Deceptive Haredi Spin Exposed

A haredi spokesman gets caught with his pants down.

Above: Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum

Haredi spokesperson and spinmeister Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum writes:

…After 40,000 reservists were called up for Operation Protective Edge, Mrs. Sharon Isaacson, a member of the chareidi community of Ramat Beit Shemesh -- Aleph, began thinking about a former student of hers at MMY Seminary whose husband had been called up, and how difficult it must be for wives of reservists taking care of children alone while worrying about their husbands. She decided – with the enthusiastic support of her husband and children – to do something. Between various communal forums, including one for national religious rabbis in Beit Shemesh, and calls to the head of the community center, social workers, and friends, she put together over several days a list of women in Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh whose husbands have been called up.

Then she started enlisting her friends in the chareidi community, who soon outnumbered the number of wives whose husbands were in service by a considerable margin. That turned out to be a good thing, for there was plenty of assistance needed – e.g., a woman just after childbirth, another woman with five little kids under seven. The first step of visiting with cakes and offering words of support and appreciation was soon followed by more concrete tasks – providing cooked meals, babysitting, driving, and shopping. Mrs. Isaacson even found a therapist to donate her services for a traumatized wife who was not coping with her fears.

While collecting her list of wives whose husbands were in Gaza, Mrs. Isaacson also began accumulating a list of women whose sons are in Gaza. Someone gave her the phone number of a Chassidic woman who lives in Kiryat HaChareidi, adjacent to the Modern Orthodox Sheinfeld community where the Beit Orot school, which was the scene of so much controversy nearly two years ago. She is one of the founders of a group called Ayin Tov, which includes women from both the various chareidi neighborhoods and the modern orthodox/national religious neighborhoods of Beit Shemesh. Among its members are women whose daughters attend Beit Orot and others from Ramat Beit Shemesh – Beis, home to the handful of crazies who harassed the girls. Ayin Tova brings the women together to get to know one another and create more ahavas Yisrael. That Chassidic woman immediately volunteered her group to contact women with sons in the army and to daven for their sons.…

Sounds really good, I suppose, until you find out some information Rosenblum omitted. Marty Bluke writes:

Jonathan Rosenblum wrote a column describing the efforts of Mrs. Sharon Issacson a member of the "Charedi" community in Ramat Bet Shemesh, to help out women whose husbands were called up to the army to fight in Gaza. The point of the article was to show how the Charedi community has stepped up to the plate and is showing achdus with the soldiers and the Israeli people.

There is only one problem. Mrs. Sharon Issacson is not your typical Israeli Charedi. In fact, it would be hard to call her Charedi at all given her background and life today. She was raised in a Modern Orthodox home in NY and attended a co-ed elementary school and YUs Stern College. Her husband is a graduate of MTA and YU and has a law degree from Columbia. He is currently the Rosh Yeshiva of Mevaseret, a 1 year American Yeshiva for modern orthodox boys in Israel. Her 2 sons went to Maarava for High School. There is 1 even more startling fact that is missing, her son is currently serving in the Israeli Army in Nachal Haredi [a 'haredi' unit in which most soldiers are really ex-haredim or right wing Zionist Orthodox]. 

Given all of the above is it not very misleading to simply call her "Charedi"?

It seems that every time the Charedi world tries to appeal to more moderate Americans they bring examples that fall into one of 2 categories:

1. Baalei teshuva
2. They grew up in modern homes…

In a comment to Bluke's post, Rabbi Natan Slifkin noted that Rosenblum's deception goes even further. All the women involved in Issacson's effort "are members of Beis Tefillah, and they all grew up in Zionist homes."

In other words, the 'haredi' women doing so much to help IDF soldiers' families are really right wing Zionist Orthodox and former Modern Orthodox who are converts to haredism and have children or friends serving in Gaza.

For the most part, actual real haredim who are not ba'al teshuvas or converts from Zionist Orthodoxy or converts from Modern Orthodoxy didn't really do anything to help soldiers' families – a fact Rosenblum, himself a ba'al teshuva, desperately wants to hide.

Comments

[Truth Serum]

Shmarya's spin exposed:

He denies he ever stepped foot in Monsey because his darkest secret took place there after he dropped out of Leib Tropper's yeshiva.

He was just vegging around town and was having a bad day when he decided to throw rocks at the Charedim Bais medrash during Mincha after he thought he overheard Chabad who he still respected being insulted. They called the cops but Tropper felt sorry for Shmarya so he convinced them that Shmarya needs help, not prison, so they hauled him off for a psych evaluation.

The only part of the story going around that might be embellishment is Shmarya reportedly swearing revenge on Tropper at that time for branding him as a nut.

Today Shmarya pretends like he never met Tropper And calls you a pathological liar if you mention any detail of this episode or his brief stay in Monsey which can be confirmed with people who were in Kol Yaakov yeshiva in the early 1980s

[Account Deleted]

Truth Serum:

Shmarya can block your posts, but since he allows them to appear, your efforts are futile.

If you consider yourself an strict adherent to the Faith of your fathers, perhaps devote today to treating others who read this blog as you would want yourself treated.

Discuss the points made in this piece, rather than attack the blogger.

You may also want to reflect upon the idea that your behavior here serves only to further galvanize the readers against your cause.

[Gefilte Fish]

Reminds me of the deceptive tactics that Chabad uses, particularly with regard to women. The shluchim will tell women that they can be Chabad, even if they are doctors or lawyers. They will tell glowing stories of Chabad women who are professionals and still manage to raise a huge family.

What they never mention is that ALL of the Chabad women of whom they speak received their degrees BEFORE they became Chabad and that most of these women work a few hours a week, if at all.

[noname]

@Truth (???)
If 'true' that "he dropped out of Leib Tropper's" place of business (sorry but calling that place a Yeshiva is probably assur) in the 80s then he clearly had brilliant foresight and should be commended so thanks for letting us know that Shmarya has so much intuition. And as for who would have benefited from a pysch evaluation...hmmm...

[gevezener chusid]

alot like people using their Hebrew liturgical names in order to make it sound to the unknowing like they are really from a frum background when they are really disgruntled and disappointed former ba'alei tshuvah, descended from gangsters. I think it's called "street cred" in other circles.

[Truth Serum]

Pard, if Shmarya catches the comments quickly he deletes them. Or else if he catches them later he leaves them up because if deleted at that point people will know he's covering up.

No name, of course Tropper is nuts himself. Tropper is just a side show in Shmarya's big story.

Gevezener, shein geredt

[Truth Serum]

Shmarya is just lucky in the meantime that it is very difficult to get police records from that far back. But that won't be true forever. Even if jurisdictions don't optimize records for the web themselves, there are commercial enterprises like all the mugshot websites that are paying to do so to sell ads based on viewer traffic

[jancsibacsi]

Truth Serum---I think you have a poisoned mind,poisoned with hate, fool that you are.

[Account Deleted]

Truth Serum,

So you don't see it as problematic that "REAL" Haredi leadership considers all interaction with Zionists, other that the one way transfer of wealth FROM their coffers, to be forbidden?

[Garnel Ironheart]

You can be selective in either direction. Rav Rosenblum likes to highlight Chareidi BT's without mentioning they're BT's but they're genuine Chareidim now despite their background. Shmarya? He likes to highlight all the bad Chareidim and make it seem like they're the entire community. He makes the same distortion but in the opposite direction.

[SimoneF]

Ok Chum Lee, I mean Truth Serum, I mean Archie Bunker. You really are an an annoying little twerp.

[Y]

So Rabbi Rosenblum is not writing about Charedim because they are just Orthodox Jews but Eliyahu Weinstein -- who clearly does not believe in Charedi values -- IS Charedi?

[Yosef ben Matitya]

GI 8:38 am
'Rav' Rosenblum ??
Rav my butt.
Rabbi?
I do not think he ever got smikha. He is a fanatic BT himself. Prior to being a BT, he learned how to speak and write English as brought in Wikipedia:
Rosenblum is a graduate of the University of Chicago (AB 1973), Yale Law School, and Ohr Somayach's main branch in Jerusalem. Although once a self-identified Conservative Jew,[citation needed] he is now a haredi journalist who writes for many publications. These include columns in the modern haredi magazine Mishpacha; Litvish haredi weekly Yated Neeman; Hasidic haredi daily Hamodia; the mainstream Israeli weekly Maariv; the Jerusalem Post; the Baltimore Jewish Times; the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America's journal Jewish Action; and the English edition of Agudath Israel of America's journal, the Jewish Observer. He is a founding writer of the online modern haredi journal Cross-Currents.[1] His books include Reb Yaakov, a biography of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky (Mesorah Publications, 1993), which is based on the research of Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky. He is one of the initiators of Klal Perspectives,[2] an electronic journal dedicated to addressing the unique challenges facing today’s Orthodox communities.[3]

[Yosef ben Matitya]

More on Yonosson R's Wikipedia entry:

Rosenblum commended Moshe Katsav for not referring to the president of the Union for Reform Judaism as "Rav" [8]

I guess that qualifies Rosenblum himself to be also a rah-boy.

[Truth Serum]

Pard,

There is a problem from some, not all, Haredim regarding that and others.

But think about it. Shmarya is hypocrite on every topic that he bangs on about.

He shnorrs. He at least threw stones if not now. He is unemployed. He does nothing productive. He has a family history of theft & criminality. It's a long list.

SimoneF, happy to oblige!

[Just Curious]

Just out of curiosity, is the "Beis Tefillah" that Natan Slifkin mentions in his reply to Bluke's post a Modern Orthodox/dati leumi shul/institution?

[Devorah]

Truth Serum, or whatever name you select, who cares? You look like a fool with your Monsey nonsense. Seems like you're obsessed with Shmarya....and we're all laughing AT you, not with you.

[dh]

Better Archie than Yaakov!

[Truth Serum]

Devorah aka your alter ego Yehudis,

You & Peggy will sell yourselves to anyone who gives space to YOUR obsession which is the East Ramapo school district, which itself is really a cloak for your bitter anti-Semitism. And in your self hating case, what would Rabbi Zeides say?

[jancsibacsi]

Truth Serum--You are mentally deranged get that stupid truth serum out of your system before it consumes you from within.

[Truth Serum]

Shmarya's little poodle Janc is being very obedient to defend him. Give him a doggie biscuit

[jancsibacsi]

Truth Serum--Didnt i tell already gey hangdeh of, go hang youreself on the nearest tallest tree you twerp.

[Truth Serum]

Janc,

And Charvona (Eliyohu hanovi) told the king, look there is the tree that Haman prepared to hang Mordechai on.

Even a Satmar dropout vee eich knows how that story ends

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Toyvah [to-evah] is here!

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/this-is-beyond-hilarious-what-a-sight

[Shmarya]

"Truth Serum" is the sick, mentally ill liar best known to longtime readers here as Archie Bunker.

He knows I was never even in Monsey let alone in Tropper's yeshiva.

He knows what he is writing is a lie.

And his frequently cited but unnamed haredi community leaders he says back him up will never come forward using their real names (if they even exist) because they're all afraid of being outed and, perhaps, sued.

When you want to know what the haredi world really is, look at the behavior of "Truth Serum" ("Archie Bunker," etc.) . This sickness, these lies, this evil is exactly what the haredi world really is.

[jancsibacsi]

Shmarya---When you want to know what the haredi world really is, look at the behavior of "Truth Serum" ("Archie Bunker," etc.) . This sickness, these lies, this evil is exactly what the haredi world really is.
Thats exactly right on the true face of hareidi behaviour,lie lie and more lies shamelessly told over and over they have no shame no humanity.

[FFK]

Given her first name, Mrs. Sharon Isaacson is obviously not from a Charedi background...as to how she identifies herself today, perhaps we can draw a not so subtle inference from the fact that her son is enrolled in Nachal "HaCharedi"...

Just Saying.

[Just Curious]

When you guys take a break from feeding this Truth Serum troll, can someone knowledgeable please acqaint me with the "Beis Tefillah" that Natan Slifkin mentions in his reply to Bluke's post?

Is it (presumably) a Modern Orthodox/dati le'umi shul/institution in [Ramat] Beit Shemesh? I am not familiar with it.

[Solo Man]

Ok, fair is fair,if there's a cover up of a crime etc in our community, then it is a good thing to expose it.
But what difference does it make if some nice ladies are M.O. or B.T. or FFB?

If it is indeed true that most of those involved in this particular chesed project are modern orthodox or baalei teshuva, can we learn a positive lesson from this?

This is a time when israel's enemies are gathering. Can't we stress the positive?

How about posting some positive examples of community life. Or is it against the policy of this blog?

btw, the personal mud slinging is in a very bad taste. Let's stick to the story.

[Solo Man]

''Nachal Haredi [a 'haredi' unit in which most soldiers are really ex-haredim or right wing Zionist Orthodox].''

Again, it seems to me, that such remarks as quoted above, are really petty, destructive and divisive.
I see clips of our israeli soldiers putting their lives on line, some orthodox, some not, and all the levels in between. Hell, some aren't even jewish, there are some muslim, druzz, and xians proudly serving in IDF.

So to nit pick if those brave heros are chardal or kippa sruga or belzers or gur or nanachs? Really bad taste. At really bad time.

If u want to cult bust, or correct wrongs in our community, i'm with you.
But to pick on the specific religious background of those grwat kids, that is low. What's next, r u going to measure the size of their kippot or length of their tzitzit?
Nothing productive in this article. Feels ugly.

[Charedi]

www.beistefillah.org

It is a Shul with mostly Charedi Baalei Teshuva.

Rosenblum did not lie.

He was showing that there are many different types of people in the Charedi community.

Just like Rav Shmuel Aurbach's Chassidim are not with the same Hashkafa as Rav Shteinman's.
They are all called Charedi as opposed to Modern Orthodox (Dati Leumi).
So to are the Charedi BT's.

[Uri]

It seems that the people described in Rosenblum's article identify themselves as Haredi, so why would you question their bona fides because of their background? Are you only allowed to draw conclusions about Haredim when they were Haredi-from-birth or have extremist tendencies you associated with Haredim? And is anyone with children in Nahal Haredi not an authentic Haredi?

[yoni FFB]

Rosenblum himself is a three quarter BT. That's his biggest problem. He is just another one of those biggot Baal tshuvas who think that they can come into our society and start guiding us with their fashtunkeneh goyesheh hashkofehs from their goyeshe past. BT, remember you are a new comer to our society, you are are a guest and always will be, nothing will ever fill the void of your upbringing. No seminars, lessons, speeches, weekends, courses, books and DVDs can give you what we got from our upbringing. If you act like a guest your a welcome one, if you act like a balhabos in our society then your not welcome. Your a newcomer and belong in the spectators gallery getting guidance not giving it. Sit quietly and learn from us. Open your eyes and shut your mouth. No, I'm not blaming you for being born not frum, and yes, I do admire you for for your strength to change, but, know your place and don't try leading us. If you can comprehend and internalize this then your kids Might stand a chance. If you don't like this you can go home, we have enough issues from within to deal with, without importing any more.

[Yoel Mechanic]

Solo man: good job.

yoni FFB: perhaps some of the regulars can enlighten us as to whether this yoni FFB is a sock puppet Fraud-From-Birth pretending to be Frum. This little speech of his looks like a cut and paste job from an earlier post, with the intent of creating ill-will. I do not believe this is an authentic voice even though it does contain some grammar mistakes. I think this is some guy who wants to make FFB's look bad.

This sort of fraud is bad because it short circuits any sort of rational discussions about actual problems that ought to be discussed.

[Nachum]

Check out Rosenblum's latest:

http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2014/08/12/max-steinberg-ztl-as-rorschach-test/

The whole piece screams out the elephant in the room: "So, uh, Jonathan: Will your sons be serving?"