New York – Kosher Agency Says New Statement Regarding Lesbian Comic Is A Forgery

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    New York – The lesbian comic who said her shows at two kosher Brooklyn restaurants were canceled over her sexual orientation said she obtained a statement from the local rabbinical authorities acknowledging their role in the cancellations.

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    The Vaad Harabanim of Flatbush, however, denied releasing the statement, calling it a forgery.

    Late Thursday, comedian Leah Forster contacted JTA and shared a statement that appeared to be written on the Vaad’s official letterhead. The statement, signed by kashrut administrator Rabbi Tzvi Shaul Goldberg, said that a “single rabbinical kashrus supervisor” had cautioned one of the restaurants against hosting her performance, then called on its supervised restaurants “not to discriminate in any way against people based on sexual orientation.”

    However, when JTA reached out to Goldberg on Friday, he denied signing the letter and referred to the statement as a “forgery.” He did not add any further comments. Two days earlier, in a statement to JTA, the Vaad Harabanim had said it never threatened to revoke the restaurants’ kosher certification. JTA reported the denial in its story on the cancellation of the shows published Wednesday.

    On Thursday evening, JTA and other news outlets reported on the latest statement. The following day, the Vaad denied issuing the statement.

    “The issuance of this forgery is being reported to the office of the District Attorney of Kings County,” the Vaad said Friday morning in an email to JTA.

    Forster said she initially received the letter late Thursday in a Jewish conversation group with more than 250 members on the messaging app WhatsApp. Forster said she did not personally know the user who shared it in the group but shared the user’s phone number with JTA.

    When contacted by JTA, the user would not identify himself or herself, saying he or she did not have permission from a rabbi to use a smartphone. (Smartphone usage is frowned upon among some haredi Orthodox Jews.) The user said that he or she had received the message in another WhatsApp group and did not know who had shared it there because names are not always displayed in such groups.

    Forster said that shortly after initially receiving the message, friends and people in other group chats also shared the letter with her. The Orthodox Instagram sensation Adina Miles shared the statement early Friday on Instagram, but would not tell JTA how she obtained it. JTA reached out to others who had shared the letter on social media but they either did not respond or directed JTA to people who did not respond.

    Earlier this week, Forster told JTA that she had two New Year’s Eve shows nixed by kosher Brooklyn eateries due to her sexual orientation. In one case, she said the owner of the Garden of Eat-In restaurant told her that the Vaad Harabanim of Flatbush, its kosher certifying agency, had threatened to revoke its approval if it hosted the comedian. The incidents, first reported in the New York Daily News, gained wide media coverage.

    Forster shared with JTA what she described as a recording of Chaim Kirschner, the owner of Garden of Eat-In, telling her that the rabbinical group told him that “you’re a lesbian and you represent that and we can’t let this go on.”

    Kirschner did not respond to requests for comment by JTA. Forster said that Kirschner has agreed to host the event in his restaurant as originally planned.


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    24 Comments
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    5 years ago

    Why would they take away hashgacha? I dont think anyone will be serving clam in the restaurant

    5 years ago

    Big loss for religious liberties

    5 years ago

    WHAT LOSS. THE COMEDIAN IS A LOSS NESHAMAH

    bplady
    bplady
    5 years ago

    The whole story is disturbing. I wish the Vaad would not have given in. They should not have allowed the party to take place. They were pressured by the authorities. This is why we should not go to the goyim. They don’t know what these things mean to the frum people. This story caused chillul hashem and a lot of loshon hora. It’s a big shame.

    edgreenberg
    edgreenberg
    5 years ago

    Very good. Kashrus supervision concerns food. Such agencies are not guardians of public morals.

    YITZCHOKLEVI
    Active Member
    YITZCHOKLEVI
    5 years ago

    There will be hell to pay in the Garden of Eden (Eat-In)

    CountryYossi
    CountryYossi
    5 years ago

    I really think there is NO need to remove a hechsher from those establishments who made a mistake by accepting bookings for such an event. They are probably a Shoygeg by NOT knowing what was coming.
    What we need to do is arrange a peaceful demonstration in front of those restaurants on the night of the event and let the people who will participate be ashamed of showing up to such an event. We as Torah Jews can not fight a government which its leaders are Tumeh from head to toe and the Ervas Hu-uretz has become a natural way of life. We Torah jews have to protest and me Moyche as the Torah requires us to do but again only in a Peaceful manner,with derech eretz and Torah leaders authorization.
    Good Shabbos

    sholkramer
    sholkramer
    5 years ago

    Vaad Harabonims Hechsher will not be worth anything by most Chareidy Jews from here on in. Yes there is more to certifying a place as kosher than just making sure no pig is served

    BuckyinWisconsin
    BuckyinWisconsin
    5 years ago

    New Years eve celebration? That is really the problem here perhaps. To discriminate on the basis of what is essentially a derabbana issur is just silly.

    5 years ago

    A couple of items.

    1) Why would someone who purports to be frum publicly announce that she does something that is ossur? She has SSA, keep it to yourself. Deal with it. Using the term she is using means more than just being SSA, it means involving oneself in such physical relations.

    2) why would VIN post a story that seeks a quote from Sean Yanklowitz. He is not orthodox, in fact there are strong questions about him even being Jewish. Using him for a quote on this shows that the story is bogus and the site is bogus.

    3) Rabbi Billet is Orthodox. But he is in LI. Why go to him for a quote when the he isn’t even aware of the specifics. Nobody went to the source.

    Fake news that is meant to be inflammatory and to raise the ite of the fakers on VIN.

    5 years ago

    Thanks can go to the “askanim” and “rabbonim” who courted and supported the liberal toeyvadik Dems in order to get a few bucks for “moidois.” Now it’s going to blow up in their faces. The gay mafia has strongarmed the Vaad into allowing toeyva in their establishments based on laws approved by the politicians the askanim/rabbonim put in power. All for a few bucks. It is a terrible matzav when a Vaad has to succumb to toeyva.

    lazy-boy
    Active Member
    lazy-boy
    5 years ago

    KOSHER is not only the food you put in your stomach, but also the ideas that you put in your head. Be careful to keep out treif ideas and stay far from trief people….

    triumphinwhitehouse
    triumphinwhitehouse
    5 years ago

    Can we still trust the vaad?

    a-believer
    a-believer
    5 years ago

    ABSOLUTELY NO ONE SHOULD GO!! That would send them all a strong message ! Take your treife comedy where it belongs ! Not in our community !

    Chasid
    Chasid
    5 years ago

    Are you guys out of your mind, is a hechshet only on food? Do you see any hechsher on an establishment that is the food is kosher but they are open Shabbos? Would you think it’s appropriate to give a hechsher to akisher establishment where the waiters are dressed in bikinis? Would you think a kosher Hooters will get a hechsher?

    PaulinSaudi
    PaulinSaudi
    5 years ago

    #5 , I agree with you. It seems wrong to add things to religion. C.S. Lewis denounced things like “Christianity + Vegetarianism” or “plus spelling reform.”

    Yossi_Schochet
    Yossi_Schochet
    5 years ago

    HOLD ON A MINUTE! Take a deep breath everyone!

    Would ANYONE object to a glatt kosher restaurant having a comedian like Jerry Seeinfeld preform (with only clean jokes and zero swearing)? Of course not!

    THINK ABOUT IT!!!

    It is totally okay to have a known mechalel shabbos preform, it is okay to have a totally irreligious Jew preform, right?!

    Now connect the dots…this comedienne does not act according to Torah, yet you are disturbed by her performing?!

    You know why you are ok with a non-observant Jew performing but not ok with her performing?

    It has NOTHING to do with “only allowing frum performers” (it’s ok to have irreligious Jews perform!) but simply you are being homophobic!

    If she would be known to eat treif – no problem! If she would have accepted Yoshke in her life – bo problemo! But her orientation – whow, THAT is your problem.

    Yossi_Schochet
    Yossi_Schochet
    5 years ago

    Is she a tzioni? THAT would justify the Vaad. But if she is a lesbian in her private life (and was this proven by aidus, or is this part of rumors from her ex, or is it based on her own words – which is not believed: ain odom maysim atzmo rosha???), who really cares. Just make sure no tzionim are giving shows in restaurants.