The end of the Yazidis

Sir, - The one thing that we can be certain of concerning the Yazidis is that they are destined for annihilation. They are a people living in northern Iraq whose religion is an amalgam of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. They have suffered persecution for centuries, and of late have become the target of an extremist group of Muslim fanatics known as ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, who are determined to wipe them out if they do not choose to convert to the true Islam. In the ISIS depraved program for ruling the world and forcibly converting it to a Sharia-ruled Islam, there is no room for contamination by anyone of non-pure Islamic faith.

In their maniacal zealotry, ISIS have slaughtered many hundreds of Yazidis by means of revived dormant cruelties: burying alive hundreds of children, beheading and butchering menfolk, and raping and enslaving countless women.

What is the Yazidis crime? That they are different. What is the crime of the enlightened world? That they let it happen.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Chris de Bruyn]

Jerusalem Post July 30: Pray for the IDF, not instead of it!

Sir, - Rabbi Shalom Cohen, the successor of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as the spiritual leader of Shas, has demonstrated a grievous lack of sensitivity, a gross ingratitude, and an offensively mistaken appreciation of Jewish priorities when asserting that "Israel doesn't need an army because prayers protect it." 

At a time when tens of families are crying over the loss of those most dear to them, and when almost the entire people of Israel are united in sharing their heartbreak for the fallen precious fathers, sons, and brothers – all members of the IDF, who gave their lives in order to defend us from annihilation – , Rabbi Cohen, instead of issuing some message of comfort and hope chooses to make a declaration that offends us all.

While praying is of extreme importance at all times, happy and sad, Jewish history bears no record of their being sufficient in themselves, neither for warding off evil nor in Heaven's appreciation. The great European centers of Torah and piety were obliterated despite the oceans of tears and the myriads of fervent prayers. When the Bible confronts the Israelites with an attack by Amalek, Moses orders Joshua to choose men to go out to do battle. He does not suggest that they pray or sit and learn.

As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Cohen should indeed be praying by leading prayers of Hallel and Thanksgiving to the Almighty for the miracles He has wrought for us through the agency of the IDF's valiant soldiers and its brilliant technology.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Youtube, Israel Defense Forces]

Mis-God-ed Haredi Values

Sir, - Rabbi Berel Wein succeeds in presenting us with a most insightful and robust analysis of some of the important tensions and contradictions that plague the Lithuanian Haredi community. He succeeds in doing so by employing satirical humor and thus is able to some degree soften the portrayal of the often very sharp conflicts that exist in that very distinct community. He is further aided in his coherent analysis by a sensitivity that stems from a sense of identity (since he identifies himself as belonging to this community) which serves to endow his critical remarks with not only a profound sense of poignancy but also with the ring of truth and accuracy.

He correctly points to some of the crucial matters in which the Lithuanian Haredim have adopted customs that intensely highlight the dissonance between their present communal practices and the desired righteous path expounded by our Prophets and prescribed by our sages. The dignity of labor that enables economic sustenance and the avoidance of becoming a burden to others, alongside the proud participation in a military that defends the Jewish people and the state of Israel, are two of the most important of these divisive issues. The ambiance within which these pivotal attitudes find expression is pervaded by a deeply felt sense of distrust of the entire Zionist enterprise and of all its institutions based on an attribution of illegitimacy to any major development in the story of our people that has not yet won the imprimatur of those who see themselves as God's spokesmen. This is especially so in their view of the fact that many of the State's founding fathers were visibly secular.

Unfortunately, their extreme misguided and mis-God-ed outlooks have also succeeded in influencing and misshaping the values of other segments of the Haredi community. The former Poale Agudath Israel, with its healthy positive outlook toward the nobility and importance of labor, and favoring of the full participation in the economic and military life of Eretz Yisrael within a framework of diligent observance, has slowly witnessed the erosion of those values and their substitution by a separatist orientation. The former Shas MK Rabbi Chaim Ansalem has bemoaned the negative and alien inroads made into the mores and values of the traditional Sephardic community regarding attitudes toward the Zionist program and the necessity to maintain a vibrant work ethic and a vigilant security structure.

The story related by Rabbi Wein about the Haredi professional engineer who sought his counsel about making a trip to America in order to "schnorr" funds for a child's wedding, when questioned if it was not more desirable to work in his profession rather than go begging, replied that in the milieu in which he was living a father who worked (and did not spend his full time learning) would have a negative effect on the Shidduch prospects. This extreme anecdote, while inviting both pity and revulsion, also serves to illustrate the extreme problems within the Haredi community.

Above all, one would expect from those who claim to value Torah to be first in their ability to discern the Divine Presence that accompanies Jewish History and that endows the life of Am Yisrael and its reborn sovereign State with distinctive majesty and eminent religious significance.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

Haredim Fighting the Draft

Sir,  - The unsightly scene captured by the photograph on your front page showing ultra-Orthodox men protesting outside a military prison is in reality depicting a phenomenon far more ugly and perilous than appears at a first glance. In fact your underlined caption "Fighting the Draft"  that appears beneath the picture is itself quite misleading.

A deeper understanding of what is taking place can be found in the sign that appears in the center of the photograph and reads "It is better to die than to enlist in the Zionist apostasy army." This frenetic fringe group is without either hesitation or subtlety, publicly declaring their opposition not only to the drafting into the army but opposition to the army itself. For them the army is 'apostasy' and 'impure' and it expresses a complete detachment that forbids entrance into its satanic and sinful clutches under any circumstances be they benign or enforced. The army for them is tarfus and they proclaim their willingness to die rather than being part of it.

Unfortunately, the above extreme fanaticism, while it is being expressed by a minority of Haredim, is a reflection of a more widely held attitude that views the entire Zionist enterprise, including the establishment of the State of Israel and all of its institutions, as illegitimate. The only hope of altering their position would be the (admittedly unlikely) condemnation and reeducation of this group by the respected sages of the Haredi world.

In the meantime. they will continue to desecrate God's name and invite the growing resentment of most Israelis, secular and religious, who are able to see and appreciate the Divine Hand that was responsible for the miracles involved in the establishment of Israel and its glorious army.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Nir Hason]

Amnon Yitzchak: Why Women Shouldn't Drive (According to the Torah)

Sir, - Alongside the sober headlines concerning the outrageous murder of a chayal and the somber news about the negotiations with Iran, the Jerusalem Post is to be commended for providing some comic relief when it quotes Amnon Yitzchak's "Don't allow women to drive." Both this papal pronouncement and the arguments presented in its support border on the ludicrous.

Amnon Yitzchak concludes that women should not drive because we lack any knowledge of their being engaged as wagon drivers before wagons evolved into cars. Needless to say, we lack that same information about women being accountants, lawyers, doctors, plumbers, or university deans. Incidentally, that same lack of information relates to men as well, where we have no evidence in the past of men serving as pilots, truck-drivers, or bond traders.

On a more serious note, when Amnon Yitzchak attempts to back his abrasive pronouncement by arguing that women's driving exposes them to immodest behavior by bringing them into contact with men, I would like to call his attention to the fact that Moshe's wife Ziporah, Yitzchak's wife Rebecca, and Yaakov's wife Rachel were all met at wells, where the presence of male shepherds was most definitely noted.

The socio-economic realities of the modern era have engendered the need for women to be fully and actively engaged in the marketplace and in all aspects of commercial life. Haredi society also promotes this as wives are encouraged to be the bread-winners in order to support their husbands learning Torah in a Kollel.

Finally, modest behavior is an extremely important element in the standards of  Jewish values, but this depends on the deportment of the individual, male or female in whatever professional context they are engaged in, and does not preclude driving a car or a spacecraft. 

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

The True Religious Jews of Beit Shemesh

Sir, -  My focus on Beit Shemesh, I must admit, stems from the fact that my son and his family are residents in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph. Although they themselves are religious Zionists and totally observant, they have chosen to live in a religiously pluralistic community comprising Haredim, Religious Zionist, and Secular. They felt that it is important for the building of a healthy Israeli society wherein the various components may learn to appreciate and respect one another and thus strengthen the ties that bind us all.

Sadly, now 14 years later there is almost no one left of the secular segment, mainly due to the unfortunate fact that the Haredi world does not view this goal as being of paramount importance and in no manner does it encourage the tolerance necessary towards its realization.

The usual meticulous standards of Haredi religious observance seem to totally disappear when engaged in a bitterly contested mayoralty election. Ethics, morality, civility, truth, and honorable behavior can be easily exchanged by deception, lies, name calling, and totally irreligious behavior -- and this is done despite Harav Ovadiah Yosef's ubiquitous portrait. Is not the portrait of this Torah giant being debased when exploited for partisan political purposes?

The incumbent mayor had signs stating that "True religious Jews vote Abutbul." Who are these true religious Jews? Are they dressed in black garb, getting themselves arrested for the use of fraudulent identity cards in order to elect a 'religious' candidate, or is it rather my son -- the graduate of a Hesder Yeshiva and a practicing attorney who while strict in his religious observance continues to serve in the Army Reserves even though he has long finished with his reserve obligations, and in all his endeavors strives to bring honor to God's name?

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: צביקי ולדמן]

Immaculate Misconception

Shalom Nechama, - Out of respect for the Jerusalem Post's enormous Catholic readership and for the sake of accuracy, permit me to correct a gross error that Metro shares with many others.

Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic church and refers to the birth of Mary who was born without Original Sin. Not to be confused with the virginity of Mary or the virgin birth of Jesus.

In good faith,

Zev Chamudot

Petach Tikvah

Where's the Real Jew Haven? Israel vs. New York

Sir, – Yair Lapid’s statement made in an interview with CBS’s Charlie Rose (“Lapid: Jews safer in NY than in Israel,” October 9) was both boorish and simplistic, and not at all worthy of a senior government minister.

Objectively speaking, Lapid has no real facts about life in New York that could lend support to his statement, and frankly I am not certain what it means. The one possible area where it has a ring of accuracy would be that of road accidents caused by the criminally irresponsible Israeli drivers.

With the great amount of talk about the need for hasbara (public diplomacy) and the concern that Israeli students and professors traveling abroad serve as ambassadors carrying a positive image of Israel, flippant, thoughtless statements like the above serve to obliterate much of that effort.

At any rate, while it might indeed be safer for Jews in New York than in Israel, beyond any shadow of a doubt Israel is the securest place for the Jewish people. This is so because Israel has two invincible sources of help, as reported by columnist Leonard Lyons immediately after the Six Day War.

Israel, Lyons explained, was aided by both a supernatural and a natural source.

The supernatural was its army. The natural was its God.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

[Image credit: Roman Iakoubtchik]

Shelly Yachimovich and the Irrationality of Protecting Jewish Lives

Sir, - The murders of two IDF soldiers in two days prompted several ministers and MK's to petition Prime Minister Netanyahu to reconsider the further release of Palestinian prisoners. Opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich argued vehemently against doing so, and added that Netanyahu's decision to permit Jewish tenants to move into a building legally owned by them was 'irrational' and designed to stop the peace process.

Of course Yacimovich's thinking seems to be telling us not to become overly upset with the murder of two soldiers, in view of her unhesitant and unmitigated backing for the release of hundreds of terrorist prisoners responsible for the death of many times that number of innocent victims. However, when she accuses Netanyahu of acting irrationally, I would like to try to fathom what takes place within her cerebral eco-system that can find rationality in the release of these low-lifes before any declaration by the PA authorities that they absolutely and unequivocally disavow terrorism, before they act accordingly by halting their heroization of terrorists, before they revamp their hate filled educational structure, and before they once and for all brand it with the stigma of religious and moral repugnance that it deserves.

Shelly quite often parrots the mantra that all the above is necessary in order to assure the continuation of the PA-Israel negotiations so that Israel will remain a Jewish and democratic state. However, in a joint interview this past week of Yacimovich and Likud Minister Yisrael Katz by Dan Margalith, when asked what should be the proper reaction to these vile murders, Yachimovich asserted that we can expect terror to continue even after her coveted peace agreement is reached.

In reaction to that statement and in the name of national sanity, if given the choice between a Jewish and democratic state faced with ongoing terror after the signing of a peace agreement, and a Jewish state that will see as its most important duty the elimination of terror and the protection of Jewish lives, let us indeed choose life.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Ze'ev Yanay]

Islamic Culture of Death Goes Global

Sir - The horrendous headlines that are distributed throughout Sunday's paper confront the intelligent reader with at least two important issues of concern that are deserving of serious attention. Starting on the front page we read, "Bombs kill 42 outside Sunni mosques in Tripoli," and we are further informed, "Suicide bomber targets Baghdad cafe, killing 25," and still further we learn, "Nigerian Islamists kill 44 in northeast." Add to the above the massacre of civilians in Syria and the hundreds of dead in the turmoil in Egypt we are provided unfortunately with conclusive testimony that Islam has been taken captive by a culture of death.

1) The continued heroization of terrorists and the P.A's ongoing incitement to hatred through its schools and mosques would seem to clearly locate them well within the destructive parameters of that culture. Does it make any sense to conduct negotiations with those who do not ascribe any value to the fundamental belief in the sanctity of human life?

2) How can we explain the extraordinary fact of the failure of Prime Minister Erdogan to blame Israel for the murderous bombs described above? Was he, in violation of Sharia law, inebriated? Was he institutionalized for paranoia? Is he possibly doing Tshuva? It is most important for the geo-political alignments in this area to know the answers.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Religious Freedom Coalition]

Ortal Shmueli vs. Lag Baomer Animal Abuse

Sir, - I must confess that it was curiosity that prompted me to read the article by Rachel Avraham about Ortal Shmueli titled "A wonderful candidate for Beersheba's city council." Never having heard her name, I was interested in finding out why she merited an article that essentially was nothing other than a letter of recommendation for her election, plus some statements by Shmueli herself expressing her interest in helping Olim and some of the programs that she would like to promote.

Shmueli, however, also informs us about an additional agenda to that of serving the citizens of Beersheba, one in which she wants to help educate the population against the abuse of animals. In pursuit of that goal, she is quoted as saying that "many children around the country throw animals into fires during Lag Baomer and abuse animals in horrific ways."

My family and I have celebrated Lag Baomer more than 40 times in Israel, and I state categorically that we have never witnessed or heard from any of our many friends about the revolting practice that Shmueli describes. It is a most unfortunate and baseless exaggeration, that not only brings no credit to its author but will also undoubtedly be added to the list of calumnies against the people and state of Israel. It is a hapless statement that has no redeeming qualities and for me reflects quite negatively on the merits of Ortal Shmueli.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: אדיר-מתן אוזן] 

Keep Jerusalem UNITED, Keep Jerusalem JEWISH

Sir, - Gershon Baskin's article is basically another one of Baskin's attempts to deceive and thereby influence the Israeli public towards accepting his perverse pro-Palestinian position.

The attempt at deception begins with the very title "Negotiating Jerusalem, negotiating peace" -- by which Baskin means that he would like to see Israel totally capitulate to the Palestinian position and accept their claims of entitlement to the Old City and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Presently Jerusalem is united under Israeli sovereignty, so the P.A. has nothing to offer at the so-called negotiations other than what exists in Baskin's delusional scenarios.

United Jerusalem as Israel's capital affords unprecedented equal rights and access to all its citizens, as well as full freedom of worship. Throughout the millennia it has never served as the political or religious capital of any sovereign entity other than that established by the ancient Davidic Kingdom or the modern state of Israel. 

The hundreds of years of Muslim dominance in this region have always placed the capital cities in Damascus, Baghdad, or Istanbul -- but never in Jerusalem. Baskin has the effrontery to cite Jordan's annexation of East Jerusalem in 1949, when Jordan joined several other Arab countries in their attack to eliminate the new state of Israel. In the 19 years of Hashemite rule, Jerusalem was never considered its capital. It did, however, manage to divide the city by barbed wire fences and walls that cut off the Old City and the Jewish holy places from Israel and the Jewish world.

Baskin's unmitigated gall continues with his positive approval of the Palestinian position as including the entire Old City of Jerusalem including the Jewish Quarter and the Jewish holy places. He is, however, willing to accept a division of the Old City that would leave the Jewish Quarter under Israeli sovereignty while the other three quarters -- Armenian, Christian, and Muslim -- would come under Palestinian sovereignty. Under what flight of fancy should the Armenian or Christian quarters be turned over to Muslim rule, when faced with indisputable evidence of deliberate Muslim deprivation of the Christian community of Bethlehem and active anti-Christian behavior throughout the Muslim world???

Baskin is most treacherous when trying to tackle the question of the Temple Mount. He makes himself completely oblivious to the harsh reality where the Muslim Waqf absolutely forbids Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. A Jew is presently not permitted to move his lips without being stopped by Muslim officers. If this shamefully abusive denial of freedom of worship for Jews exists while under general Israeli sovereignty, can any honest and sane person other than Baskin truly believe it would change under Muslim sovereignty? I challenge Baskin to find any recognized Muslim religious authority that would back his claim that Muslim Sharia law permits the Jews to pray in the Temple Mount mosques. 

He goes on, cynically finding support for his anti-Jewish bias in some rabbis from the orthodox world who oppose praying on the Temple Mount. Their objection is based on the state of sanctity of the Temple Mount and their zealous concern that this sanctity not be defiled. He obviously does not understand that their opposition would have to include Muslims as well.

Finally, Baskin -- who is unable to offer any coherent reasons for denying the status quo -- asks the Jews to accept his Palestinian program and wait for the Messiah to solve the difficulties inherent in his myopic views. I too suggest that we all await the coming of the Messiah, but until then a united Jerusalem should and must remain the capital of Israel.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Lower image credit: Wikimedia user Ori~]

Ultra-Orthodox Chutzpah Won't Appreciate IDF

Sir - The ugly and irresponsible statements made by self-styled ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student Doniel Hool provide stark evidence that the curriculum of his yeshiva is heavily weighted toward teaching ingratitude, resentment and hate, while leaving little time for the actual study of Torah or the meaning of "Ahavat Yisrael." 

 

He describes the State of Israel (of which he feels no part) as the biggest freeloaders in the history of mankind because it receives large sums in military and hospital aid. If Doniel was to remove the blinders from his eyes, he would appreciate the fact that it is the men, women and children -- including tens of thousands of haredim -- who constitute "Klal Yisrael," that are the beneficiaries of this largesse when they receive the protection provided by the IDF or, when ill, fill its hospitals.

When Doniel relates the story of Ben-Gurion and Hebron as told by Rabbi Sarna to his father, he seems to be unaware that Rabbi Sarna himself begins with "when Jewish soldiers captured Hebron" and an appreciation of that fact is lost on Doniel. Ben-Gurion may have indeed expressed willingness to acknowledge the contribution of the Hebron bocherim and their spiritual input to the final outcome, but in no way did he imply that Hebron was won due to the sole effort of those bocherim. We are sadly left with the irony of Ben-Gurion's granting recognition to the spiritual side, whereas according to Doniel's understanding there is no recognition or appreciation that is due to the heroic fighters of the IDF.
 

Doniel describes his father as a most worthy man who volunteered to come to Israel during the Six Day War, and I say therefore with a degree of certainty that he does not seem the type that would besmirch the good name of Israel by repeating the malicious blasphemies and falsehoods about those "who want to close down yeshivot and other houses of ultra-Orthodox study."

 

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

Jews on Temple Mount Expose Meretz Hypocrisy

Sir, - It is rather ironic that the subject of prayer invites such contradictory and hypocritical responses from Meretz MKs. At least two members of the Knesset from Meretz were among the most demanding and outspoken of those present when the "Women of the Wall," in defiance of Supreme Court decisions and police regulations, chose to conduct their Rosh Chodesh Prayers at the Kotel. They certainly related with complete disdain and total rejection of any claims that their behavior would perhaps stimulate violent reactions from the haredi groups that pray at the Wall on a daily basis and maintain established traditions of behavior and prayer that have been in practice for centuries.

How blatantly and disgustingly different is their reaction to the wish of the new head of the Knesset Interior C'tee MK Miri Regev who states that Jews should be able to pray at the Temple Mount. This would rectify the patently absurd and maliciously discriminatory policy of the Muslim Wakf that presently dictates the arrest of Jews who dare to even move their lips in silent prayer on the Temple Mount. Despite the complete justice and fairness of Regev's attempts to establish a policy of sanity on the Temple Mount, Meretz MK Michal Roisin vehemently states her objection and issues a dire threat about the igniting of a third intifada.

It is about time that Meretz MKs understand that it is not the location where a Jew prays that disturbs the Palestinians, it is rather our very presence that they cannot tolerate.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

How NOT to Make Peace With Palestinians

Sir, - When Gershon Baskin declares "We know how to make peace" it becomes immediately apparent that he is attempting to use the royal "We" to serve as a cover for the load emanating from his pedestrian boastful "I." Without any hesitation he informs us that the imaginary agreements that he is comfortable with regarding borders, divided Jerusalem, refugees, security, prisoner exchange, etc.  must be the ones that the State of Israel adopt in order that peace can come to our region.

I personally beg to differ with Gershon, and also unhesitatingly declare that most of Israel's citizens, as clearly established by the results of Israel's recent democratic elections, do not accept his quite obvious pro-Palestinian positions and the one-sided concessions that he is prepared to make.

I would like to challenge Baskin on two most important issues. Despite the ease with which he divides Jerusalem, I would like him to address the absurdity of the reality that prevails today on the Temple Mount. After a costly war to liberate Jerusalem and the declaration that "Har habayit b'yadenu," Israel with super magnanimity granted the Muslim Wakf supervision over that sacred area. This magnanimity has resulted with the arrest by the Muslim Wakf of any Jew who dares move his lips even in silent prayer on the Temple Mount. Has this travesty ever troubled Baskin, and how would he in his superior wisdom deal with it?

The second issue is that of releasing Palestinian terrorist prisoners. I noticed that Gershon in the short biographical sketch beneath his article now includes "Initiator and negotiator of the behind-the-scenes that led to the release of Gilad Schalit." I would like to enlist Baskin's boasted negotiating skills so that Israel can release one Palestinian terrorist prisoner in exchange for 1,000 terrorists that they hand over to us, made up of 500 Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam and the remainder from the PA's al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, and only then may he rightfully gain our respect.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

Ponevezh Time Movie: A Disturbing Glimpse

Sir, - 'Ponevezh Time,' the film made by Yehonatan Indursky, provides us with an intimate, yet obviously caring look into one of the haredi world's most prestigious bastions of study. Indursky, who from the age of 16 spent three years at the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, brings an insider's knowledge to his portrayal, together with a great measure of empathy and understanding. However, his film alerts us to a number of serious concerns that are common to huge institutions, be they haredi or secular. 

 

click here to view full trailer

The most blatant of the concerns begins with the circumstances that caused Indursky himself to feel compelled to leave the Yeshiva that he so much admired. He relates the feeling of being "utterly at sea there" and "on your own, with no one to turn to." Did this most respected institution maintain an atmosphere that valued excellence in Torah studies above the emotional health and well-being of the individual student? 

In view of the fact that most of those who enter Ponevezh are of adolescent age -- and are thereby afflicted and conflicted with much inner emotional turmoil regarding their religious, theological, sexual, economic, social, and military behavior -- it would seem that a major priority would be a staff that combined great Torah knowledge with a warmth of personality to provide a responsive ear and understanding for their concerns.

 

The great Torah sages throughout Jewish history knew how to combine their brilliance in Torah with brilliance of character -- along with a deep understanding of the human condition -- so they were successful at imparting their love of learning to their disciples with warmth, acceptance, and love. 

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

J.Post January 8: Accusation and Insult

Sir, – Kollel teacher Daniel Adin, in his pious, self-righteous zeal to protect his perceptions of certain Torah values and institutions, is evidently unable to do so without resort to ungracious accusations and personal insults (“Pundits from afar,” Comment & Features, January 6). It is of utmost importance to examine whether the targets of his condemnations are indeed deserving of his opprobrium.

Adin attacks the representatives of the American Jewish Committee for their focus on and criticism of the Chief Rabbinate while the organization itself has failed to curb the 50 percent rate of assimilation existing in American Jewry. Is the AJC alone guilty of this deficiency? Is he not at all disturbed by the persistent reality of this rate despite the existence of a vast network of Jewish day schools, yeshivot and kollelim that are active throughout the United States? [Have the glorious centers of Torah learning succeeded in curbing the encroachment of the Haskalah movement and the assimilation of European Jewry?]

In dealing with the magnitude and the serious ramifications that the conversion issue has for the whole structure and security of our Jewish state, I believe that Adin could be far more appreciative of the sacred work being performed by God-fearing people on behalf of the well-being of clal Yisrael.

Perhaps some hint of a proper direction can be found in Chabad, which insists on maintaining proper halachic standards while at the same time recognizing the infinite worth of that dormant Jewish spark to be found in all and creating the inclusive, warm and nonjudgmental atmosphere necessary for its revival.

Adin also chooses to vigorously condemn the late Rabbi Shlomo Goren and, unfortunately, goes well beyond stating wherein they disagree while maliciously accusing him of manipulating Halacha for purposes of personal political gain. I, however, firmly believe that the people of Israel, and particularly its religious element, owe a great debt of gratitude to Rabbi Goren for boldly using his great knowledge of Torah and Halacha to show how Torah and Jewish values can and must be applied to our new conditions of sovereignty and modernity.

[His well-deserved paratrooper wings went a long way in showing how a bearded and learned Hevron Ilui, can fully participate in all parts of the emerging Israel reality. The fact of Kashrut in the IDF kitchens is one of the many achievements whereby he has undoubtedly merited honorable recognition in the heavenly roles.]

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

Top Three Crimes in Israel

Sir,- Three of the most heinous criminal events in recent times that have traumatized Israel are surely:

1) The massacre of the Fogel family at Itamar.

2) The four hour rape-torture of the 83 yr. old woman in Tel Aviv.

3) Moshe Feiglin praying out loud on the Temple Mount.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

J.Post November 27: Words Better Said

Sir, – I begin this letter with a great deal of trepidation. It is essentially being written in reaction to statements made by two men, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, both saintly Torah giants for whom I have the utmost esteem and reverence.

I feel compelled to respectfully differ with their joint response when asked during Operation Pillar of Defense whether people from the South who were under bombardment should leave their homes. Both answered in the affirmative, saying these people should go to Bnei Brak, where they themselves reside. In a place where Torah is studied, they said, damage cannot be inflicted (“Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: May our enemies fall by the sword before our soldiers,” November 16).

Unfortunately, their explicit promise of safety cannot find support in the historical record – the martyrdom of Rabbi Akiva and the plague that decimated thousands of his pupils; the annihilation of entire Torah communities by the Crusaders; and the Holocaust’s extermination of Europe’s greatest Torah centers together with six million of our brethren.

I am troubled as well by the obvious impracticality of the suggestion.

Is the city of Bnei Brak in fact able or willing to accommodate an influx of a large group of outsiders? Most troubling, however, is the negative and divisive implications in the worthy rabbis’ advice (perhaps unintentional) that separated those who might choose to make the move and the many left to their fate.

Would it not be far more appropriate for the rabbis to have issued a declaration that all of Israel is worthy of the Almighty’s favorable countenance, without distinction of location? Should they not have been among the first to acknowledge with pride that in fact there is more Torah learning by more Torah learners in the State of Israel today than in any other period of Jewish history? Finally, should rabbinical leadership not be offering a message of encouragement and solace to the myriad of people whose lives and well-being have been shattered by years of constant terrorist violence? Should they not be the leaders who joyfully point to the daily miracles that we witness in our relatively few casualties, and the miracles being performed through the Iron Dome defense system? Should they not be involved with urging and beseeching the general populace to listen to and obey the safety instructions of the Homefront Command? And should they not be praying for and thanking the Creator for his care for all those who participate in the defense of our beleaguered country, and joyfully and publicly proclaim that the “Guardian of Israel neither slumbers or sleeps?” 

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

Perplexed: Yona Metzger on Israeli Conscription

Sir, - After a careful reading of the interview with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, I feel much in need of a guide for the perplexed. I found his answer to the most crucial question posed to him as a Chief Rabbi, namely "What do you think should replace the Tal Law?" to be most problematic.

After describing his own service as a gunner in the IDF's 7th Armored Brigade, his convoluted response "Unfortunately, there is a relatively large number of boys officially registered or partially registered at yeshivot, and some of them aren't registered at all, and they wander around, and sometimes become involved in crime and drugs. There are said to be more than 10,000 such youths today. They could fill several brigades in the IDF." This reply gives the impression of an attempt to avoid a direct and clear response, and is both confusing as well as bordering on the deceptive.

Are we to understand that Rabbi Metzger is "donating" ten thousand delinquents for service in the IDF? What about the tens of thousands of  haredim that were exempted by the Tal Law? Why indeed does Rabbi Metzger not propose their conscription for army service combined with Torah study, similar to the program he himself participated in with apparent great success?

Isn't it about time that a Chief Rabbi in Israel declares, that just like Torah study is an obligation for every Jew, so too is service to the country and the security of its people no less an obligation, and incumbent on all its citizen?

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Lior Golgher]