Teaneck, NJ – A judge has found probable cause to continue a harassment complaint against a northern New Jersey rabbi accused of cursing a man for his pro-Palestine stance.
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Richard Siegel accuses Rabbi David Schwartz of standing outside his Teaneck home on Nov. 5 and shouting curse words while Siegel, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter were inside.
Siegel has several decals on his car that read “Free Palestine, End Occupation” and “Stop USA Aid to Israel.”
Siegel says he doesn’t practice Judaism but grew up in the faith.
The rabbi’s lawyer, Michael Goodman, told The Record newspaper his client recognizes the gravity of the situation and recently wrote an apology to Siegel and his family.
Another self-hating Jew. This is a terrible syndrome.
That’s the price one pays for democracy and freedom of speech.
Give the rebbe a pulpit.
And the Modern Orthodox are supposed to be all about “kiruv”. This “Rabbi” obviously values Zionism over Torah. He could easily try to be mekarev this Yid by explaining to him that there are pious Jews who share his views about Zionism, and the guy could become frum (even if this is not the Rabbi’s own view, he should not let this blind him – I saw a video where Rabbi Meir Kahane told students at YU that Satmar was just as kosher as him, only he has a different shittah – could it be that this Teaneck rabbi is a bigger Zionist than Rabbi Kahane? Also, there is a tape where Rabbi JB Soloveitchik said that the State of Israel is not the “aschalta d’geulah” and has nothing to do with Moshiach, and his own Zionism was only influenced by Patriotism and not Religion). Instead, he is alienating him by making him think that Judaism and Zionism are one in the same. I think a lot of liberal American Jews are lost to Yiddishkeit because of Israel. If groups like Natruna had more funding, these Jews could be frum. People forget that the original Religious Zionists only supported Zionism as a form of Kiruv. Now that so many secular Jews are anti-Zionist, we need to rethink a kiruv plan.
Satmar don’t say ““Free Palestine, End Occupation” and “Stop USA Aid to Israel.””
They are opposed to the medinah, but they are certainly not pro-Arab, if for no other reason than according to the Arabs, all Satmar living in Meah Shearim are occupiers!
I fully agree that it’s unseemly to be yelling benivul peh outside someone’s house. But let’s not make it like this freie yid is a tzadik and the one sticking up for the yidden of eretz yisroel against their enemies is a rosho.
Since some raised the issue of “shittos” here, there is another shittah, which I think is the mainstream view in the Charedi world. Soon after the medinah was established, the various parties put up posters about voting in the election. The Agudah put up posters saying it was a “mitzvah” to vote. There is a story, probably apocryphal, that the Satmar Rov mocked, “You mean a mitzvah like matzoh?” To which the Gerrer Rebbe supposedly replied, “No, we mean a mitzvah like maror.”
Sometimes you have to do a mitzvah even if it is bitter. The State was founded in kefirah and prikas ol. But the current situation is that, al derech ha tevah, if the State goes down, the lives of millions of Jews will be in serious danger. So one has to support the State, or at least the security of the State, as part of the mitzvah of helping other Jews and ensuring their safety. A mitzvah like marror.
I believe that the Satmar rebbe prayed for the peaceful dismantlement of the State of Israel, but what is “peaceful dismantlement”? It definitely does not mean that the Palestinians take over control, that is without a doubt not peaceful, not in this day and age. We want Moshiach now! No, I am not Chabad.