BREAKING! Did Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz Call On Haredi Leaders To Condemn Haredi Violence?

The Jerusalem Post says he did. But is it true?

Rabbi Horowitz told me it is not true:

"I never mentioned gedolim or leaders"

"I kept saying people"

"Look at the quotes attributed to me"

In other words, Rabbi Horowitz, finely parsing his language in what appears to be an attempt to mislead the gullible, calls on rank and file haredim to condemn haredi violence. Gedolim and rabbinic leaders are exempt from his call – or from responsibility for that violence.

This is basically a PR stunt meant to make it look as if haredim oppose violence at a time when their leaders continue to tolerate or encourage that violence.

'Haredi leaders should slam violence'
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST

An American haredi rabbi is urging haredi rabbinical leaders in Israel to publicly condemn the violent haredi protests against Shabbat desecration in Jerusalem, linked to the opening of a parking lot near the Old City to accommodate weekend visitors to the capital.

The initiative by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz of Monsey, New York, a haredi educator who has repeatedly condemned haredi violence in the past, comes after three weekends of violent demonstrations by hundreds of haredim in Jerusalem over the Shabbat opening of the parking lot, and on the eve of a planned haredi prayer vigil Wednesday afternoon near City Hall.

"This type of violence is against everything that the Torah stands for and is an ugly perversion of Torah values," Horowitz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, in a telephone interview from New York.

Horowitz said that by not speaking out publicly against the violence, even though they oppose it, haredi leaders are empowering extremists in the community.

"The tragedy is that people in our community are not speaking out against this publicly and distancing themselves from it," he said. "We, the silent overwhelming majority, are allowing these hooligans to speak for us."

The American rabbi, who has spearheaded an e-mail campaign against the violence via his Web site (www.rabbihorowitz.com) and is also working to get haredi leaders to speak out against such violent protests, says that he wants the leaders of the haredi community to publicly disassociate themselves from the violence.

"We are to blame for the fact that the guy with the rock is our spokesman, because we didn't fire him years ago," he said.

Horowitz said that it was wrong for rabbinical leaders to be passive about condemning the violence, assuming that people know they condemn it, noting that while many rabbis and leaders decry the violence to their students and congregants, their message is not getting out to the general population.

"Our lack of speaking out and distancing ourselves is perpetuating this distorted view that this type of violence is somehow following the Torah's ways," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

The New York rabbi said that stoning police and motorists on the Shabbat was a greater desecration of God's name than all the secular Israelis driving on the holy day.

The protests, which have been organized by the Eda Haredit sect, were in response to the Jerusalem Municipality's decision to open a parking lot on Shabbat at the urging of police, who said that double-parking on major city thoroughfares on Shabbat due to a dearth of parking spaces was causing a safety hazard.

"Maybe [the Eda Haredit protest organizers] should worry more about the hundreds of our sons and daughters who are in Israeli clubs on Friday night smoking pot, than worrying about secular Jews parking their cars on Shabbos," Horowitz wrote on his Web site, in a column entitled "The Nauseating Violence in Eretz Yisroel."

"Maybe [they] should worry more about the pedophiles in our community who are violating children, more than those outside our community who are violating Shabbos."

UPDATE 10:30 PM CDT – Rabbi Horowitz blames the Jerusalem Post for quoting him out of context. As you can see, Rabbi Horowitz is covering for haredi rabbinic leadership and the gedolim::

7/7/09 
Dear Readers:

Tomorrow’s Jerusalem Post is running a column on my initiative to get people to write letters decrying the violence in Eretz Yisroel. (It is posted already on their website here.)

I am not posting the column on this site, as I am deeply disturbed that the thrust of the column was directed at rabbonim and rabbinic leadership, which projected the Jerusalem Post writer’s feelings and was diametrically opposed to mine.

If you look at the direct quotes attributed to me, none of them mentions rabbonim or rabbinic leaders at all. In fact, it is interesting to note that the title of their column is “Haredi Leaders Should Slam Violence,” but when you click on that link, and look at the top of the blue border of the column, it says, “American Rabbi Urges Haredim to Condemn Jerusalem Violence,” which properly reflects my feelings and comments to the reporter.

The only time that I discussed rabbonim and rabbinic leadership at all was to make points diametrically opposed to the theme of the column:

1) That the rabbonim are deeply opposed to the violence

2) When he asked me why our gedolim don’t speak out, I mentioned that many Roshei Yeshiva condemned the violence and forbid their bachurim from attending the hafganos – I mentioned Mir Yeshiva in particular, which posted signs clearly informing their bachurim and yungerleit not to attend the hafganos. However, I explained that it is not the style of our Roshei Yeshiva to give media interviews, and therefore that message is not getting out.

3) That Yoel Kraus is orchestrating the violence not our gedolim shlit”a.

To sum up, I certainly stand by everything I wrote in the three columns I released and what I said in the interview that I gave on the Zev Brenner show. However, the theme of the Jerusalem Post column that I criticized rabbinic leadership is a distortion of what I feel – and said.

For that reason, I feel it proper and appropriate to use this venue to set the record straight.

Respectfully,

Yakov

Comments

[steve]

Rabbi Horowitz will always be PC in not criticizing "gedolim". He will always attribute their silence and inaction on controversial issues such as this and child molestation, to their lack of knowledge and their being "overburdened". Here is a quote: "I don’t for one moment believe that our aged and overburdened gedolei hador shlit’a are being informed by the askonim who plan these demonstrations..." He evidently feels the need to provide them with deniability and to shield them from any crticism. When push comes to shove, like with the Markey bill, he will always side with these "gedolim" (even if the only "gadol" who spoke out against Markey was Perlow). If any self-appointed "gadol" would come out in defense of these hooligans in Mea Shearim, Horowitz would be singing a different tune now. Meanwhile, to think for a moment that any of the leading rabbis in Israel, or anywhere in the world, are unaware of what's happening in Jerusalem, is ridiculous. It is also the ultimate insult to these "gedolim".

[WoolSilkCotton]

The arrogance of people to call themselves 'gedolim' astounds me.

[steve]

For any of the rabbis of the Eda Hacharedit to condemn the violence, would be tantamount to surrender. For any other leading haredi rabbis in Israel to condemn the violence, it would mean going against the Eda and in the eyes of the haredi community, condoning chillul shabbos. That's why I would be shocked if any of them (with the exception of Rav Sternbuch) says anything negative about these hooligans.

[Dave Marshall]

WSC, you are exactly right. Back in the old country (Iraq), there were sometimes rabbis who were very virtuous men, but mainly studied Torah in their spare time, and they did not want any position of authority, and were basically drafted by the community into positions of authority. I am sure this must have been true in Eastern Europe also.

[Yonah]

Dave - right, Pirkei Avot 1:10 (of which my friend Aharon once reminded me when I was depressed about rabbinic power).

[avraham rosenblum]

they are not gedolim. Have you ever even bothered to read anything they print on the gemara? Their so called chidushim are mainly chicken scratching. The only gedolim I remeber meeting were R. Shmuel Birnbaum and Naftali Yeger in far rockaway. In Israel I really don't remember meeting any.
though I admit from his books I am impressed with Ovadia Joseph.
but even if there are a few more the heads of chardi organizations are not gedolim by any standards

[critical_minyan]

its summer. the boys need to get out and party. its hard to be a charedi. the gedolim needs this and send them out to turn over a few cars, throw some rocks and light a bonfire or two.

[Red Sox Fan]

Rabbi Horowitz is pulling a Gil Student re UOJ by talking out of both sides of his mouth and trying to dance at all parties.

[Ben]

After defeat of Nazi Germany, many nazi criminals used "blame the leader" defense and said "I just followed the orders". In Soviet union, when communist dictatorship was in power, the leaders were always innocent of any crime committed under their command. The leaders used "ignorance" defence. All the millions that died in camps died without our knowledge and it was all against the true party line.

I see Rav Horowitz being well schooled soviet type propagandist. Haredi leaders (aka gadolim shit'a) just don't know what is done in their name and had they known they would certainly put an end to it in an instant. Lets go and kiss a shoe of the sultan or gadol.

[ah-pee-chorus]

the so called gedolim are ignorant fools and horowitz is a big coward for not calling them out. no excuses. stand up for what is right.

[Alex]

Rabbi Horowitz has expenses too. He has to toe the party line.

[ah-pee-chorus]

let him get a job that doesnt require him to leave his morals at the door.

[MalachHamovies]

http://machonshilo.org/en/eng/audio-shiurim

Check this out !! Rabbi David Bar Hayim talks about child abuse !!

Rabbinic Paralysis re: Child Abuse !!

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

"...and Naftali Yeger in far rockaway.

Rabbi Yeager should definitely be one of the gedolim. He's a big anav and a freakin' genius. Not at all into kavod for himself. BTW, he was the mesader kiddushin at my wedding 16 years ago.

[Rick]

Nigritude,

Could you provide me the name(s) of R. Yeager sefer (sfarim) so I too can be exposed to his genius?