still could not leave the area, which is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Palestinian city of Nablus.

The military said that its troops dismantled “two illegal outposts” near the homes on the outskirts of Qusra and a nearby village, and detained one Israeli. It added that additional soldiers were sent to “carry out defensive missions and patrols.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz joined Huckabee in sharply condemning these Jewish terrorists. Rightly so.

What is not “rightly so” is the continued silence of religious Zionist Roshei Yeshiva on the West Bank in response to this apparently ongoing incident. Their silence lends credence to the idea that these Jewish terrorists have, at the very least, their tacit approval!

If that is indeed the case, I have no use for them. The “Torah” they teach and the Torah they learn is worthless in my eyes…

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Mamdani and Jewish New Yorkers

It’s truly fascinating - if a bit odd - to watch Mayor Zohran Mamdani try to court Jewish support.

The New York City mayor is perhaps the most widely known member of the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization on the far left of the political spectrum that views the State of Israel as an illegitimate colonial enterprise that practices apartheid against its indigenous peoples. It advocates boycotting Israel and, ultimately, dismantling it as a Jewish state and returning the land to its supposed rightful Palestinian owners.

One of Mamdani’s first forays into politics came while he was a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he co-founded the college’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which the ADL describes as a network of anti-Zionist campus groups that promotes BDS campaigns against Israel.

His anti-Israel bona fides were established a long time ago and have continued to be part of his worldview to this day. And yet he loves to distinguish himself as a friend of Jewish New Yorkers. He says he will fight the growing antisemitism plaguing New York and promises to protect their rights and freedoms no less than those of any other New Yorker—even Jews who disagree with him. He says that disagreeing with him is their right, just as his anti-Israel views are his right.

A lot of Jews scoff at Mamdani’s comments and promises, noting that his anti-Israel rhetoric actually contributes to the increase in antisemitic attacks.

And yet, a few weeks ago, Ynet reported the following:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a blessing to the Jewish community in the city ahead of the Tisha B’Av fast and wished residents “to reflect on the history and resilience of the Jewish people.” In a post published on X, Mamdani wrote: “May all who observe this day have a safe and meaningful fast.”

I had to laugh when I saw that. On Tisha B’Av, a “meaningful fast” is about mourning the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and hoping for it to be restored speedily in our time in our holy city, Jerusalem. That would seem to undermine his views about our rights to the land.

Underscoring the absurdity of his message is his constant anti-Israel rhetoric and openly expressed view that Israel has no right to be a Jewish state. Much less rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem on the location where one of Islam’s holiest buildings now stands.

And yet, I really think he believes that he can separate his anti-Zionist views from his sincere desire to be the mayor for all New Yorkers, Jews included.

That assumption, I’m sure, is based in part on the support he received from the many Jews who align themselves with progressive socialist policies and who see Israel in much the same negative light he does. Although some of them may not go as far as he does in denying Israel the right to exist as a Jewish state, they clearly see anything short of a socialist-style government as a betrayal of the ideals they associate with the good old days of the kibbutzim upon which Israel was built.

Kibbutzim were communes - essentially mini-communist-style enterprises in which there was little or no private ownership. Everyone worked for the common good, and everything was shared equally.

That hardly exists today. For good reason. It doesn’t work on a micro scale much better than it does on a macro scale. Which failed every time it was tried.

I don’t really doubt Mamdani’s sincerity. I’m sure he feels he can be all things to all people, including his Jewish constituents. To that end, he must be a bit perplexed by the rise in antisemitic attacks since he took office. So he assembled an eclectic group of Jewish leaders to get their input on why this is happening.

Not surprisingly, representatives of most mainstream Jewish organizations were not invited to attend. Not the ADL. Not Agudah. Not the OU. Not Chabad. And not the RCA…

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Insularity and Spiritual Purity

Belzer Chasidim at the graves of the Belzer Rebbes (YouTube)

How worthy is a way of life that rejects virtually all aspects of the general culture? And to what lengths is it legitimate to achieve success in maintaining that way of life? Does that mean total isolation from that culture except when absolutely necessary such as a hospitalization? How far must one go to achieve that level of insularity? How important is that insularity to one’s Jewish identity? And when does being insular go too far?

These are the thoughts that immediately occurred to me after reading about yet another conflict between state and religion. Only this one is in Canada, where their constitution protects freedom of worship, just as ours does.

This has been one of my pet peeves about Chasidism for as far back as I can remember. (Although, to be honest, the non-Chasidic Yeshiva world is doing its level best to catch up with them. But I digress.)

The ideology of insularity as a means of protecting oneself from influences foreign to Judaism has gone to such extremes in the Chasidic world that even the very language of the country is seen as a portal to the evils of society at large.

This is why, when you speak to members of certain Chasidic sects, you will hear them speak as though they were new immigrants. Often, they speak in grammatically incorrect ways. When it comes to writing, their spelling is about as accurate as that of a third grader. Their grammar is often no better.

They do this by choice, as a matter of distancing themselves from the surrounding culture. The more different they are from that culture, the less likely they are to participate in it and expose themselves to what they regard as its “evil” pitfalls.

Yiddish is their first language, and it is the language most often used in the home and among family and friends. English is used when necessary. All of this is a matter of communal choice.

Which brings me to what just happened in Montreal, where the languages of the land are both English and French. The following was reported in Arutz Sheva:

“Quebec provincial authorities have dealt a major blow to the Belz Hasidic education system in Montreal, announcing the sweeping cancellation of operating licenses for three major institutions—a kindergarten, a Talmud Torah, and a small yeshiva serving approximately 600 students…”

“The dramatic decision follows a lengthy series of inspections and monitoring efforts involving the institutions’ administration, some of which, according to authorities, have been ongoing since 2007…”

“Among the key deficiencies cited as leading to the drastic measure were a serious shortage of teachers qualified to teach in Quebec’s official languages, English and French; failure to provide the required number of instructional hours in core subjects; the use of unapproved educational materials; and safety concerns involving emergency exits.”

I do not wish these schools any harm. The fact that these children may be left without a school in the coming academic year would deny them any education altogether. Additionally, it places a grossly unfair burden on their parents.

But I have to ask: Why do these schools not comply with what seem like basic common-sense rules that every educational institution worthy of the name should have?

Is it really that difficult, for example, to have teachers who speak English or French properly…

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Defining Judaism by Our Own Lights

Once again, I find myself agreeing with a Conservative religious official. This time it is Steve Freedman, head of school at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, New Jersey. (To the best of my knowledge, he is not a rabbi.)

It’s not that I agree with everything he says. But I do agree with his overall thesis, which complements the views of another Conservative religious official, Rabbi Steven Abraham, whose views I recently discussed in a similarly positive vein.

Freedman’s point is the following:

The most urgent job of Jewish education right now is not fighting antisemitism directly. It is making sure our children are not first introduced to their own history, their own people and their own homeland by those who mean them harm. It is making sure they can explain themselves to themselves before someone else does it for them.

That is the strongest case I know for Jewish day schools right now, stronger than the continuity argument, stronger than the safety argument, though both are real. Continuity is a downstream effect. Safety is a separate and urgent project. This is the existential one. Who gets to a child’s sense of self first?

The continuity data is solid on its own terms. A 2025 study of Jewish college students found that 81 percent of day school alumni said being Jewish was very important to them, compared to 35 percent of students who didn’t attend day school. But that number describes an outcome, not the mechanism. The mechanism is actually simple and direct. A child who has already engaged with the real Jewish story, in depth, from people who love them, is much harder to indoctrinate into someone else’s version of it.

How true.

Although, in my view, the most important job of a Jewish education is to teach Jews how to be Jewish by virtue of its defining characteristics: knowledge and observance of, Jewish law. The importance of Freedman’s point, however, cannot be overstated.

The lack of a Jewish education explains a lot about organizations like Jews for Justice in Palestine and other such anti-Israel organizations. Without any knowledge of their own history, their own people, and their own homeland, it becomes much easier to buy the arguments made by our enemies under the guise of anti-Zionism or anti-colonialsm.

It becomes easier to reject the idea that the Zionist pioneers who saw Israel as the Jewish homeland were justified in seeking a mass return to it; that Israel was part of our heritage as Jews; and that we had every right to encourage mass immigration to the land and develop it—all while attempting to live there as a people in peace and harmony with the indigenous Arabs who lived there at the time.

Without that essential knowledge, it becomes much easier to buy into the notion that the Jews had no connection to the land and were simply another group of Europeans interested in colonizing a foreign land and subjugating its people.

That kind of indoctrination by a left-leaning, anti-Jewish ideology becomes a lot easier when there is no Jewish education of any kind. And that helps explain the astounding statistic that 65 percent of Jews do not consider being Jewish important to them.

If Judaism doesn’t matter to you, then all you see in Israel are victims (Palestinians) and victimizers (Israelis) - who supposedly perpetuate colonialist policies through a system of brutal apartheid.

This is how you get a Bernie Sanders, whose Jewish education was probably nonexistent, becoming a man who values socialism more than Judaism by orders of magnitude…

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Now Iran Is Dictating Terms?!

The mainstream media reported the following this morning:

Iran’s state broadcaster published the statement by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard…

The United States must never threaten Iran again, the statement said, and must permanently end the war with Iran and its armed allies in the region. The U.S. must lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw its military from the area. It also must “completely compensate” Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and “unconditionally” release frozen assets…

A vessel owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned ADNOC oil and gas company was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Emirati authorities said earlier Saturday. The Foreign Ministry said Iran fired the missile as part of attacks on commercial shipping.

What a shocking development!

Iran is presenting the United States with an ultimatum—as though we are the ones who have been defeated and have no choice but to agree to its demands or suffer the consequences of its military wrath.

I cannot understand why the president is allowing Iran to get away with this.

The courage the president showed in doing what needed to be done—something previous presidents were afraid to do—was clearly justified. It is difficult to argue that Iran had not become an increasingly serious, even existential, threat to the United States and the Western world.

Forty-seven years ago, the Iranian Revolution violently overthrew a government and a society that had been moving in a decidedly Western direction and replaced it with a hardline, repressive Islamist regime. That was only the beginning.

Since then, Iran has built what amounts to an army of Islamist terrorist organizations in the region in addition to its own IRCG. It has armed and funded anti-Israel and anti-American proxies responsible for some of the worst atrocities of our time. It has attacked American cyber infrastructure. It has developed increasingly sophisticated ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. And it has accelerated uranium enrichment to dangerously high levels.

Iran has also terrorized its own population, brutally suppressing and killing protesters who dared to challenge the regime - labeling THEM terrorists.

I don’t think it is seriously arguable that Iran needed to be confronted. The threat posed by a fanatical regime willing to use mass murder of its own people to achieve its objectives is real. Anyone paying attention should understand that.

And yet Iran was tolerated for decades while all of this was happening.

Eventually the United States and its European allies imposed punishing sanctions against Iran. They wanted them lifted and an agreement was reached with the US and its allies that was supposed to delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets. But that agreement did nothing to eliminate Iran’s other malign activities—and, as we now know, Iran continued working toward its ultimate objectives even before the current president tore up that deal.

When Trump withdrew from the agreement and restored sanctions, much of the world condemned him. The critics insisted that the agreement was working. But what kind of agreement was it if it merely allowed Iran to bide its time until it could resume its nuclear program? ,,,and because the deal was limited to Uranium enrichment - continue pursuing its terrorist objectives without fear?

The president eventually saw the writing on the wall and decided to act – after Israel weakned them with an attack of their own..

Iran’s military infrastructure was mostly devastated. But, sadly, not all of it. Iran is still able to use what remains, and it is now doing so with great bravado. Claiming to have the upper hand in the war.

Most troubling of all is the Strait of Hormuz.

By interfering with shipping through this vital artery for the world’s oil and goods, Iran has created economic pain for Americans and others around the world. And that has inevitably caused some Americans to sour on the war. Even if they continue to support its objectives.

That distinction is important…

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Is This The Greening of America 2.0?

A young supporter of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

Back in the early 1970s, Charles Reich published The Greening of America, arguing that the country was undergoing a profound cultural transformation. According to Reich, Americans were abandoning many of the traditional values that had made the nation successful in favor of a counterculture that rejected them.

Based on the results of several recent Democratic primaries, one might wonder whether something similar is happening again.

I’m not convinced.

It may appear that way because of the growing number of victories by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates and, most recently, the Democratic primary victory of Abdul El-Sayed, who is now his party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate from Michigan. In November, he will face Republican Mike Rogers.

Who is Abdul El-Sayed? Journalist Melanie Phillips offered this description:

El-Sayed beat the moderate, pro-Israel Haley Stevens to become the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat.

He advocates a total U.S. military embargo on Israel, which he calls an “evil,” “apartheid,” and “genocidal” state that, in his view, should not exist.

He has accused Israel of being “bloodthirsty” and has repeatedly criticized AIPAC, echoing themes that many Jews view as invoking longstanding anti-Jewish tropes.

His campaign also received strong backing from Hasan Piker, the Turkish-American influencer who has praised Hamas, said America had “what was coming to it” on 9/11, and urged followers to kill capitalists.

Despite opposing El-Sayed in the primary, leading Democrats quickly lined up behind him after his victory—including his primary opponent, Haley Stevens herself. That political parties almost always unite behind their nominees is not surprising. Especially when control of the Senate is at stake. But the degree to which they have veered away from their own values by supporting El=Sayed tells you just how power hungry they are.

It’s beyond troubling that so many prominent mainstream Democrats are willing to overlook El-Sayed’s abhorrent extremist views simply because they want to win the Senate back in November.

Does El-Sayed’s victory mean that Americans have embraced his ideology…

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The Sad Legacy of Shlomo Carlebach

Shlomo Carelebach at one of his inspirational events (Ynet)

Beethoven, the Beatles, and Shlomo Carlebach. Those three have one thing in common: they changed the world of music immeasurably and forever, contributing to it in a greater measure than perhaps any other individual artist or group.

What distinguished Carlebach from the other two is that his contribution was almost exclusively within the Jewish world. Initially, his influence was felt primarily within Orthodoxy, but it eventually spread across every denomination of Judaism worldwide.

A new documentary about Shlomo Carlebach has been released. Although I have written about his legacy before, it is a subject worth revisiting.

Before Carlebach, contemporary Jewish music was, for the most part, uninspired. There were exceptions, of course, but much of what was heard in Shuls and at Jewish events was predictable, uninspiring, and boring.

Then came Carlebach.

He revolutionized Jewish music. A gifted composer, he took verses from Tanach and other classic Jewish sources and transformed them into melodies that stirred the soul. His music expressed a deep spirituality and inspired countless Jews to feel a stronger connection to God.

It did not take long before his melodies found their way into synagogue services. Today they are sung in shuls throughout the world.

His influence went far beyond individual songs. “Carlebach minyanim” emerged, particularly for Friday night services, where virtually the entire davening is sung to his melodies, often accompanied by spirited dancing. His compositions became so thoroughly woven into Orthodox liturgy that many people who sing them today have no idea they were written by him. It would be difficult to find an Orthodox synagogue that never uses a Carlebach melody.

Few people leave behind a legacy of that magnitude.

Unfortunately, that is not his only legacy…

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What Does It Mean to Be a Centrist?

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ZTL

I stand second to no one in promoting the Hashkafa (Jewish ideology) in which I believe. One might think it strange to make a comment like that, since it ought to be obvious that people stand by their own ideology. But when it comes to Centrism - the Hashkafah with which I so strongly identify, I think it requires making precisely that statement. Because the very word Centrism contains the word center. That can easily be interpreted to mean “middle of the road,” a sort of midpoint between two extremes that has no real ideology of its own.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

It may be true that the ideology of a Centrist contains elements found on both ends of the religious spectrum. But it is not some arbitrary midpoint between them. Rather, it is a position of thoughtfully reconciling competing values, recognizing that moderation is often a virtue. It rejects the extremes that are the hallmark of uncompromising ideological positions that never seriously consider countervailing opinions in either halachah or hashkafah.

A Centrist will examine the pros and cons of any given value system and make a judgment based on what he believes is the most accurate expression of God’s will - based on his education. And will most certainly not reject every value outside of Judaism. But will judge each value on its merit in accordance with Jewish values.

A variety of factors are often overlooked by hard-core ideologies that cannot see beyond their own worldview, dismissing any rational argument made by those who disagree. Such ideologies can easily be taken to illogical extremes. Which, in my view, was never the intent of the Torah. About which our Sages said, “All of its ways are ways of pleasantness.”

Two examples come immediately to mind…

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Grassroots Rebellion?

New Charedi party head, Motty Leitner

I am not optimistic. At least not as optimistic as Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, who recently wrote about what he considers an earth-shattering change in the dynamics of the Charedi world in Israel. I wish I could share his optimism, because I wholeheartedly approve of what he reports has happened.

There is a new Charedi party, HaTzibbur HaCharedi, (headed by) Motty Leitner, the thirty-something Rachmastrivka chassid, IDF reservist, and Deputy Mayor of Beit Shemesh. Defying the local establishment, he founded an independent charedi list there - and won.

This new party addresses issues that have troubled me for decades. As Rabbi Adlerstein notes, the day has finally arrived when some charedim in Israel are saying:

“Enough is enough. We work for a living and refuse to be treated any longer as second-class citizens, whose children are barred from schools and who are humiliated when we walk into shul. We want to participate in the Jewish nation, accepting the responsibilities of citizenship, and not stand to the side in its hour of need.”

This party addresses the two issues that I - and many others who care about the welfare of Klal Yisrael - have long considered among the most important: the refusal by the Charedi world to serve in the IDF and the lack of the kind of education that would enable them to better support their families. These two issues have always stuck in my craw.

This party appears to offer a more positive approach. With respect to military service, it promotes the induction of all non-learning Charedim into the IDF, while those who are genuinely learning full-time would remain exempt.

I still believe this exemption is too broad and far more generous than what the rest of Israeli society receives. I would have preferred a more inclusive enlistment policy in which remaining in Kollel could not be used as a convenient means of avoiding military service.

Be that as it may, requiring all working Charedim to serve would likely provide enough additional manpower to ease the burden now borne by reservists who are repeatedly called up for long tours of duty because there are too few soldiers to replace them.

The educational side of the party’s platform is something I wholeheartedly support. The study of Limudei Chol should accompany Limudei Kodesh throughout elementary and high school, and beyond for those pursuing careers that require additional education.

With all of that in mind, I too celebrate this development.

But as I said at the outset, I am not optimistic that this will become the new standard in the Charedi world. On the contrary, it has already been rejected by the “party of Lithuanian Gedolim,” Degel HaTorah, which – as noted by Rabbi Adlerstein - argued:

Breakaway charedi parties have little future because the mainstream remains strong and charedim will continue voting as instructed by their rabbinic leadership (emphasis mine).

Sadly, I think that is an accurate prediction. Even if this new party somehow manages to win a seat in the next Knesset, its members will almost certainly be ostracized by the mainstream Charedi parties. If not branded as enemies of Torah…

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A Rebuke of Reticent Religious Zionist Rabbis

Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein (TOI)

Not all that long ago, I came across a book containing some of the more important letters Rav Aharon Lichtenstein had written to various individuals. One exchange, in particular, made a deep impression on me. Although I was not surprised by its content, I was struck by the moral clarity and intensity with which it was written. The letters were sent in the immediate aftermath of the following event (as described by Wikipedia):

On February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein dressed in an Israeli military uniform, entered a mosque in the Cave of the Patriarchs, and opened fire on approximately 800 Palestinian Muslim worshippers praying there during the month of Ramadan, killing 29 and wounding 125 before he was beaten to death by survivors.

Sadly, Goldstein was sympathetically eulogized by several Religious Zionist Roshei Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba, where he had lived. Rav Lichtenstein was not prone to expressions of anger, but reading his letters, I could almost hear the outrage in his voice as he rebuked those Roshei Yeshiva for the Chilul HaShem involved in eulogizing a mass murderer. When they responded apologetically, attempting to justify their actions by claiming they were praising “the man” rather than his deed, Rav Lichtenstein doubled down in a subsequent letter.

His response did not surprise me. It reflected the moral outlook of his father-in-law, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. What did surprise me was that these eulogies were delivered in the first place. Although I have encountered admirers of Baruch Goldstein over the years, I never imagined that respected rabbinic leaders could find kind words for a mass murderer. No matter how devoted he may have been to the State of Israel and its people, the deliberate murder of innocent human beings strips away any claim to moral stature.

It is now more than three decades later. Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein now co-heads the yeshiva his father once led together with its founder, Rav Yehudah Amital. Like his father, he has spoken forcefully against the extremist settlers who have increasingly terrorized innocent Palestinian civilians—a position with which I obviously agree.

What makes his position especially noteworthy is that he does not stop at condemning the perpetrators themselves. As reported in an interview with The Times of Israel:

Addressing a recent uptick in settler violence (as of last month, the IDF had recorded over 752 incidents of nationalist crime and extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year), he insisted that ultimately, the mainstream Religious Zionist community and its leaders bear responsibility for stopping it.

“The violence that is going on is horrible and is morally and ethically wrong,” he said.

“The perpetrators do these things because, to a large extent, society will tolerate it,” he charged. “The degree to which members of the community will believe that this violence is a desecration of God’s name or merely unfortunate behavior is a function of what mainstream Religious Zionist communities hear on Friday night in their rabbis’ sermons. If they hear harsh condemnation, it will create a certain dynamic.”

How true.

Indeed, it is the absence of this kind of broad-based rebuke by Religious Zionist leaders that allows such behavior to continue. It is not only a Chilul HaShem but, as I have argued many times, it causes enormous reputational damage to Israel. It provides antisemites around the world with additional ammunition for their already vicious accusations that the Jewish state is guilty of genocide.

When Religious Zionist leaders are reluctant to criticize these extremists forcefully and publicly, they unintentionally lend credibility to the false claim that Religious Zionism itself undermines the moral character of the State of Israel. That accusation is categorically untrue. Yet without clear and unequivocal condemnation from across the Religious Zionist spectrum, they contribute to the problem rather than helping solve it.

Lest anyone think that Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein is some sort of leftist or pacifist regarding the wars Israel has been forced to fight, nothing could be further from the truth. Such an assumption would be a profound misunderstanding of both him and the ideology of the yeshiva he now heads…

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