What Is Matzav.com Doing?

Gloating in what it hopes will be its rival's downfall, the editors of the bizarre haredi spin machine triumphantly announced the name of an advertiser who had deserted its rival due to the haredi rabbis' ban. But then it pulled the story without correction or comment. Why?

RCCS, the Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society, released this statement yesterday:

Statement from RCCS re Vos Iz Neias Kol Koreh

In the past, RCCS, the Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society has utilized the Vos Iz Neias web site as one of the mediums used to garner and generate funds necessary to help subsidize health insurance premiums for hundreds of cancer-stricken patients, annually, in our community.
After a personal conversation with the RCCS Rabbinical Chairman, the Novominsker Rebbe shlit”a, he unequivocally told me that he signed the aforementioned Kol Koreh; as a result RCCS will no longer patronize the Vos Iz Neias site unless and until permission is granted by those Rabbanim.
Respectfully,
 
Rabbi Yosef C. Golding
Executive Director
Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society

Matzav posted this statement yesterday. But then it abruptly pulled the story without correction or comment. Why?

The details are hard to ferret out, but one possibility is that the email makes it real for many haredim that the Novominsker really signed the ban and still supports it. And that lack of "plausible deniability," the idea that haredi rabbis can make outrageous bans and then later claim not to have signed or that they were tricked into signing, goes up in smoke if the head of Agudath Israel of America's Council of Torah Sages is reliably quoted  as strongly supporting the ban, and it directs heat to the Novominsker, who previous to the release of this email could easily claim and be thought to be a tangential person with regard to the ban, not a driving force behind it.

Here is Matzav.com's Twitter feed showing the story as posted:

Here again is the ban against VIN:

[Hat Tips; Burich, SW.]

Comments

[corn popper]

Matzav.com
"We make up the facts, we tell you how to decide"

[mpidiot]

RCCS realized it was bad for business and asked them to Matzav to pull it. There is one thing to quietly pull advertssing from a media otle and another to publicly be the first to do so.

There may be individuals out there who would no loger support the charity if RCCS they found out that RCCS had taken the stand it took in a dispute Lo Lahem.

[effie]

VIN should publish a list of those who yank their advertising such as RCCS. Then, people can make donations to other worthy cancer charities or other charities that advertise on VIN.

[SJ]

Matzav is clearly using the rabbis to axe the competition.

These orthodox are acting like a middle eastern cult or soviet style character assassins rather than men of God.

[DBSesq.]

Between the outrightly racist promotional video produced by RCCS and this statement, I can safely say that I will not support this organization. Indeed they do good work, and I would never discourage anyone from supporting it. But it's very clear that RCCS's management has a worldview entire imcompatible with my own. There are many other worthy charities which do not engender that conflict for me.

[SJ]

The question is did Vos Iz Neias' traffic shoot up because of this situation?

[SJ]

Shmarya, it's worth noting that a year ago, Vos Is Neias put in a good word for RCCS http://www.vosizneias.com/44775/2009/12/13/new-york-rccs-a-remarkable-tzedakah-organizations/ and this makes what RCCS did a backstabbing, middle east style!

[Baal Habos]

Many erstwhile Chareidim I've spoken with are not even aware of any ban on VIN. Obviously VIN's readership far outpaces Matzav.

[Menachem Mendel lll]

WHAT.........

Ha'shem fearing Jews gloating over a fellow Jews downfall.

If gloating is acceptable it must be open season for Lashon Hara and anything else that is not a criminal offence.

Nice.

Very nice.

[Gevalt!]

"Gloating in what it hopes will be its rival's downfall..."

All of this supports my post from yesterday...$, kavod and power are the driving forces of corruption on all levels...

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

The putative author of the matzav attack on Harry Maryles (but really on VI) may not exist. I can find no proof that he is real. Some folks suspect that the article is really a hack job by Pinny Lipshutz himself.

http://frumfollies.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/matzav-gavriel-rivlin-vosizneias-ban-vin/

[Loshon Hora]

I think Matzav fits the description in the ban alot more than VIN, VIN is a blogger of other news sites, very little is it's own, whereas Matzqav makes up the news itself some shon Hora more motzi shem ra, and almost all sheker.
We should get a kol Koreh saying we meant Matzav, & it was changed to VIN, or we meant both.
Matzav is trying to use the Kol Koreh as a hechsher to his propoganda, it seems that who rever it is has zero yiras shomayim,, & no busha at all.

[jewishwhistleblower]

I can confirm that I have been unable to find anyone with the legal name Gavriel Rivlin in the US.

There are the following people with similar names:

1) Gary Lewis Rivlin age 52, NY
2) Gary I Rivlin age 44, PA

[DBSesq.]

I've asked Matzav.com for information on R. Rivlin. Let's see if they post the request, and if anyone responds.

[david gross]

We should have a grassroots ban on using the Matzav website. There are enough other good sites to visit. This will hurt Matzav and hopefully push them out of business.

Do not patronize any advertisers on Matzav and tell advertisers to cancel Matzav.

[jewishwhistleblower]

I would note that fake names used by "journalists" and others are not something new. There was "Ben Nathan" used alledgedly by Rabbi Yair (Jordan) Hoffman of Vos Iz Neias.

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/08/breaking-more-a.html

Journalist Larry Yudelson impersonated me several years back on the blog Canonist, which he admitted was an attempt to make me look silly.

DBSesq (not a journalist) was accused on this blog of using another name relating to alleged posted materials related to a case in his former firm.

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2010/12/yehuda-semel-has-two-wives-and-the-rabbis-dont-really-seem-to-care-567.html

[jay]

Keep in mind that while VIN may be in trouble with the Rabbinical political machine for pointing out the possible corruption of one politician, it is still a very right wing Haredi website that repeatedly condemns Jews of theological and political bents that they disrespect. They are staunch supporters of far right wing pundits, propagandists, politicians and political leaders.

[ah-pee-chorus]

VIN is all for censorship. matzav is all for censorship. the ayatollahs who signed the kol koreh are all for censorship. the fact that each may have a different trigger point means little to me. if you live by the sword of censorship, dont be surprised when it is your neck on the chopping block.

[WoolSilkCotton]

While all the frumme feces is being flung across the internet, there doesn't seem to be a down side.
The frumme are always eager to find someone to hate. It was only a matter of time before they turned on one another.

[Dovy]

There must be software out there that can compare sample writings of supposedly different sources and determine if they were written by the same person?

[benji gross]

BOYCOTT MATZAV. DO NOT VISIT THE SITE. SEND EMAILS TO THEIR SPONSORS THAT YOU WILL NOT SUPPORT THEM IF THEY CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE ON MATZAV.

[Adam Neira]

Will Matsav be part of the Messianic Media Empire ?

www.wp2050.com