An Orthodox Perspective on Antisemitism

I have to admit that I am a bit more apprehensive these days about displaying my Jewish identity in public. Ever since the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after Israel’s defensive war against Hamas in Gaza, there has been a precipitous rise in antisemitic attacks.

While I do feel safe walking the streets in my Chicago neighborhood of West Rogers Park - home to a large concentration of Orthodox Jews - it is also home to a sizeable Muslim population, many likely of Palestinian origin. We cross paths constantly. The anger many Palestinians may feel toward Israel, and by association toward the Jewish people, concerns me each time we pass each other on the street.

I often walk with these thoughts in mind, even as those brief encounters usually pass without comment.

So how bad is it really? Should it worry me as much as it does? Or even more? Or am I simply being paranoid? My own answer is that it’s prudent to be aware of the possibility of danger - as long as it doesn’t paralyze me or alter my daily routine. I continue living my life as I always have, but with my eyes open.

That leads to a broader question: How prevalent is antisemitism in America? What percentage of Americans harbor antisemitic views to any degree? Does it come more from the left or the right? And how dangerous is it for a Jew walking alone at night?

A recent poll by Mark Trencher (available in the print edition of the Jewish Press) attempts to answer these questions. To me, the results were unsurprising. Antisemitism exists on both sides of the political aisle. Trencher cites data from a newly released poll by the conservative Manhattan Institute finding that:

17% of Republican voters hold “anti-Jewish” views (defined as believing the Holocaust was exaggerated and/or that Israel is a “settler-colonial state”).

12% of Republicans explicitly describe themselves as having “hostility to, or prejudice against, Jewish people.”

Slightly higher levels - 20% - are found among Democratic voters, compared to the Republicans’ 17%.

I agree with Trencher that this 3% difference isn’t particularly meaningful. There is more or less the same level of antisemitism on both sides, though the reasons for it differ significantly between the left and right.

A follow-up overnight mini-survey gives us an insight into what Orthodox Jews are thinking. Some of the comments  are exaggerated, but they do resonate to a degree. The survey began with the following question?

Several recent surveys have found levels of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment to be about the same among Democratic voters as compared to Republican voters. What tis your reaction to this?

Among the reactions were these:

“Since October 7th there has been an almost total focus on left-wing antisemitism while ignoring the obvious, virulent, and dangerous antisemitism from the right. It’s a dangerous problem on both sides.”

“I don’t believe the Democratic Party actually exists anymore. It has been taken over by an antisemitic socialist movement with funding from who knows where.”

“Don’t underestimate the hate from the right; people are spouting vile anti-Jewish and anti-Israel views, and social media has created antisemitism on steroids.”

When asked which group of antisemites is more dangerous:

57% said both are equally dangerous.

29% said Democrats are more dangerous.

14% said Republicans are more dangerous.

Sample responses:

“Extreme Democrats reject Israel’s legitimacy and frame it as an aggressor; extreme Republicans think Israel has too much influence on U.S. politics. The former is ultimately more problematic.”

“Antisemitic beliefs are now central to the Democratic platform, whereas antisemitism among Republicans is mostly confined to the fringes.”

“The rise of Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and Candace Owens is pushing far-right Republicans to reconsider support for Israel.”

“I work in academia and see huge amounts of antisemitism from progressives. I’ve never experienced it firsthand from conservatives. Maybe a stray online comment here or there, but nothing compared to the constant stream of Jew-hatred in higher education.”

“It’s not the left or the right; both wings belong to the same screwed-up bird.”

These responses, while anecdotal, offer a snapshot of how Orthodox Jews perceive antisemitism today. In my view these perceptions are not that far from reality.

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Mamadani and Jewish New York

Rabbi Moishe Indig and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

I have been saying all along that Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will not be the disaster for the New York Jewish community that many people think he will be. What I have said—and still believe—is that his virulent anti-Zionist rhetoric may be the real danger. Because it may encourage antisemites to come out of the closet and harass us in numbers never seen in New York before. Acts of violence may very well increase too, fueled by a mayor whose anti-Zionist rhetoric aligns with much of the pro-Hamas community.

That said, I am equally convinced (as I’ve said in the past) that Mamdani will nevertheless do everything in his power to protect Jewish communities in New York from the very harassment his rhetoric may unintentionally incite.

Many have noted that one can criticize Israel without being an antisemite. But antisemitism is often disguised as anti-Zionism, and it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference.

It helps to consider the source.

In the mayor-elect’s case, his anti-Zionism is rooted in two foundational principles. One is his identification with progressive socialism, which sees nations and peoples as either oppressors or the oppressed. Regardless of context or nuance. In Mamdani’s eyes, it is clear who is who in the Middle East: Israelis are the oppressors and Palestinians the oppressed - who must be ‘liberated’.

The other principle is his Muslim faith, which entirely rejects any Jewish claim to the land. That is why Mamdani does not believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, labels it an apartheid state, supports BDS, believes Israel is guilty of genocide, considers its prime minister a war criminal he would like to arrest if he visits New York, and enthusiastically supports pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

And that is why the overwhelming majority of the mainstream Jewish community—lay and rabbinic, across all denominations urged people to vote against him on election day.

None of this is new. But does it mean he is an antisemite? I think that depends on how one defines the term. There are those who argue that denying the Jewish people the right to a state is, by definition, antisemitic. And yet, there are more than a few Jews who agree with Mamdani on all the above-mentioned points. Jews you might see joining pro-Palestinian protests, shouting about Israel’s Apartheid, genocide and calling Netanyahu a war criminal that should be arrested.

There are, however, indications that Mamdani means what he says about Jewish New Yorkers. Even though he vehemently disagree with their views on Israel. He has repeatedly said that they have as much right to express their views as he does his. He has repeatedly and emphatically insisted that he will fight antisemitism in the city and use every resource available to protect Jewish New Yorkers. Some would cynically say that these are just meaningless words. That it’s all political theater, designed to assuage the fears about the rising tide of antisemitism.

But, I disagree. Socialism, by definition, does not discriminate. Every human being is to be treated equally and deserves protection from harm. I believe that Mamdani wholeheartedly buys into that philosophy. I would not be surprised if socialism is more a religion to him than Islam.

Even though he knows the Jewish community did not support him (to put it mildly), he has nonetheless promised to treat Jews no differently from any other New Yorker, whether they voted for him or not. I believe him.

Which brings me to what Satmar did. I am no fan of Satmar. My issues with them are serious but beyond the scope of this post. They endorsed Mamdani for mayor.

Their endorsement did not surprise me at all. Not because they agree with him about Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state (in pre-messianic times). That is not what motivated them. A controversial interview with Satmar political leader Moishe Indig by Mishpacha Magazine spelled out plainly  why. It was purely transactional. They endorsed the candidate they believed would surely win in order to get in his good graces. They have succeeded.

Understandably, the entire Jewish establishment was furious, including Agudah. But Satmar believed they would gain nothing by endorsing a losing candidate, and instead chose to endorse the one they knew would win.

Now Satmar will be first in line to receive favors from the Mamdani administration. An administration eager to prove, as Mamdani repeated again and again during the campaign, that he is not antisemitic.

In fact, he has already demonstrated this by joining Satmar at one of their celebrations - after his election. He had no political need to do so. The video shows he loved every minute of it. That image of him does not look like the face of an antisemite.

True, he also criticized a Nefesh B’Nefesh event after the election. But criticizing an organization that facilitates Aliyah to Israe should not surprise anyone, given that he does not believe Israel has the right to exist. At the same time, I am sure he will deal swiftly with any violence perpetrated against any Jewish New Yorker.

And now after the election, Agudah recently announced that they will engage with Mamdani and seek cooperation with City Hall as needed. My guess is that they will get it.

Mishpacha was heavily criticized for interviewing Satmar about their endorsement. But I don’t understand why knowledge is bad. It helps to know why a major religious community did something so counterintuitive, when everyone else did the opposite. Maybe we can learn something.

Bottom line: I agree with Rabbi Michael Broyde, who wrote the following in Cross-Currents:

Navigating complex times in a world full of people with ideas and ideals at tension with Jewish tradition is complex. We, “the community of the faithful,” face difficult headwinds. Moral clarity and complete resistance—“even if it produce horrible death and complete destruction”—sometimes seem easier religiously than a policy of accommodation. Indeed, even successful accommodation still incurs attack by those who bemoan our failure to stand tall (ignoring the consequences we would have then suffered). We all know accommodation isn’t popular. It lacks the cachet of moral purity and absolutism, of defiant declarations. But life is usually lived in a grayer place, unattractive as that is. It is no surprise that political accommodation works best, particularly when it is combined with internal moral and halachic clarity.

This is not to say that Satmar was necessarily right. It is only to say that they were not necessarily wrong, either. In the end, they may come out winners - first in line to get everything they want out of City Hall.

With respect to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers I believe they will get the protection they need when they need it. Even if only because it is in Mamdani’s political interest to make sure that happen.

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A Sea Change in the Mainstream Media

Newly announced CBS news anchor, Tony Dukoupil (CBS)

I had always respected the mainstream media for its professionalism and what I believed was fair and balanced reporting. On a subject that I was acutely attuned to, one could occasionally detect bias on the part of a reporter or an anchor. But I usually chalked it up to ignorance of the facts of a particular issue or an awkward presentation that was unintentionally misleading.

Although some media outlets like the BBC - were clearly and blatantly biased against Israel, I never attributed that kind of animus to the three major evening network newscasts. I always gave them the benefit of the doubt.

That changed drastically over the last two years. In their reporting about the war in Gaza, just about every mainstream media outlet expressed so much obvious bias against Israel that it could hardly be attributed to ignorance of the facts or an awkward presentations.

Without belaboring the point, suffice it to say that the typical narrative focused on Israel  as the aggressor - targeting suspected Hamas strongholds in sensitive and densely populated areas like hospitals or schools. Killing disproportionate numbers of civilians with daily airstrikes. Every night, casualty figures provided by Hamas officials were repeated as fact, with no serious attempt to present Israel’s side of the story. Israel’s explanations – if mentioned at all - were framed as dubious. While Palestinian reporters inside Gaza were treated as paragons of truth, narrating those same Hamas-supplied numbers as bloody images of dead and injured Palestinian women and children flashed on the screen.

Every nefarious accusation by Hamas (and their UN sympathizers) against Israel was treated as gospel. While Israel’s denials or explanations were treated as suspect. The bias was unmistakable even though the network anchors avoided explicitly calling Israel a liar.

The worst offender was CBS. They hired Imtiaz Tiab, a former Al Jazeera reporter as their primary correspondent in Gaza. His coverage amounted to an almost daily bashing of Israel with hardly any mention of Israel’s perspective.

I never realized just how biased the mainstream media had become until I witnessed how this war was covered. But after two years of non stop Israel bashing by the mainstream media, I have been duly chastised. I don’t trust a word they say anymore.  No matter how carefully they try to disguise it, their bias shines through quite brightly.

But… There’s a new sheriff in town. And it appears that things are abut to change.

CBS’s parent company, Paramount, was recently purchased by Skydance. Its CEO, David Ellison, is not inclined to tolerate the kind of blatant anti-Israel bias demonstrated by CBS News. He has already replaced the head of the news division with former New York Times opinion columnist Bari Weiss, who famously resigned from the Times after harassment from colleagues over her more balanced perspective on Israel.

Weiss’s commitment to fairness is reflected in the latest shakeup at CBS. She has replaced the two current evening news anchors with Tony Dokoupil—someone who had the courage to challenge the network’s anti-Israel orthodoxy. That courage was visible in an incident just over a year ago, as reported in The New York Times:

During a 2024 interview, Dokoupil challenged author Ta-Nehisi Coates about a new book he had written on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Dokoupil told Coates that some of the material “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist,” and asked: “What is it that so particularly offends you about the existence of a Jewish state that is a Jewish safe place?”

Coates replied: “There’s nothing that offends me about a Jewish state; I am offended by the idea of states built on ethnocracy, no matter where they are.”

Some CBS journalists objected to how Dokoupil handled the interview, and newsroom leadership rebuked him on a conference call, saying the interview fell short of editorial standards. That prompted Shari Redstone, then-owner of Paramount, to defend Dokoupil and reprimand her own executives, saying “they made a mistake” in questioning him.

Weiss—then publisher of The Free Press—was all over the story, voicing her outrage at how this award winning veteran journalist had been treated by his bosses at  CBS news. She wrote, “It is journalists like Tony Dokoupil who are an endangered species in legacy news organizations.”

Tony Dokoupil is a highly respected journalist, and it is unlikely that he will be accused of bias. His commitment to fairness and balanced has surely not changed that. And it doesn’t hurt that he has a son serving in the IDF.

I could not be more pleased by this turn of events. With Dokoupil at the helm, he will not only report the news but also have full editorial control over the content and  how it is presented. That means that, for the first time in a long time, the mainstream media will have at least one respected major news network, CBS, presenting the  nightly news which will not reflexively cast Israel in a negative light.

It remains to be seen what will happen to Margaret Brennan, host of CBS’s Face the Nation. She is easily the most anti-Israel host of any Sunday morning interview news  program. My guess is that she, too, will have to change her tone. Or she may find herself being replaced too. And out of a job. 

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Unity, Yes. But Not at Any Price

Conservative Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove addressing a AZM event

I have never met the man. But I truly like Elliot Cosgrove, the Conservative rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue. I really do. Although I doubt he will think much of me after reading this post - should he somehow come across it.

He is what I would call a religiously right-wing Conservative rabbi whose observant lifestyle differs little from that of Modern Orthodox Jews. I doubt, for example, that he relies on the Conservative ‘heter’ (rabbinic permit) to drive to shul on Shabbos. He is probably as observant as many Orthodox Jews. And perhaps more importantly is among those in his movement who urge their congregants to become more observant - realizing that the future of Judaism depends on that.

His sermon calling for  new York Jews to oppose the election of Zohran Mamdani motivated over 1000 rabbis to sign a letter urging the same thing. It was the right call even though it didn’t help much; Mamdani won with a majority of the vote. The point is though, that Rabbi Cosgrove was on the right side of the issue, and as a leader within his movement he got a lot of other rabbis to join him.

His overall support for the Jewish state and their war in Gaza was the right call as well.

So what’s my problem with him?

He represents a belief system that accepts biblical criticism as a legitimate interpretation of the Torah. Something that is unacceptable in Orthodoxy. Without getting into much detail, biblical criticism allows for the belief that the Torah was written by man and is not the direct word of God as transmitted to Moshe at Sinai. To accept that as legitimate is to accept apikursus (heresy) as legitimate.

People can choose to believe whatever they wish. I have no control over that, nor do I harbor any ill feelings toward people who do. What I cannot accept is the assertion that this belief is a legitimate form of Judaism. That Rabbi Cosgrove teaches it  as acceptable  is primarily what makes his denomination illegitimate in the eyes of Orthodoxy.

To put it simply: If the Torah was written by man, there is no compelling reason to observe its commandments. If one thinks that following the Torah is simply about living an ethical lifestyle, I would argue that there are many other belief systems that also require ethical living.

If you are a believing Jew, you must by definition believe that the Torah is the word of God and was in no way written by man. You must believe that it was dictated to Moshe verbatim by God, who faithfully recorded every word transmitted to him in the Torah. This is what is meant by Moshe kibel Torah miSinai — Moshe received the Torah from Sinai which is where God gave it to him.

This brings me to Rabbi Cosgrove’s lament about one of the reasons there is so little unity among the Jewish people. Especially in Israel. He believes changing that requires tolerance and understanding between the widely disparate views among Jews. Both politically and religiously. Addressing the Biennial National Assembly of the American Zionist Movement in New York City, he made the following lament as JTA reported:

“Israel neither supports, defends nor recognizes Judaism as I teach it and preach it.”

He is of course understandably upset by this inequity. If you are a secular or heterodox Israeli, you will of course agree. But if you are an Orthodox Jew, how can you recognize what he teaches and preaches if you believe any of it to be heretical?

It’s true that Israel is not a theocracy, nor has Orthodoxy been the sole arbiter of what the state chooses to do. But it is also true that Orthodox Jews have the right - even the obligation -  to oppose recognition of movements they believe to be heretical in a Jewish state. That Rabbi Cosgrove obviously disagrees is his right. Just as it is his right to advocate for official Israeli recognition of his and other heterodox movements. Just as it is my right to oppose recognition.

He would certainly not at all appreciate my calling the Conservative movement heretical. To say the least.

The sad part is that he’s right about one thing: the majority of Jews who have historically supported Israel are not Orthodox. And as lovers of democracy, many insist that all Jewish denominations deserve official recognition. And that this is the only path to achdus - unity.

At this point in time, he may be right.  if you reject a movement that so many Jews consider themselves part of, you are not going to get unity. You are only going to increase the divisiveness that already exists.

The problem is that you cannot sacrifice your fundamental belief in the divine authorship of the Torah for the sake of unity. Because what kind of unity can last if it is built on a foundation that is believed to be man-made — and therefore subject to revision according to the cultural winds of the moment? It would be a unity built on a house of cards. A unity at that best would be temporary and ultimately result in the extinction of the Jewish people.

That said, I still like Rabbi Cosgrove. I think he’s an honorable man with great Jewish and secular values that he tries to transmit to his congregation. I just don’t think he will like me much after reading all this.

Still - sad as it is to say - I cannot accept as legitimate what Rabbi Cosgrove teaches and preaches, even though I believe the observance he practices and preaches is admirable. I actually admire him for doing so.  But observance comes only after belief. Without belief in a Torah that was given by God directly through His servant Moshe, and instead written by man – such observance is utterly meaningless.

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Christian Support for Israel

Is Christian support for Israel dwindling?

Are we in a hopeless downward spiral when it comes to Christian support for Israel? Are younger Christians drifting away from the strong pro-Israel stance their conservative evangelical parents took for granted?

If yes, this should concern us. We need all the support we can get in an increasingly hostile climate toward the Jewish state, driven in part by a growing progressive cohort. While that group is still small, it is clearly expanding. As reflected in the recent New York mayoral election, where heavy turnout among young voters proved decisive.

One might be tempted to add to this anxiety the recent revelations of ugly antisemitic comments by young Republican conservatives who had worked in government.

Troubling as these incidents are, I do not believe they tell the whole story. The fact that young Christians are abandoning doctrinaire theologies does not necessarily mean they are abandoning Israel. Strong Christian support can still exist without traditional evangelical frameworks. Which was demonstrated in a new survey. As Rabbi Ari Lamm noted in eJewishPhilanthropy:

(A) Makor Analytics survey of 1,200 young American Christians ages 18–39 found that fewer than 8% now identify as evangelical — a precipitous drop from the roughly half of Protestants they represented in 2008. Instead, over 62% identified as “Just Christian” or non-denominational.

Rabbi Lamm’s article asks how this shift in identity affects Christian support  for Israel. And whether anything can be done to engage young Christians the way evangelicals once did. The answer appears to be yes if it is presented the right way for that generation.

The survey suggests that when you meet young Christians on their own ‘playing field’ - the platforms of shareability like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok - you can indeed influence Gen Z Christians to support Israel. And the most effective messages are not political or geopolitical. They are biblical and covenantal.

Consider the strongest-performing theme tested: “God keeps His promises.” After respondents selected this theme as meaningful, they were shown the expanded message:

I believe in a God who keeps His promises. The greatest promise God ever made was to restore the people of Israel to the Land of Israel. So when I see that promise being fulfilled before my very eyes today, it gives me greater confidence that God will keep His promises to me in my own life.

Seventy percent of respondents found this message personally meaningful, and across every demographic — gender, race, and political affiliation — they said they were likely to share it on social media.

Here’s where it gets particularly revealing: After Israel struck Iran, only 49% of young Christians said the strike improved global security, and even those who agreed expressed modest confidence. But among those shown the “God keeps His promises” theme, 57% said the strike improved global security, and they expressed high confidence. The only difference between these two groups was exposure to that theme.

To me, this suggests that the widespread concern about evaporating support for Israel among young Christians is overstated. Support can be strengthened - even robustly - if approached correctly. The key is to speak in the language young Christians actually respond to: the media they consume and the faith-rooted narratives that resonate with them.

Not by lecturing about Israel’s accomplishments.
Not by arguing the justice of the Gaza war.
Not by debating genocide accusations.

But (as Rabbi Lamm put it) through biblical, covenantal stories rooted in faith, which spark curiosity, resonance, and shareability.

In other words: the support is still there to be tapped. We just need to speak to it in the right way and use the media they use as the means of communicating it to them.

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Do Clothes Make the Man?

The uniform look of the Yeshiva world

Once again I am in awe. True to form, Mishpacha’s Executive Editor, Shoshana Friedman, has written another masterpiece of commentary in her bi-weekly column, Screenshots.

Mishpacha is an unabashedly Charedi magazine whose values are reflected in its publishing policy and editorial content. One obvious example (one of my pet peeves) is its refusal to publish any pictures of women, regardless of how modestly they are dressed. But this has not stopped Shoshana from expressing views that seem counterintuitive to the Charedi Hashkafa.

On a variety of subjects her views align with my own Centrist perspective. That happened again in last week’s column. It was a well-reasoned approach to another one of my pet peeves: uniforms. Not the kind worn in the military, but the kind worn by Charedi Jews of various Hashkafos. From the black-hat Yeshiva world to the bekeshe and shtreimel wearing Chassidim.

The uniforms worn by some of our people are a double-edged sword. On one hand they symbolize belonging. They identify your worldview and that of your peers. Dressing that way announces that you want people to recognize that about you.

On the other hand, uniforms can also be divisive. They say to those who do not dress as you do that their views are likely different from yours. Which often leads to being judgmental - not in a positive way.

Even though I never heard of it, there is apparently a popular Jewish song that captures this problem through a repeated line in its chorus:

“I don’t need your bekeshe, I don’t need your bekeshe / The only thing I need is you.”

The idea, says Mrs. Friedman, is that uniforms are not and should not be the basis for judging a person’s character. She puts it this way:

It’s a message that rings true with all of us: Don’t confuse outer trappings with inner connection. Don’t confuse your “you” with what you wear. Don’t overemphasize the uniform — be it a bekeshe, a Borsalino, a Bais Yaakov dress code, a specific color (or lack of color) shirt — and forget that what Hashem really wants is a heart pulsing with emotion and commitment.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have said virtually the same thing. And yet dress codes have become de rigueur in just about all the various Charedi communities. So much so that if you vary your dress even slightly, you risk being expelled from that community. Socially if not formally.

To take just one example - walk into any Lithuanian-style Charedi Yeshiva and you will see a virtual sea of students all wearing the same white dress shirts and black pants. They all wear the same style black hats outside the Beis HaMedrash. While white shirts, black pants, and a black hat are not uniquely Jewish articles of clothing, they have been adopted by the Yeshiva world to such an extent that if one deviates even slightly—say, by wearing a light blue dress shirt - they may be suspected of heading in that direction of no longer being observant. You will never see a blue shirt on a student in a black-hat Yeshiva.

The sad corollary to this is that those of us who do not dress in this fashion will be suspected of not being fully aligned with a Torah Hashkafa. No matter how sincere our Emunah or how dedicated we are to Torah observance.

The irony is that there are more than a few in their community that wear ‘the uniform’ and do not themselves live up to the ideals that their uniforms are supposed to represent. Mrs. Friedman puts it this way:

For those of us attuned to shallowness and hypocrisy, the song sounds a very authentic note. These days, so much money and effort go into achieving “the right look” — and so much status rides on the nuances of every demographic’s unpublished but very real Style Guide — that it’s easy fodder to mock when unaccompanied by a parallel focus on interior perfection. Come on, how does spending all that money on a shtreimel automatically make you a holy Jew? Why assume that a black hat is loftier than a baseball cap, when you don’t know how much chesed their respective wearers perform? If I daven a beautiful Shemoneh Esreh, does it really matter how long my skirt is? And who needs that bekeshe anyway?

I could not agree more. The requirement to look Charedi has been raised to a level where it has lost all meaning. If someone wears ‘the uniform’, he is often given a pass regardless of his inner character. I cannot count the times, for example, where I have seen black-hat Yeshiva types get drunk at a wedding and create a massive Chilul Hashem. After which I occasionally hear apologetics from  a favored teacher trying to explain it away with one nonsensical justification or another. Which in my view only adds to the Chilul Hashem.

Please do not misunderstand. I have seen this kind of bad behavior by young people from all demographics. From Charedi to Modern Orthodox, to secular Jews, to non-Jews. But when a community sets itself up as the most devoted to Torah observance and identifies itself that way through its manner of dress, their bad behavior becomes a much bigger Chilul Hashem than the same behavior from someone whose dress does not proclaim such religious devotion.

That being said, I also agree that ‘dressing the part’ is not inherently bad. Provided one dresses that way out of conviction rather than out of habit or social pressure. As Mrs. Friedman puts it:

Choosing to dress a certain way means choosing to self-identify a certain way. Not just to observers, but also to ourselves. That uniform shows our affiliation and alignment with principles and ideals. It demonstrates our desire to be part of something bigger, more historic, than our small and temporal selves.

That is true as well. If you believe in the ideals and principles of a group identified by its mode of dress, and you want people to know that those ideals and principles match your own, it is not unreasonable to ‘look the look’.

At the end of the day, though, one must know that identifying with certain ideals and principles by wearing the uniform of that group does not and should not lead one to view those outside their orbit as lesser Jews. Even slightly! 

One can - and should - adhere to the principles in which one believes, while at the same time having the humility to know that there are other sincere, devoted Jews whose views are not identical to one’s own, who are nonetheless just as legitimate in their devotion to serving God. And are to be respected no less than then their own peers.

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An Unsatisfying Response from the Vice-President

Vice-President JD Vance (JTA)

The vice-president is right. But he is also wrong. Yes, both things can be true. The subject is antisemitism in the Republican Party.

It is no secret that antisemitism is on the rise in the party. That was made plainly evident in what may be its most important demographic: young people. Recent news reports and leaked communications have confirmed that a segment of young GOP staffers and activists are listeners and fans of far-right, openly antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes’ podcasts.

This is important because they are young and therefore are the future of the Republican Party. The only question is whether they represent the mainstream or not. But even if they don’t -  and I don’t think they do  - it is nonetheless disturbing that any of them, let alone those in responsible positions in government, paid the slightest bit of attention to ridiculous conspiracy theories about Jews that were once the exclusive domain of psychopathic genocidal maniacs like Adolf Hitler. And yet they did. And had a lot of good laughs about it.

This cannot be washed away by comments saying that they are not the mainstream, or that they are the exceptions that prove the rule. Even if that is also true, the fact that this has entered the Republican Party at this level needs to be forcefully condemned. People who are fans of Fuentes ought to be barred from the party no less than any other racist or antisemitic group. There is no excusing them with comments like ‘boys will be boys’ or ‘they didn’t really mean it’. Not when these kinds of attitudes were once responsible for the biggest mass murder of the Jewish people in human history. And especially not when it involves young people active in the party.  Ssome of whom may become leaders of the future.

It is also no secret that Tucker Carlson, a Republican who was once the darling of Trump’s MAGA conservatives, has recently revealed his antisemitic feelings to the public. The problem is that he still is the darling of some influential mainstream Republicans, who continue to support and defend him despite his having been exposed as an antisemite . His denials to the contrary notwithstanding. His actions and rhetoric clearly say otherwise, although he cleverly tries to disguise it, it shines through quite brightly.

Carlson is only the most prominent conservative antisemite. There are others with large followings as well – such as Candace Owens. But Carlson’s past popularity among most conservatives remains among significant numbers of them. Including some in positions of great power and influence. The vice-president among them. He counts Carlson as a friend and has hired his son as part of his staff.

This is why I think Vice-President Vance is both right and wrong. As noted in JTA:

Vice-President JD Vance said Thursday that he does not believe antisemitism is surging inside the Republican Party, pushing back on prominent conservatives who have raised alarms about hostility toward Jews among young right-wing activists.

“I do think it’s important to call this stuff out when I see it. I also, when I talk to young conservatives, I don’t see some simmering antisemitism that’s exploding,” Vance told NBC News in an interview marking his first year in office.

He’s right about that. But… even though I wouldn’t use the word ‘surging’ there has certainly been an increase -  small though it may be relative to the whole.

Here is where the vice-president is wrong. It isn’t enough to say that his political party is not rife with antisemitism. He needs to go beyond that and say a lot more than simply asserting that antisemitism is wrong. He has to call it out when it happens and denounce by name - those who say it or imply it. Not doing so allows their rhetoric to spread antisemitism more broadly within his party and beyond.

If the vice-president wants to retain his friendship with an influential individual who promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories - which he continues to spread to his many followers - then he too is part of the problem. If one of my friends promoted racist conspiracy theories about a minority demographic, I would sever my relationship with them immediately and call them out for the racists they are, making clear that there is no room for anyone like that in my circle of friends.

The vice-president has not done that. And that is a shame. If he really cares about the rise in antisemitism, now is the time for him to denounce Carlson and all individuals who follow or platform Holocaust deniers and open antisemites like Fuentes . No matter how young or how influential they are. This is what Ted Cruz, a very prominent conservative Republican has done.

The vice-president needs to sever his relationship Tucker Carlsons of the world.

I can’t tell the vice-president who his friends should be.  But I can tell what his character is by the company he keeps. Vice-President Vance ought to think about that.

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Fighting Antisemitism by Visiting Auschwitz

There is little doubt in my mind about where the increase in antisemitism comes from. Although it is a complicated phenomenon — the result of a confluence of factors and events that have arisen over the last couple of years — there is still hope that it can be turned around by a project I am very much in favor of. More about that later.

Antisemitism is one of the oldest hatreds on the face of the earth, dating back to biblical times.

For the last 2,000 years much of it stemmed from Christianity’s accusation that we – the Jewish people - killed their god, and from our refusal to recognize him as our savior. That prejudice is surely contributed to Nazi Germany’s success in exterminating six million of us. They had willing partners among much of the Christian population in the countries they invaded.

That began to change when Pope John XXIII admitted the Church’s culpability in the Holocaust and ordered a change in Church doctrine that viewed us in a positive sense for the first time in 2000 years. A change implemented by his successor, Pope Paul VI, in Vatican II.

But Jew hatred among some still lingered.  A few fringe Christians were overt about those feelings, but they had little impact on the masses. There were likely more than a few mainstream Christians who quietly harbored such prejudices as well, but they rarely expressed them publicly. And for the most part, we all got along reasonably well.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Muslim world had their own reasons to hate us. They rejected the idea of a Jewish state in the middle of a region they believed belonged only to Muslims. When the UN decided to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab (the original two-state solution), Israel immediately accepted it. The surrounding Arab nations rejected it and went to war. Israel won. Arab nations tried it again in 1967. Israel not only won that war but regained all the land of biblical Israel (Judea and Samaria - the West Bank).

Arab  Jew hatred only intensified after that. Arab Refugees from  Israel’s war of independence that had been under Jordanian jurisdiction, now came under Israeli jurisdiction. The hatred was then further exacerbated. All kinds of lies and exagerations about how these refugees (now called Plaestinisn) were being treated becamse the narrative of Palestinins and their far left supporterd in academia. Their influence on students resulted in their calls to support BDS and referring to Israel as an Apartheid state.

And then came the October 7th Hamas massacre of 1,200 Jews and the capture of 250 hostages and Israel’s war against them. That resulted in accusations of genocide against Israel and war crimes against her leaders. (That these were false accusations and why they were false -  is beyond the scope of this post.)

After two years of this — combined with the overt antisemitism of Palestinians; their far-left supporters; and the preexisting right wing Christian based antisemitism - and we have a perfect storm.

Now - 80 years after the Holocaust - Holocaust deniers are popping up out of the woodwork and gaining legitimacy from popular antisemitic podcasters who have given them undeserved platforms and recognition.

Most Americans, whose primary concerns are economic, do not pay much attention to what goes on in the Middle East. So when a biased media presents a skewed picture that makes Israel look like it has been committing war crimes, many simply accept it. This is one of the reasons support for Israel has declined. When Israel’s own prime minister is constantly vilified by Democratic members of Congress and by media outlets that not so subtly show their disdain him, it is no surprise that this affects public opinion.

What does this mean for the future? Will the Holocaust cease to be remembered? Will Holocuast deniers be given legitimacy thereby minimizing or fully denying what happened to our people?! And thereby stoking the flames of Jew hatred in ways not seen since pre-Holocaust days?

Most young people are don’t know much of anything about the Holocaust and are easy prey for deniers. And have no basis for challenging them since their knowledge of the Holocaust is practically nonexistent. Add to that their favorite entertainers calling Israel’s leader a war criminal and hearing the word ‘genocide’ thrown around casually, and it becomes clear why antisemitism has surged.

Fortunately, a majority of our political leaders on both sides of the aisle are not antisemitic. Both sides are determined to fight it, even if their approaches differ.

Surprisingly, Hollywood has done a better job than most institutions on this front. Nearly every year there is at least one Oscar worthy film that reminds the world of the horrors that truly happened. Despite all my criticism of Hollywood, I give them tremendous credit for this.

However, what a charter school in Harlem did is, in my view, the real solution to Holocaust denial. As noted in a Jewish Insider article:

Standing inside a gas chamber, Natalie Francisco felt history — the darkest kind — come alive in a way no classroom lesson ever could.

Francisco, an 11th grader at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Harlem, told Jewish Insider that “witnessing Auschwitz-Birkenau, literally being inside a gas chamber, brought the horror of it all to me in a way that reading or studying history could not.”
“It was super emotional to think about the sheer inhumanity and the vast scale of it. I will carry the memories of the visit for the rest of my life,” she said.

Francisco was one of eight high-school students who took part in the school’s inaugural six-day trip to Poland last month, which included visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Plaszów concentration camp, and the Warsaw Ghetto.

(Without getting sidetracked too much, I do want to make the following point: Success Academy is what public education should be. This high-performing school serves low-income students and gives them the education they deserve — unlike many public schools in the area that fail to educate at all. This is what school choice is about. Parents should have the right to send their children to a school like this instead of being forced into inferior ones just because of their ZIP code. But I digress.)

When young people actually visit the place where millions were murdered simply for being Jewish; when they physically see the gas chambers and the barracks where victims lived before they were marched to their deaths; THAT is the most powerful antidote to antisemitism. Every high school should have a program like this. It would be money well spent to educate young people about the truth of the Holocaust rather than leaving them vulnerable to Holocaust deniers being platformed by people like Tucker Carlson. Once they experience a trip like this, they will see through such lies — and Holocaust denial will eventually be placed in the trash bin of history, where it belongs.

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Zevi Eckhuas and Michele Weiss

Zevi Eckhaus (JTA)

Every once in a while, there is good news to report. In this case, there are two stories that qualify. Both of which I consider to be a Kiddush HaShem.

A Kiddush HaShem translates to “sanctifying the name of God.” While God does not need us to sanctify Him - since by definition God is the holiest being in existence, we are nevertheless commanded, as God’s chosen people, to act in ways that honor Him and bring glory to His name. 

Unfortunately, we more often hear about a Chilul HaShem, which is the opposite of a Kiddush HaShem. That’s because, by its very nature, the media generally reports negative events. Positive events rarely make the news, and when they do, it's usually after a heavy dose of negative news as a pleasant way to end a newscast.

When an Orthodox Jew commits a crime of any sort, the media jumps all over it. Although most crimes are white-collar, Orthodox Jews have had their share of sex-abuse cases in the media. Not that long ago, it seemed like every other day yet another Orthodox Jew was exposed by a survivor about his (or her) abuse. Thankfully, it seems that reports of sex abuse by Orthodox Jews have decreased substantially in recent years—although sadly, it still happens.

But this time, I am happy to report that there are two Jews who have a very different kind of story to tell.

Zevi Eckhaus — A Kiddush HaShem on the Football Field

One of them is Zevi Eckhaus. Zevi is the starting quarterback for the Washington State Cougars. And as JTA reports:

“On Saturday, Eckhaus led the Cougars’ offense to a 32–8 win, clinching a berth in a Division I college football bowl game. That game will be the final one at the collegiate level for Eckhaus, a redshirt senior.”

What kind of Kiddush HaShem could there possibly be about a Jew who plays college football every Shabbos? Isn’t that a serious violation of Shabbos? ...one of the most stringent Halachos of the Torah and the defining characteristic of an Orthodox Jew? Shouldn’t that, therefore, be seen as a Chilul HaShem - not a Kiddush HaShem?

Well, not exactly.

There is technically no biblical prohibition against throwing a football on Shabbos as long as it is done in an enclosed private domain. Which in Halachic terms, a football stadium certainly is. I don’t think there is anything about football that is otherwise technically a violation of Shabbos.

That said, it is still not something that should be encouraged on Shabbos, as it runs counter to the sanctity of a day reserved for spiritual pursuits. But Zevi goes out of his way to be observant. He attended a religious day school (Chabad) through middle school and puts on two sets of tefillin every day (Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam) without fail. He learns Mishnayos every week, and does all of this  proudly and publicly, all while earning the respect of his coaches and teammates. (Zevi may not be playing in the NFL after college, but the CFL is taking a serious look at him.)

That he proudly prays on the field during a game and is observant in other ways places observant Judaism in a positive light. Thus becoming something of a role model for other young Jews who aspire to be both committed Jews and successful in fields where they may have thought being observant was impossible. Like the world of sports.

That, to me, is a Kiddush HaShem.

Michele Weiss — A Historic Kiddush HaShem in Public Office

Mayor-elect, Michele Weiss (JNS) 

The other individual is an even greater Kiddush HaShem. Her name is Michele Weiss, a self-described moderate Republican who also happens to be an Orthodox Jew. Last month Ms. Weiss won the election to be mayor of University Heights, Ohio. According to JNS, she is reportedly the first Orthodox Jewish woman to be elected mayor of an American city. And by a substantial margin. As Jessica Russak-Hoffman reports:

“In November, she was elected with 56.6% of the vote, nearly 20 points ahead of the next highest vote-earner…”

The 50-year-old told JNS that her first conversations after deciding to run were with her family—and her rabbi.

“I really feel that everybody is placed on this earth to make a difference,” she said. “I’m doing it for the klal”—Hebrew for “community.”

“I want to make a kiddush Hashem,” she added.

Interestingly, Michele did not grow up Orthodox. As a teenager she joined NCSY, and that changed her life:

“By 16, she was keeping Shabbat strictly, and after high school she attended seminary in Israel…”

JNS goes on to list an impressive array of accomplishments, both secular and religious.

On the secular side:

• Weiss holds undergraduate and MBA degrees from John Carroll University.
• She is an adjunct instructor at Cleveland State University.
• She is a founding member of the nonprofit Amatz Initiative, which provides professional development for school principals.

On the religious side:

• Michele has a meeting planned with her rabbi to discuss how to navigate situations such as citywide emergencies on Shabbat or holidays.
• She has been a kallah teacher and a mikvah attendant.
• She is the CFO of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, the largest Jewish day school in Ohio.

It is also interesting to note that this self-described moderate Republican was named vice mayor twice by her Democratic colleagues - under the tenure of Michael Dylan Brennan, a mayor who displayed subtle undertones of Jew-hatred, as indicated in the article.

There is obviously a heavy Orthodox Jewish presence in University Heights. A city with three day schools. But the fact that a city where Jews are still the minority elected an openly Orthodox Jewish woman as mayor tells me that most Americans are not inherently antisemitic, even with the sharp rise in antisemitism over the last two years.

So this story is good news in two ways. First, it is a significant Kiddush HaShem. Second, it underscores my belief that the American people are worthy of the description Rav Moshe Feinstein gave them of being a Medina Shel Chesed - a nation of kindness. NOT a nation of antisemites. When it comes to their elected officials, the American people want good governance. They could not care less how their city officials worship God.

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Israel's Other Existential Crisis

Hundreds of thousands of Charedi men attended the 'million man' protest (eJP)

Half the children in Israel are receiving a third-world education. That was the headline of an article warning that, as Israel’s educational system currently stands, the country’s demographic and economic trajectory is unsustainable.

That is the conclusion of economist Dan Ben-David who has done an in-depth study on the subject.

Ben-David was interviewed by Judah Ari Gross for eJewish Philanthropy, where he laid out the case for his findings. He is in the middle of trying to convince the Israeli government to act before it is too late.

The bulk of the problem lies with the Charedi educational system, which refuses to offer a secular curriculum. Although there are a few exceptions, such schools are usually frowned upon by mainstream Charedi leadership. They believe that Torah study must become the exclusive area of study once boys reach high school. Until then, their primary education consists of basic elementary-school math and Hebrew. The vast majority of the day is devoted to Torah study. After that—nothing.

They insist on this because they believe the vast corpus of Torah in our day is so immense that one could spend a lifetime studying it and still never finish. Secular studies, they claim, detract from that mission.

I have no problem with the elite students among us focusing 100% of their time on Torah study. Although I believe that doing so detracts from the full richness of Torah knowledge - that one might gain from various secular disciplines - I will concede for argument’s sake that exclusive Torah study will maximize Torah knowledge. I am not the only one who sees value in secular knowledge; the most honored Torah scholar of the last few hundred years, the Vilna Gaon, felt the same way.

But as I have said many times in the past, not everyone has the talent or drive to study Torah exclusively. Every human being has their own personal strengths and inclinations that can better serve both their people and God - than forcing them to struggle with a page of Gemara half-heartedly. Those students should be encouraged to pursue their strengths—not made to conform to a single mold.

The problem is that the Charedi educational system does not recognize this reality. Their view is that whatever strengths one may have in other areas – they should be redirected into Torah study.

But as Ben-David notes, Israel needs its population educated in order to provide vital services. While Torah study is surely vital to the Jewish people, so too are doctors and other medical professionals who require a strong secular education in order to practice. Israel has done quite well in that regard until now; secular and non-Charedi religious Jews have obtained the necessary education and filled those roles. But what is happening now is an explosion of Charedi population growth, with the following result:

“(About) half of the children today in Israel are receiving a third-world education… which means that when these kids grow up, they won’t be able to support a first-world economy. That means that the economy will not be able to maintain first-world health care or welfare, but also not a first-world army, which we will need to defend ourselves like we have for the past 77 years...

When we talk about health care, it’s a huge sector, but the people responsible for keeping us at the highest levels in the developed world are the physicians. The number of physicians that we have relative to the adult 25-and-up population is just half a percent - 0.6% of the population. And the people who teach them in universities are just 0.2%.

The issue is this: …three groups - the high-tech people, the physicians, and the people who teach them—number less than 300,000 people altogether. We have a country of 10 million. You don’t need a million to get up and leave for it to be a catastrophe. We have less than 300,000 people basically keeping Israel a first-world economy, a first-world health-care system, and a first-rate university sector.”

Studies have shown several hundred physicians have left the country in recent years.

The issue of eliminating ignorance in the Charedi world is no longer the primary concern. Although it certainly deserves our attention. The far greater problem is sustaining a nation capable of providing the essential services that only higher education can produce. The Charedi refusal to recognize this reality will surely come back to haunt them a few generations from now. If secular Jews leave, and fewer Jews are educated enough to replace them - let alone increase those numbers as the population grows - Israel’s standard of living will deteriorate, as will the health and lifespan of its citizens. In short, they will become a 3^rd world country.

Israel needs the fastest-growing segment of its population to step up. Its leaders need to recognize that their current paradigm of Torah-only will ultimately result in disaster. Not enough people will be educated in the secular disciplines necessary to sustain a first-rate nation with a first-rate health-care system. That they do not recognize this is mind boggling!

To be sure, there are individual, very bright Charedim who - on their own initiative - seek to become part of these sustaining professions; they catch up with their secular counterparts and gain admission to professional schools where they can learn their craft. And women do in fact receive a decent enough education to become professionals of this kind. But are they? And if so, are there enough of them to sustain Israel as a first-world country?

I honestly don’t know the answer. But I do wonder whether Charedi leadership would be comfortable living in a society heavily dominated by women professionals. I find it difficult to imagine, for example, Charedi men comfortably going to a female doctor for a physical exam. And I am not even sure enough women will enter these professions to maintain Israel’s first-world status. Common sense suggests that you need men becoming doctors too.

From what I can tell, Israel’s existential crisis is not only about dealing with enemies who wish to annihilate it - though that is certainly true. There is another, more subtle existential crisis creeping up on the nation because of how the Charedi educational system operates. And it appears that Israel’s government has been unable or unwilling to change that paradigm.

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