The Call for Fasting and Prayer

I may be a bit late to the party - since this happened last week. I wasn't going to comment on it because I have discussed the subject to death already. 

But I changed my mind. It is an important subject. And in light of what seems like a change of direction by at least one Charedi leader, albeit in the Sephardi camp, I thought it was worth another look. 

First, it is interesting to note that both the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudah and Pope Leo urged their followers to undertake fasting and prayer within the same 48-hour period.

Not that the two declarations were for the exact same purpose. They were not. But I find it curious that leaders of two faiths simultaneously called upon their people to beseech God for mercy in the form of prayer and fasting in order to alleviate human suffering. Without the knowledge of either about the other calling for the same thing at virtually the same time.

Last Thursday, the Agudah Moetzes declared in a Kol Koreh (public notification) that Yom Kippur Katan should be observed. Yom Kippur Katan is declared on the eve of Rosh Chodesh when there is an Eis Tzarah L’Yisroel - a troubling time for the Jewish people. Since Rosh Chodesh fell on Sunday, and Yom Kippur Katan cannot be observed on Shabbos or Friday, it was moved to Thursday - the closest halachically viable day. They added that if one is capable of doing so, that they should include fasting on that day as well.

The first paragraph of the Kol Koreh reads:

“The situation of Acheinu Bnei Yisroel everywhere has become increasingly perilous, with rising waves of anti-Jewish hatred around the world. In our Holy Land, the danger is even greater, with the looming threat of war. Moreover, we still have precious souls who remain captive in the hands of our enemies, Rachmana litzlan, and we pray that Hashem will have mercy upon them, deliver them from their suffering and captivity, bring them from darkness to light, and from oppression to redemption.”

While this sounds sincere and heartfelt, it feels more like a statement of fact rather than a passionate call to action. It seems to set the stage for what the Moetzes is really asking for. Which becomes abundantly clear in the very next paragraph, expressed in far more dire terms:

“At this time, terrible decrees have been issued against the world of Torah and the yeshivos in our sacred land. There are ominous plans, chalilah, to draft those who dedicate themselves to Torah learning, those who sit on the benches of the batei medrash. Our Gedolei Torah have already declared unequivocally that any form of army conscription poses a profound spiritual danger. In addition, there are numerous other decrees and persecutions threatening the Torah world, both spiritually and physically. Tragically, hundreds of yeshiva bochurim have already been conscripted into the army, and several avreichim and bochurim are currently imprisoned in military jails.”

In other words, while the first paragraph asks Hashem to have mercy on Klal Yisroel generally, the second makes clear what truly concerns the Moetzes: the “terrible decrees” they see in the effort to draft Charedim into the IDF.

The emphasis becomes unmistakable in the immediately following concluding words:

“Am Yisroel’s strength lies only in prayer. It is our sacred duty to plead before the Borei Kol Olamim and to arouse Divine mercy upon His people. Therefore, the Gedolei Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel have proclaimed a special day of tefillah this Thursday, 27 Menachem Av, to coincide with Yom Kippur Katan, observed early this month.”

Readers debated whether the Moetzes was dedicating this Yom Kippur Katan to all the crises facing the Jewish people. Or just to what they view as the evil anti-Torah decree of drafting Charedim into the IDF.

I think it is safe to say they intended prayers for all the Tzaros - trials and tribulations we  -  the Jewish people face today. But there is no doubt in my mind which issue matters most to them. It is not the hostages still in captivity, not the IDF soldiers who risk their lives daily, not the rampant antisemitism spreading worldwide. What they fear most - what they want us to pray about most - is that the God ‘tear up the evil decree’ – issued by the ‘evil Zionist government’ to force Torah students into military service.

I do not accuse them of not caring about the other issues. They surely do. But they are relegated to the back burner compared to the danger they see of Charedim being drafted.

It reminds me of an anecdote (related by Rabbi Moshe Taragin) that Rav Amital often told about the Baal HaTanya. The Baal HaTanya once told his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, who was so deeply engrossed in Torah study that he failed to hear a baby crying in the next room:

‘If you are so immersed in your learning that you cannot hear a baby cry, that is not true Torah study.’

When it comes to priorities among the Jewish people, it seems some of our rabbinic leaders cannot hear the baby crying. Instead of closing the Gemara to go help, they keep learning. What about the crying baby? What crying baby?!

Some Good News from Israel Amid Dark Times

Rabbi Moshe Maya (VIN)

There is, at last, some good news out of Israel. Rabbi Moshe Maya, a senior Sephardi rabbinic leader long opposed to Charedim serving in the IDF under any circumstances, has now said that Charedi boys may enlist if the army formalizes guarantees protecting their spiritual needs. This is a seismic shift. If other Charedi leaders follow, the burden of IDF service could finally be shared more equally. Restoring some civility between Charedim and the rest of Israeli society.

But beyond this hopeful note, the broader picture has rarely been darker. In my 78 years, I have never seen the Jewish people under such attack. From nearly all sides.

After the Holocaust, the world, shamed by its complicity, voted to create Israel as a haven for survivors. Antisemitism in America retreated to the fringes. U.S. support for Israel, especially after the Six-Day War, became robust and bipartisan - driven by both sympathy for survivors and recognition of Israel’s strategic value.

Yet over decades, anti-Israel forces chipped away at that support. Academia and DEI programs gave platforms to pro-Palestinian voices, producing generations of students biased against Israel. The media increasingly framed Israel as the oppressor, while figures like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib gained influence in Congress. Support began to erode, even as antisemitic incidents rose.

Then came October 7^th. Hamas’s massacre briefly united the world in sympathy for Israel. Before evaporating as soon as Israel fought back. Overnight, campuses erupted in anti-Israel protests, celebrities denounced the Jewish state, and the media amplified Hamas’s narrative with gruesome images stripped of context. Israel’s denials were dismissed as lies; Hamas operatives masquerading as journalists were treated as truth-tellers.

Today, support for Israel is at its lowest point in U.S. history. Progressive Democrats openly criticize it, and even MAGA Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson call Israel’s war ‘genocide’. Younger Evangelicals are far less supportive than their parents. Antisemitism in America is surging.

What makes this intolerable is that it is all built on lies. Hamas engineers civilian suffering for propaganda. Placing fighters among women and children, commandeering food aid, even killing their own people. Yet the world blames Israel. Hundreds of aid trucks enter Gaza daily, but critics claim it is ‘not enough’ while ignoring Hamas theft. Israel is accused of ‘starving’ Palestinians, even though in an interview yesterday - one of the most recognized humanitarian leaders, Chef José Andrés, who just returned from a tour of Gaza did not characterize what he saw as starvation.

Meanwhile, Israel’s hostages, bereaved families, and displaced citizens are forgotten.

The reality is stark: Israel is not committing genocide or starving anyone. It is fighting for survival against terrorists who provide fake images of starving children, butchers their own people when it serves their purposes, and has promised to do it to us again if allowed to survive. No other nation would be expected to tolerate this. Yet the media and political leaders, eager to believe Hamas’s narrative, condemn Israel with Nazi-like inuendo.

I wish more people could see through the propaganda. The truth is clear: Israel seeks not genocide, but survival. And it will not allow lies - no matter how widely broadcast - to deter it from defending its people.

At least, amid all this, there is a glimmer of hope: a Charedi leader finally signaling willingness to share in Israel’s defense. That could mark the beginning of a much-needed healing within Israeli society—even as the external battles grow fiercer than ever.

Gender and Faith Discrimination in Israel

It has recently become nearly impossible for me to discuss anything other than the issues surrounding Israel’s war in Gaza. All of these issues are important, involving both the character and even the very existence of the Jewish state – as well as how the various demographic groups are reacting to it in both Israel and the U.S. And how the rest of the world is reacting to it.

But there are other important matters on the table that deserve our attention too. And frankly, I need a break from the anxiety generated by these unresolved existential concerns.

One such issue is what has just happened in Tel Aviv. VIN reports the following:

Recently, the city initiated a “quiet operation” in which dozens of synagogues were asked to sign a document committing to operate according to the principle of equality “regardless of gender or belief.” The associations managing these synagogues fear that signing would allow the municipality or public petitioners to challenge their Orthodox character. Some synagogues have signed, while others have refused and are now facing eviction lawsuits.

The goal is to approach around 130 synagogues and have them sign an allocation agreement stating:

“The synagogue will provide religious services to all neighborhood residents and nearby surroundings in accordance with their nature and character, without discrimination based on age, gender, or belief, and the prayer style will be determined by the managing committee with this in mind. It is clarified that no activity deviating from the stated purpose will be allowed.”

In a city that has been rated as the most gay-friendly in the world, this kind of requirement is obviously very concerning to traditional Jews. A city whose values are more progressive than Jewish makes it quite difficult for traditional values to remain the guiding principle under which a shul operates.

The fear is that LGBTQ-based guidelines could eventually replace the traditional values that have guided shuls for centuries. Substituting those values would directly contradict Halacha and render those shuls invalid.

That being said, no one should be denied the right to pray in a Shul because of their sexual orientation - provided, of course, that they do not make an issue of a lifestyle that Halacha prohibits. Just as most heterosexuals do not make an issue of their lifestyle when they enter a synagogue, neither should a gay man. Let him pray along with everyone else.

If that is all the requirement is about, I support it. If, on the other hand, it is about forcing a shul to publicly embrace an openly gay couple - thereby tacitly legitimizing their lifestyle - I would oppose it and would join in protesting it.

The same goes for feminist women who – in the name of equity with men and given the chance - would abolish the Mechitza. They should be allowed to pray in a traditional Shul so long as they do not interfere with the traditional separation of men and women. They are free to believe what they wish privately. But not to implement their agenda. If, however, accommodating them means removing the Mechitza, I am against it and would again join in protest.

Bottom line: People should be allowed to pray in traditional Shuls regardless of their level of observance or political agenda - as long as they do not try to interfere with or change those shuls to conform to their own views.

The problem with the new guidelines is their vagueness. For example, one clause states:

“The prayer style will be determined by the managing committee…”

Although the clause says the synagogue will be managed by its board, the board must adhere to equality principles and the neighborhood’s character, which in most cases is secular…

It is therefore understandable that there is major pushback. If, for example, a shul board were to decide that a Mechitza is unnecessary, they could remove it. That would destroy the synagogue’s legitimacy.

It seems to me that tradition should not be uprooted because of the political agenda of the moment, even if a local majority adheres to that agenda. Believe what you will as an individual, but don’t overturn centuries of religious tradition for the sake of advancing your progressive program. Not in Israel. Not in a Jewish state. Not even in the most secular city in that Jewish state.

If Israel wants to retain its character as a Jewish state, following the path of progressive values is the wrong way to do it. Israel can either be a Jewish state or a progressive state. It cannot be both.

Just my two cents.

Why I Am So Angry!

Shari Redstone, former CEO of Paramount - parent company of CBS

I don’t recall ever being so angry over the way Israel is being treated. Directly by world leaders, and mostly by implication from the media, I NEVER thought I would feel so much anti-Israel bias in the world. With the exception of the one ‘Shining City on the Hill’ – the US.

(Yes, I know the origin of that phrase, but as applied to the US it fits! We are a beacon of light unto the world. As our sole full support of Israel demonstrates. That so many are too blind to see that is their own fault! Thank you, Mr. President!) 

I’ve long recognized that bias has existed. Ever since Israel went from being a persecuted nation of refugees under fire from hostile and more powerful Arab nations, to becoming a superpower in the Middle East able to defeat its enemies even when attacked simultaneously. Which is what happened in 1967. Since then, Israel has been considered a first rate military power. Recognized as such by military experts in the US.

Once Israel achieved that distinction, it went from being seen as a vulnerable nation in danger of extinction to being condemned as a military occupier that mistreats vulnerable indigenous peoples under its jurisdiction.

To put it simply: Israel went from being the ‘good guys’ to  being the ‘bad guys’ the moment its military could defend it successfully .

Had the Arabs succeeded in 1967, the world would have lamented another Jewish Holocaust. Instead, because Israel triumphed Israel (read: the Jews) are now accused of perpetrating one. That’s when the animosity started. And it has been increasing ever since.

What angers me so much is that Hamas exaggerations and outright lies are swallowed whole by world leaders and the media. While Israel’s denials are ignored or dismissed as lies. The truth is lost in the fog of war - relying on Hamas lies, distortions, and exaggerations.

The latest falsehood is that Gaza City is now officially in famine. And that this humanitarian crisis is solely the result of Israel having turned much of Gaza into a parking lot, destroying Palestinians’ ability to get food. The implication is obvious. The media doesn’t have to say it. It’s Israel’s fault. They are the ones dropping bombs. They are ones that are supposed to be supplying food. And ‘obviously’ they are not!

Of course, world leaders deny that they’re blaming the Jews, insisting instead that it’s Israel’s conduct in a war led by a Prime Minister accused by the ICC of war crimes who is to blame.

But this ignores reality. Any mainstream Israeli leader would have declared war after October 7^th. The IDF would have bombed Hamas targets regardless of who was Prime Minister. One can argue that the war may now be dragging on too long. But that is a separate issue. It is Hamas that assured from the outset that there would be civilian casualties precisely in order to provoke world condemnation of Israel. And sadly, it’s not hard to get that from a world that less than 80 years ago was complicit in Nazi Germany’s genocide of six million Jews. The greatest single genocide in world history.

What makes me angriest is that, because of media spin based on their sole anti-Israel sources, the average American is led to believe these falsehoods and exaggerations .

What is never mentioned, however, is that if there really is famine, Hamas doesn’t care. They could end it in a heartbeat by returning the hostages they brutally took on October 7^th and laying down their arms. The moment they did that, the bloodshed would stop. The famine would be over. And Israel could turn Gaza over to responsible Arab leadership with the means to rebuild it into livable housing and eventually improve Palestinians’ standard of living by orders of magnitude.

Why should Israel cease fire in a war for survival, allowing Hamas to rebuild its terror tunnels and prepare for their next attempt at genocide? Why lay the sole responsibility at the feet of Israelis when Hamas could end it even more quickly?

And what about that accusation? Is there a famine in Gaza and is Israel starving them? Absolutely not!

Israel has been feeding Palestinians. Dozens of food drops have been carried out from the air. Since July, over 800 food trucks have entered Gaza - with a daily 10-hour pause in fighting to allow delivery without risk of being caught in crossfire. Israel has also worked with the US backed GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation), which has distributed hundreds of thousands of food packages to Palestinians since May.

The mainstream media has vilified the GHF based on unverified reports that the IDF and the former military personnel hired to administer distribution of GHF’s food packages - have shot innocent Palestinians desperate for food. Which both GHF and Israel have denied.

The mainstream media is so biased against Israel that this is one of the reasons Shari Redstone, the Jewish former CEO of Paramount (parent company of CBS),sold the company to Skydance Media.

The power of media influence is so strong it affects not only good Americans, but even many Jews. including at least one respected Orthodox rabbi who happens to be one of my heroes. Rabbi Yosef Blau has been swayed by images and narratives of bloodied bodies and emaciated Palestinian children. Scenes of women and children begging for food, and scenes of a uninhabitable wasteland destroyed by Israeli bombs. Land that was once dotted with homes and civilian infrastructure.

Who wouldn’t be moved by such pictures and narratives? What kind of human being wouldn’t demand ‘better’ from those portrayed as exclusively responsible for all that misery?

And yet, not a word is said about the simplest solution: Hamas could end any starvation immediately if they cared about their own people. But they don’t. All they care about is ridding the Jews from their land. If their own people starve to death - so be it. And if the world blames the Jews for that, all the better.

So as I said at the start, I have never been angrier at the injustices Israel is accused of.

I’m sick of it. Sick of the backward morality of a media that doesn’t realize how much it is being manipulated by true evil.

I completely reject the notion that it’s all Netanyahu’s fault. Or even Ben Gvir’s, or Smotrich’s fault. Despite my total rejection of their politics, it wasn’t them who murdered 1,200 Jews and kidnapped 250 hostages on October 7^th.They do not set policy of determine Israel’s war tactics. They aren’t even in the war cabinet!

The best thing the world can do for the Palestinians of Gaza is to stop blaming the Jews for all their problems, and in one unified voice demand that Hamas release the hostages immediately and leave Gaza. Once Hamas realizes that their PR tactic has finally backfired, they might actually respond. Especially with 80,000 Israeli troops poised to invade if they don’t.

A Question of Moral Clarity

Rabbi Yosef Blau

*One of the people I truly admire for the courage of his convictions is Rabbi Yosef Blau, the now-retired Mashgiach of RIETS (Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan), which is the yeshiva component of YU (Yeshiva University).

Rabbi Blau stands up for his beliefs regardless of the consequences. Even in the face of criticism from right-wing rabbinic leaders whom I know he respects. If he sees an injustice, he will call it out. This was evident at the height of the sexual abuse scandals, when many rabbinic leaders were reluctant to speak out against suspected or convicted abusers in the Orthodox community. Time and again, Rabbi Blau - regardless of the personal consequences - stood up for survivors. And for this he has earned my eternal admiration.

But now his name has surfaced in yet another controversial area, in the form of a letter. One about which I have some serious misgivings. As reported by JTA:

The letter was spearheaded by Rabbi Yosef Blau, a longtime leading rabbi at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, who retired and moved to Israel this year… Dozens of Orthodox rabbis have issued “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis,” in addition to a recent cascade of open letters from Jewish voices responding to a hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave nearly two years into the Israel-Hamas war.

Unlike some of the other letters, this one stresses condemnation of Hamas and does not call for Israel to end the war in Gaza. Instead, the rabbis write:

“Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of Israel of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation.”

The letter also laments the rise of extremist voices in Israel, the hardening of sentiments about Palestinians, and the explosion of settler violence in the West Bank — which they refer to as Yehuda and Shomron, acknowledging the historic Jewish connection to the land:

“The justified anger toward Hamas has dangerously expanded by some extremists into blanket suspicion of the entire population of Gaza — children included — tarnished as future terrorists,” they write. “Meanwhile, in Yehuda and Shomron (the West Bank), extremist settler violence has resulted in the murder of civilians and has forced Palestinian villagers from their homes, further destabilizing the region.”

There is a lot to digest here. First, let me say that I do not necessarily disagree with much of the sentiment. To the extent that there is right-wing extremist violence in Yehuda and Shomron, it deserves condemnation. There is absolutely no excuse to harass Palestinians who have done nothing to you — regardless of how they may feel about you.

Taking out one’s anger and frustration over the events of October 7^th on innocent Palestinians who had zero involvement is immoral. Those who do so should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If, as many of them claim, they acted in self-defense, they can make that case at trial and see if it holds water. And those in the Knesset who defend these extremists, or worse, encourage them, are not much better morally.

That this letter does not call for a ceasefire, and recognizes that continuation of the war may be necessary, is another point on which I agree. Both the authors of the letter and I recognize that we are not in a position to make that call. Only Israel’s leaders are. I also agree that prosecuting the war does not absolve Israel of responsibility toward humanitarian issues.

But here is where I part company with Rabbi Blau. I am not convinced that Israel has ignored the humanitarian crisis. To the contrary, it seems very likely that the crisis has been manufactured or at least manipulated by Hamas. Exaggerated with lies, and amplified by refugees themselves who surely know who is responsible. Who full well that Hamas could end their suffering in an instant. And yet continue to blame Israel in accordance with their ideology that all the land, ‘from the river to the sea’, must be liberated from the ‘colonialist Jews’ who have occupied it since well before the end of the British Mandate. All of which has been perpetuated by a media all to eager to embrace the Palestinian narrative while rejecting the Israeli one.

To the extent that Israel bears any responsibility for the humanitarian crisis, it is only insofar as it must defend its people from another October 7^th. That Rabbi Blau does not even suggest this possibility is surprising. By omitting it, his declaration that Israel must not ignore the humanitarian crisis implies that Israel has done exactly that. Ignored it or worse -  created the crisis itself.

What does not surprise me, however, is the identity of most of the other signatories. As JTA notes:

“The signatories are largely drawn from the liberal edge of Modern Orthodoxy, and relatively few hold congregational roles.”

That explains a lot. I have difficulty recognizing rabbis on the far left of Orthodoxy as Orthodox at all. As I recently noted in another post, when your flagship school (YCT) proudly ordains an openly gay man with his future ‘husband’ standing right next to him, I fail to see how they can still be considered Orthodox by any standard. Even a Modern Orthodox one. As I said then: 

(The) deliberate violation of even a single mitzvah removes someone from the realm of being fully observant, especially when that violation concerns a capital offense.

So forgive me if I do not quite see their signatures on this letter as compelling or representative of a genuinely Orthodox position. Regardless of how they choose to identify.

At the end of the day, issuing a critical letter about Israel’s conduct in the midst of a war for survival strikes me as a disservice that undermines its goals. Even if their criticism contain some merit, they completely ignore Hamas’s central responsibility and ends up falsely placing the blame on Israel’s leaders. The very leaders who are fighting for the nation’s survival. That can only hamper Israel’s ability to succeed.

With 60,000 citizen-soldiers called up from the reserves, in addition to the 20,000 already serving — all poised to put the finishing touches on that goal - now is certainly not the time to do so.

*Update A response from a member of the RCA (Rabbinical Council of America) to this controversial letter can be read in the Jerusalem Post.

Is the IDF Anti Torah?

I have not changed my views on Charedi opposition to army service. Without repeating all the reasons why their opposition is so wrong, suffice it to say that there is no other way to characterize it than to call it an abandonment of their responsibility to the Jewish people

I am not going to dispute their claim that the merit of Torah study is why God protects Israel. But it cannot be denied - in my view -  that it is through the medium of the IDF that God has chosen to do so at this time.

I also completely reject the notion that a quota of 35% Charedi enlistment needed to relieve the excessive burden being placed on those who are already serving - is an ‘anti-Torah’ edict. Which has been the mantra of religious and political Charedi leadership from the very beginning.

None of this is new. I’ve said it all before. I just want to make that clear before I go on.

YWN reports the following:

A group of religious soldiers from Battalion 77 of the Armored Brigade sent a sharply worded letter to their commander following a two-day battalion vacation, Arutz Sheva reported.

The soldiers wrote that they were promised the vacation would take place in a setting that respected their religious lifestyle, including gender separation. But they were sorely disappointed when they discovered “that these were false promises.”

The soldiers said the event was held in a place where female soldiers were walking around in clothing inappropriate for their religious way of life. According to Arutz Sheva, the event was held near a pool, and although they were promised separate swimming hours, this promise was not fulfilled.

“This was a severe blow that damaged our faith, our values, and our way of life,” they wrote. “We expected the battalion—which is entrusted with the value of comradeship—to take care of the needs of soldiers who are shomrei mitzvot. Instead, we left with a feeling of hurt and betrayal.”

The letter was signed by dozens of soldiers from the battalion, who demanded an appropriate response to the situation.

I don’t know if this was a ‘one-off’ or a policy decision. Either way, if the IDF is going to live up to its promise to accommodate Charedi sensibilities, they cannot allow something like this to happen. Especially in a vacation setting. We are not talking about combat situations where compromising Charedi values might sometimes suddenly come up that are unavoidable.

But when the IDF has full control over conditions such as vacation time, they must honor their commitment. Or else lose credibility in their claim that they are ‘bending over backwards’ to accommodate Charedim. They know full well that placing Charedi soldiers at a pool with bikini-clad female soldiers is a gross violation of Charedi sensibilities. Surely they could have devised a plan to provide separate times for secular IDF soldiers and male-only times for Charedi soldiers.

If this was done intentionally - as is claimed in the YWN article - as a means of accommodating feminist ideals of egalitarianism, then Charedi leaders might actually have a point in saying that the IDF is ‘anti-Torah’. You cannot stick devout Jews who wish to observe the high standards of modesty demanded by their convictions into such a compromised setting and then claim that the IDF is not hostile to Torah.

That being said, the obligation to serve in the military during an existential war is not absolved because of modesty violations during vacation time. But neither does that absolve the IDF from accommodating religious soldiers when they can. And if this incident was deliberate, it will be impossible to argue against the Charedi claim that the IDF is anti-Torah. Even though serving in the IDF during a time of existential war is clearly not anti-Torah at all, regardless of the compromised religious circumstances that may arise.

So, as strong as my criticism of Charedi leadership has been for urging their youth to shirk their duty to their people during a time of war, I am equally critical of the IDF for shirking its responsibility to keep its word to the very community it wishes to attract into service.

This kind of thing ought never happen again. The IDF needs to apologize to these soldiers and their rabbinic leaders for dropping the ball on this one. And if there really is some sort of feminist or anti religious agenda to force Charedi soldiers into compromised modesty situations, that needs to end - YESTERDAY.

World Indifference to Jewish Suffering - and Charedim

*There are so many Jewish Organizations and politicians expressing sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, that it is comforting to see reciprocal sympathy from that community for the suffering of our people. In a grand gesture - the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York (UJA-Federation of NY) pledged $1 million to IsraAID to provide clean water, medicine, and food to displaced Gazans. 

Palestinians are showing their support for us, too. Protesting the way hostages are being treated by Hamas. There are protests all over America by Palestinian supporters over the starvation tactics used by Hamas against the hostages they so brutally captured on October 7^th. CAIR has in fact pledged a similar amount of money to be distributed to the displaced Jews of Northern Israel's border with Lebanon.

Day after day, one can hear calls by pro-Palestinian groups outraged at how fellow human beings in captivity - who happen to be Jewish - are systematically being starved to death.

Day after day, sympathy is expressed for the families of hostages suffering the mental anguish of not knowing whether their loved ones in captivity are alive, or if alive, whether they are near death’s door because of the brutality of their captors.

Nice to hear words of consolation and support for what the Jewish people are going through from Palestinians  themselves and their supporters.

Except that none of this reciprocity is true. 

These indisputable facts are never uttered by Palestinian supporters. They are totally ignored. Instead, they are busy accusing Israel of genocide against their own people without so much as a mention of the suffering the Jewish people are enduring right now because of their own Palestinian terrorists martyring themselves for the greater glory of Islam.

One might be tempted to forgive Palestinians and their supporters for being blinded to these realities. After all, their own people are suffering, and they don’t care to notice whose fault it really is.

But what about the rest of the world? They too have ignored these hard facts, choosing instead to focus their anger on Israel. Blaming it for genocide and for starving innocent civilians, even though both allegations are demonstrably false.

So, instead of the world uniting against Hamas and supporting the real targets of genocide, they are focusing their anger against the Jews. In their holier-than-thou mission to prove how much more moral they are than the Jews, they show great concern for the death and (non-existent) starvation of Palestinians while completely ignoring the suffering endured by Israelis.

And what’s their solution? To recognize the nonexistent state of Palestine. As if that is suddenly going to feed hungry Palestinians.

One might be tempted to defend these reprobates - leaders of  foreign nations who pretend to be great humanitarians. After all, are they not simply responding to the plight of Palestinians in a way that Israel might take note of and thereby change how they are doing things?

Maybe. But you cannot be a humanitarian by half. In a conflict between 2 peoples, feeling bad for the suffering of one people while ignoring the suffering of the other can only mean one thing in this case. It is latent antisemitism that guides their sense of morality. Even though they surely believe they are following in the finest tradition of morality in support of one people - the absence of support for the other people who were brutally attacked first - reveals what drives them.

They can deny it all day long. But don’t believe it! Macron and his gang of progressive cronies don’t care about Jewish suffering at all -even as they might once in a while pay lip service to it! If the emphaisis is on only one side -  and the action taken is to reward terrorism against the Jewish people by endorsing a Palestinian state - that is all you need to know about their motives. 

History strongly suggests that such a state would quickly turn into another Jihadist run Gaza, only much larger and far more lethal.  They afre motivated by an antisemitism they don’t even realize they have. So, as far as I’m concerned, Macron and his progressive cronies in Europe and Canada can all take a long walk off a short plank on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic!

Israel will have to wait until Europe and Canada restores more sane leadership to their people before they restore support for the Jewish state. In the meantime Israel will have the support of the only nation that really matters. The US. (Albeit without progressive Democrats.)

MK Meir Porush (Matzav)

On a completely unrelated subject, I am once again appalled by the attitude of Charedi politicians like Meir Porush, who cry not for the suffering of IDF soldiers and their families, but for the Charedim arrested and jailed for not responding to their draft notices. From Matzav:

The veteran politician referred to the arrests of yeshiva students for learning Torah:

“I don’t remember that Charedi Jewry, in the 77 years since the state was founded, has ever endured such a blow, such a crisis, regarding life itself and our way of life. We’ve never had anything like this.”

Porush cautioned that the crisis could spiral out of control:

“This will develop and swell, and no one will be able to stop it. Maybe now something can still be done, but later? It will be too late. The message will be clear: people will begin to be afraid. No one will be able to take responsibility for what might happen when fathers see their sons being arrested.”

When their sons get arrested?! How many Charedi fathers have lost a son in battle; or whose son lost a limb; or his eyesight; or suffers from PTSD because of the trauma of war - sometimes permanently?! 

Jail time for draft dodging?! Forgive me if I don’t sympathize all that much with these fathers for that.

It’s one thing to protest a war that involves so much blood being shed by the sons and daughters of the nation. But to protest a draft designed to relieve the burden on those who have already sacrificed so much?! To protest against drafting just 35% of their community - which would allow the other 65% to remain in the Beis Hamedrash  untouched by this suffering - is not only something I don’t support. It’s something that itself deserves a very strong counter-protest.

And the theme of such a counter-protest should be to completely reject the absurd claim that the need for some Charedim to enlist in the IDF soldiers is in any way an anti-Torah edict. That should be the most obvious counterpoint emphasized in every counter-protest, with as many Religious Zionist rabbinic leaders and Roshei Yeshiva as possible making that case. These ridiculous accusations from the Charedi world must not go unchallenged - publicly and forcefully.

And featured among the speakers at these counter-protests ought to be the brave IDF soldiers who have already given so much to their country. Let them stand and embarrass the Charedi world for refusing to recognize their own failed responsibility to Klal Yisroel. We must not allow their narrative to be the sole representation of Torah Judaism - they claim it to be.

*Post has been updated

The Pros and Cons of Continuing the War

Hundreds of thousands protest in Hostage Square yesterday (JTA)

If I’m honest, I am more conflicted now than ever. I have strong feelings both in favor of - and in opposition to - the Prime Minister’s plan to take control of all of Gaza.

First, let me reiterate. I want to be absolutely clear and consistent. I completely reject the notion that the Prime Minister would sacrifice many additional IDF casualties for the sole purpose of staying in power.

I know this is a popular view among his many detractors. But I do not believe his long record in office supports that contention. He has never shown that kind of callous indifference toward Jewish lives. Especially those directly involved in the protection of his people. Those who believe otherwise are blinded by their sheer hatred of the man, regardless of the many and varied reasons for that hatred. Some of those reasons may even be justified, but I truly believe he is sincere in his stated motive: the goal of destroying Hamas as the only means of protecting his people from another October 7^th.

I obviously agree with that goal. Which is why I have strong feelings in favor of the prime minister’s plan. Israel needs to do whatever it takes to succeed in protecting its people. If that plan is the way to do it, I am in favor of it.

There is of course no objective way of knowing whether it will work at all, or whether it will even completely backfire. But to impugn his motives as pure self-interest does not align with his many years of service to his country, which included the loss of his brother in action and his own wounds in action as an IDF soldier.

Whether the plan is wise or not is part of why I also have strong feelings in opposition to it. It is not only the risk of failure that troubles me, but also several other considerations that weigh just as heavily.

First, the remaining 50 hostages - of whom only about 20 are believed to still be alive, and barely so. Logic would seem to dictate that a group of people who see Jews as little more than vermin, to be abused at their disposal in any way imaginable, would quickly murder them all as a final gesture of defiance before being ‘martyred’ as Israel launches the final phase of the war.

Then there is the toll on the citizen-soldiers who have already gone far beyond the call of duty, serving lengthy tours of combat. The physical and mental burden on them and their families is immeasurable, as is the impact on their ability to provide for those families.

There is also the toll on Israel’s economy. Wars are expensive, and when so many citizens are serving as soldiers, GDP falls and so does government revenue.

The Israeli people were divided before the war, but the divide seems far greater now. Exponentially so! Extremists on the right have become more extreme, as have extremists on the left.

On top of that, animosity against the Charedim has never been greater, due to their lack of participation in the IDF. Their absence has only increased the burden on every other segment of Israeli society - both secular and non-Charedi religious. This resentment will surely be exacerbated by the massive call-ups of reservists, who are already more than fatigued after carrying both their own share of the burden and that of the draft-dodgers - Charedi or otherwise.

Then there is the world’s condemnation of Israel, which rarely mentions Hamas’s openly declared genocidal mission against the Jewish people. A mission they have acted upon many times and have promised to continue until fulfilled.

The hypocritical leaders of the world see only Palestinian suffering, for which they blame Israel entirely. If Netanyahu goes ahead with his plan, their accusations of genocide against Israel will only increase, while  continuing to ignore Hamas’s intentional genocide on October 7^th and the starvation of the remaining hostages.

And now, even more Democrats in Congress have joined that chorus, including prominent Jewish members such as progressive Democrat Jamie Raskin, who co-sponsored a bill severely restricting U.S. arms transfers to Israel.

And finally, there is the uncertainty of the ‘day after’.

All of this explains the side of me that is opposed to lengthening the war. We are all tired of fighting. The question is whether fighting on - whatever the cost in blood and treasure - is necessary. Because if we do not, we may have gained nothing other than the world’s condemnation.

Is the price of complete success worth it - if it’s even possible? Or is the price too high? Is it possible to say that the victory we have already achieved is enough to ensure safety of Israel for the foreseeable future? That if we stop now, and bring all the hostages home through negotiation, the price of not finishing off Hamas will still have been worth it?

I can’t answer the question. But just yesterday, the largest protest yet against Netanyahu was held in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined with most of the hostage families, who fear their loved ones will be killed if the new Gaza invasion proceeds. Their message was clear: nearly two years of war is enough. They want their lives back, and they want their loved ones back. Even if it means a deal with Hamas.

This is why I am conflicted. I honestly do not know who is right. The arguments on both sides are compelling.

May God help us make the right decisions.

How Jewish Are the Jews of New York?

How Jewish? Sadly, not very. That may seem shocking for a city regularly touted as the most Jewish city in the United States. About 12% of New York’s population is Jewish. Of the nearly 9 million people that live there, that means about 1.1 million are Jewish. Of those, 44% voted for Zohran Mamdani to be their next mayor. Looking only at younger Jewish voters (ages 18–44), support for Mamdani surged to 67%!

The idea of supporting someone who openly advocates for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world - which also happens to be home to the largest number of Jews today - can only mean one thing: their Judaism means next to nothing to them. And the younger they are, the truer that is.

A retort often made is that Mamdani’s support transcends Middle East politics, reflecting frustration with a political status quo that has ignored working-class New Yorkers. His progressive agenda, they argue, resonates with those who feel left behind by ‘politics as usual’. But that does not excuse ignoring the existential threat to the State of Israel.

Neither does sympathy for Palestinian suffering, or even anger at Israel’s prime minister for that suffering, excuse abandoning your own people. And certainly not when the candidate in question has said he does not support the existence of a Jewish state, has been deeply involved in the anti-Israel movement long before October 7^th, and refuses to condemn calls to ‘Globalize the Intifada’ - a slogan that glorifies suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.

Any Jew who can support a man like that for public office is not much of a Jew. No matter how loudly they protest that they are. No matter how often they claim their support for Mamdani is in the finest tradition of Jewish values. For them, Mamdani’s identity as a Democratic Socialist is seen as an extension of those values.

Think about that for a moment. The younger a Jew in New York is, the more likely they are to support someone like that. Is it any wonder that when people talk about a ‘New York Liberal’, they’re usually talking about New York Jews?

These statistics sicken me. It is beyond sad that this has happened to the Jewish people increasingly over generations since the earliest waves of immigration to the United States.

It is heartbreaking that Torah observance was abandoned by so many of those immigrants. It’s hard to blame them. They believed they had no choice. Very few had enough courage of their religious convictions to strive for the near impossible task of finding a job that did not entail working on Shabbos. The struggle for parnassah (livelihood) made it seem impossible for most Jewish immigrants to support their families without that. Even if they wanted their children to remain observant, very few succeeded. First, there was the pull of the melting pot culture luring their young into the pursuit of American-style ‘happiness’. A lifestyle hardly compatible with Jewish observance.  

Added to that was the hypocrisy of fathers who broke Shabbos for work while demanding that their children keep it. There were few if any religious schools to reinforce the observance their parents tried to instill in their children.

The result was predictable. Most young Jews ran as fast and as far as they could from their Judaism. They raised their own children as fully assimilated Americans, unfettered by the old-world ways of their European parents. And with the help of a misguided heterodoxy that ignored observance of their members entirely, we now have young Jews in New York proudly supporting the most anti-Israel mayor in the city’s history.

And they do so arrogantly, with the absurd claim that their support reflects the most Jewish of values.

So while the trajectory away from Judaism is sad, it angers me is that any Jew could support a man like Mamdani.

It doesn’t matter that he won’t be able to enact anti-Israel policies at the federal level. What matters is the outsized voice he will have as mayor of the largest city in the United States, with the largest Jewish population. Whose ‘savvy’ young Jews supported him by more than two-thirds (67%). 

(Orthodox Jews did not support Mamdani. But they are only 19% of the total number of Jews in the city.)

Mamdani is poised to win the general election. And there doesn’t seem to be anything anyone can do about it. That Jews themselves are enabling it makes me sick.

Are Zionists Worse than Nazis?!

Taking a stand against the Zionist 'Nazis' (YWN)

I truly feel bad for Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, whom I consider a dear friend and someone with like-minded values. He is truly one of the good guys. A Charedi Rav who actually realizes the injustice of Charedim refusing to participate in the IDF during a time of war. That is something any decent human being should instinctively feel, regardless of how ‘frum’ they are. But as a Charedi who understands the imperative of respecting religious leadership, he is at odds with their views right now. Here is how he put it in his most recent Cross Currents article:

As the war and the issue of Charedi service in Tzahal both drag on, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated. It is harder each day to maintain silence about the main — and ancillary — issues. I’ve become more and more vocal, while trying so hard to maintain proper kevod talmidei chachamim while doing so. It is not easy.

I’m sure that considering his impassioned views, saying ‘It’s not easy’ is an understatement.

In some ways, I have similar issues. I fully admit that I am nowhere near these leaders in Torah knowledge or in the ability to give advice based on that. But at the same time, I have other leaders whom I respect just as much, who vehemently disagree with these Charedi leaders. Both on this issue and on others.

And I could not disagree with the Charedi leadership more on the issue of drafting Charedim into the IDF.

As I have said many times, their views are often expressed in hyperbolic exaggerations, if not outright falsehoods (which they might actually believe) about what the government is trying to do.  

There might be some truth to what they say in isolated cases, where certain anti-religious politicians or members of the IDF brass are guilty of what they’re accused. But the reality is that the majority are only interested in ensuring there are enough citizen-soldiers to fight in this existential war. They also want to relieve the burden of those who have already gone far beyond the call of duty by serving extra-long tours of duty.

I have to wonder whether these leaders are as clueless as they seem about this. Based on their rhetoric, they appear to be. But their rhetoric is so outlandish, so egregiously wrong, and so clearly designed to incite anger in their followers, that I have to believe their “cluelessness” is intentional.

Their constant harangue against the government, using hyperbole usually associated with Palestinian protestors or Neturei Karta, has fueled grassroots protests by Charedi youth determined to dodge the draft at all costs. These leaders have even called the draft a ‘war against the Torah’ more often than I can count.

As noted by YWN:

Thousands of Bnei Torah converged Thursday night outside the Beit Lid military prison, protesting the continued imprisonment of yeshiva bochurim who refused to bow to the government’s renewed draft decrees.

The demonstration, called for and attended by HaRav Dov Landau shlit”a, came at the climax of a week of demonstrations against the army’s escalating campaign to drag bochurim away from the daled amos shel halacha and into the barracks. Rav Landau had personally visited two of the imprisoned bochurim last week, telling them, “The entire olam haTorah stands behind you. Be strong, and hold firm.”

Groups from Peleg Yerushalmi, Slonim Chassidim, and other kehillos broke through police barricades before being pushed back by riot units. Some burned and tore up draft orders, while others sang and danced while shouting cries of “Gevalt!” and “We won’t give up even one bochur!”

Banners and shouts from the crowd made clear the protest’s purpose: “No quotas, no sanctions!” and “Free the hostages!” — a reference not to captives in Gaza, but to the imprisoned bochurim.

I only hope that this ‘war’ against Charedim does not cause any of these young people to lose life or limb, suffer PTSD, or lose their family’s source of income. I hope their families don’t spend sleepless nights wondering if they will ever see them alive again.

After all, we are talking — according to some rabbinic leaders — about a Zionist army that is akin to Nazi Germany. As noted by RabbiNatan Slifkin:

Rabbi Yigal Rosen declares that the Zionists are worse than the Nazis, and claims that they would readily massacre Charedim in gas chambers!

Does that mean that religious Zionists are like religious Nazis?

Hmmm. Maybe the Charedim have a point.

What say you, Rabbi Adlerstein?