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| Anti Israel rally by Satmar in New York yesterday - Photo source: VIN |
These men too are my brothers. Although it is getting more difficult than
ever to think of them that way. Most people know the issues I have with Satmar.
There are many. But for purposes of this essay I will focus on their strident
opposition to the existence of the State of Israel.
As I have said many times, they have every right to believe
as they do, and state their case loudly and clearly. It is a view based on the
now deceased Satmar Rebbe, R’ Yoel Teitelbaum. The 3 oaths mentioned in the Gemarah (Kesuvos 111a) prevent the Jewish people from any right to rule in the land of Israel. So
under any condition, even if the state was ruled entirely by a Charedi government,
they would still be opposed to it. As much as I vehemently disagree with them,
I respect their right to hold these views. Elu V’Elu.
What I do not respect is the stridency by
which they express those views… and the extent to which they go to make their point.
It started with the Satmar Rebbe himself, who referred to Rav
Kook as an Ish Tzar V’Oyev because of his pro State views. This attitude has
spread far beyond Satmar and is used to justify one Chilul HaShem after another
by the Satmar Rebbe’s admirers in Meah Shearim and elsewhere. The very same attitude
is responsible for the fringe Neturei Kartaniks who embrace people like Iran’s Ahmadinejad.
Who espouses wiping Israel off the map… something I’m sure would get the
approval of Satmar and all their sympathizers if done in a peaceful way. They
have clearly stated that this is their goal.
Yestreday they did it again. They called for a rally in
Manhattan. This was a rare moment of unity between the feuding brothers
Teitelbaum - each claiming to be the heir to the Satmar throne. They called out
their ‘troops’ in this cause. The result was a massive rally as can be seen in
the photos at VIN. I’m sure they would call this a tremendous success and
Kiddush HaShem.
Their stated purpose for this protest was their opposition to the Israeli draft of Charedim.
In this they have the support of many Charedi rabbinic leaders. But their
underlying antipathy for the State should not be over-looked. I believe this
was true motivation for this rally. Here was yet another opportunity to bash
Israel. I’m sure they relished the
moment.
The Centrist RCA condemned the rally. No surprise there. But
many Charedi rabbinic leaders opposed that rally too, starting with R’ Aharon
Leib Steinman. R’ Chaim Kanievsky added his name to R’ Steinman’s. And in America
so too did Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky.
Back to Satmar. I do not see how a protest like this
benefits Klal Yisroel in any way no matter how one feels about drafting
Charedim. How is a public demonstration in Manhattan going to impact in any way on
the government in Israel’s decision to equalize the draft? Especially if the
protest was made by people who believe in dismantling the State?
Do they think Netanyahu will say, ‘Oh, Satmar is opposed to
the draft… What was I thinking?!’ Or do they just think a rally like this will
catch on with the greater Charedi public because of their leaders’ own strident
opposition to the draft? Or perhaps they believe that a massive demonstration
by a monolithic group of Chasidim that have separated themselves from the rest
of the civilized world will somehow strike a chord with the American people?
Why did they do it? The answer to this is - I believe - of
an entirely different nature. This was simply an opportunity to capitalize on
something they thought would have universal appeal in the Charedi world. It is a
sort of ‘I told you so’ moment… saying, ‘See how evil the Israeli government
is?’ ‘You thought co-operating with them and getting funded was worth it?!’ ‘Well…
what do you say now?!’ ‘Come join us in our goal to dismantle the Jewish State.’
I don’t think it worked. As I said, mainstream Orthodoxy
condemned it, and Charedi rabbinic leaders were opposed to it. I hope they were
as appalled at this demonstration as I was. But even if they were as appalled as I was and expressed it publically, I doubt that that would sway Satmar in any way.
The only question is - how
is this going to affect the relationship between mainstream Charedim and Satmar
in the future? Will there ever again be a call from a Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva (or
Mashgiach) to invite Satmar to one of its own rallies? … as was the case with
the internet Asifa last year? Will they still chase down Satmar and capitulate to
all their demands on how to conduct an Asifa, just to get them to attend?
Isn’t it about time to realize that Satmar is so far away
from mainstream Orthodoxy – and even mainstream Charedim - that they should never again
want to participate with them on any matters? Isn’t standing on the same stage
with them in some way legitimizing them? I have heard that said in other
contexts!
Like I said, this is not about Elu V’Elu anymore. This is
about tolerating antics that are anathema to the Torah world in the name of their
Shitos. In my view it should not be any more acceptable to stand with Satmar
than it is to stand with Neturei Karta who have made clear their love affair with
the President of Iran. They may not go
that far themselves. But the hatred of the Jewish state is the same.
Update
Update
Apparently the speaker in the photo above is Rav Eli Ber Wachtfogel.
He is a Litvishe Charedi Rosh HaYeshiva. I’m told that there were also many
other non Chasidic Litvishe type Charedi
rabbinic leaders there too - like Chaim
Berlin’s Rosh HaYeshiva, R’ Aharon Schecther.
Rav Schechter has walked in lockstep with Litvishe Charedi
rabbinic leaders in Israel with respect to their bans. I recall his strident attack
against Rabbi Natan Slifkin at an event held at a Modern Orthodox Shul in
Teaneck a few years ago. Rabbi Slifkin was
viciously attacked for having the Chutzpah to challenge Israeli Gedolim with
respect to the ban on his books. And yet yesterday he decided to ignore the
call by some of these very same Gedolim to not participate in this
demonstration. I find this very hard to reconcile.
