Ubiquitous Ads Promising Prayers By Sefardi Kabbalist In Exchange For Donations To Chabad-Linked Anti-Missionary Charity Ruled Illegal

The ubiquitous ads for the haredi Yad L’achim anti-missionary anti-intermarriage organization featuring Rabbi Yehiel Abuhatzeira have been ruled illegal.

Above: Rabbi Yehiel Abuhatzeira

Ubiquitous Ads Promising Prayers By Sefardi Kabbalist In Exchange For Donations To Chabad-Linked Anti-Missionary Charity Ruled Illegal
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

The ubiquitous ads for the haredi Yad L’achim anti-missionary anti-intermarriage organization featuring Rabbi Yehiel Abuhatzeira have been ruled illegal, the Jerusalem Post reported
tonight.

The ads promised that Abuhatzeira – the Chief Rabbi of Ramle and a nephew of the famous late Sefardi haredi kabbalist Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (better known as the Baba Sali, “Our Praying Father”) – would pray for anyone who donated money to Yad L’achim.

But according to Israeli law, all state civil service employees – which includes all state-employed chief rabbis – are forbidden to raise money for any organization or for any purpose other than for official state programs.

Yad L’Achim, which was founded and run by a Chabad hasid who had close ties to both Chabad leadership and non-Chabad haredi yeshiva heads, is not an official state organization or an approved state program. Its ads featuring Abuhatzeira (please see an example at the bottom of this post) have ben running in newspapers and on the Internet for at least three years.

The Hiddush religious freedom and freedom from religion nonprofit say the ubiquitous ads and wrote Deputy Religious Services Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan. Hiddish explained to Ben-Dahan that those Yad L’Achim ads are illegal and asked him to stop Abuhatzeira from participating in them.

Ben-Dahan asked the Religious Services Ministry’s legal adviser to review the matter.

After doing so, the legal adviser spoke with Abuhatzeira and told him to remove his name from those Yad L’Achim ads and from any other advertisements that raise money for any group or nongovernmental organization.

Yad L’achim reportedly refused to comment on the ruling.

The head of Hiddush, Reform Rabbi Uri Regev, reportedly praised Ben-Dahan swift action and noted that the law banning fundraising by civil servants was put in place to prevent public officials from actively participating in political campaigns as well as fundraising for other groups because they are, at least in potential, conflicts of interest.

Regev also said Hiddush still has several unresolved complaints filed with both the Religious Services Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office over illegal political participation during December’s countrywide municipal elections and even from the Knesset elections of January 2013, including promises of special blessings and special religious talismans in exchange for votes.

“Inaction of law enforcement agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office, perpetuates the perception that there is no sanction for rabbis breaching the law in this manner. Rabbis who serve as civil servants, including municipal chief rabbis, often seem to feel that they are exempt from such regulations, or are above them. There is a need to remind all state-employed rabbis that they are not beyond the law,” Regev said.

Comments

[ruthie]

lol
guy was just trying to make a buck
nice try.
good idea.
i'm sure he'll think of something new.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

Regev is a sore losing shmuck. He is tortured by the fact that no one as much as pisses in the direction of the reform 'rabbis'. THAT is the underlying reason he feels compelled to act on this--nothing else.
I do not care for these kabbalists and their BS, but believe that if people are so shallow and want to buy their crap, so be it. Such cases are realky a gray area since the rabbi is not the one campaigning and is only performing 'lip services'. Essentially the government could have looked the other way if not for this piece of filth Regev.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

I meant really

[Yosef ben Matitya]

Jekyll Jacobson
regev could be a sore loser & yes, scr-w him.
but screw also the sefardi and chabd crooks described in this posting.

[Rocky]

Now that Israel is settling in for a long war with Hamas, maybe it will get around to sweeping away all of these rabbinical subsidies. Or maybe not. It seems to me that the country has too many chief rabbis.

[SimoneF]

Jekyll Jacobson: "Essentially the government could have looked the other way if not for this piece of filth Regev"

Essentially that sums up your position: Free rein for haredi crooks and sinas chinom for those who oppose them. What a principled and truly frum individual you are, a real credit to your teachers.

[Allan]

“Where thousands have had their tefillahs answered”

Sounds like the ads for the lotteries and casinos “Thousands of winners every year!” Yeah, right, and millions of losers! I’d love to see a scientific survey where they interview the people who actually paid cash for a con-artist (excuse me “tzaddik”) to pray for them or prayed at graves of tzaddikim. What exactly is their success rate? Let’s have a little honesty in advertising. I would guess it’s no better than 50% (and probably at lot less).

To quote comedian George Carlin,” It’s the same success rate as not praying at all -50/50. Sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don’t. What do you say if your prayers don’t get answered? You say ‘It’s God’s will. God’s will be done’ Well, if God is going to do whatever he wants anyway, what’s the point in praying? Seems like a big waste of time.”

I like the warning on the poster “Final deadline tonight. Submit names until 11:59 P.M.” Hurry and pay up! Remember, after midnight your prayers will have to get to heaven on your own poor efforts and will probably be ignored by God all because you were too cheap to have the great Abuchatzeira help you out.

[RWisler]

Yad L'Achim is associated with Chabad? I don't think so.

[Josh]

So cute to see Jekyll referring to reform 'rabbis' with the inverted commas. They are not real rabbis. The orthodox like to pretend that their made up religion is genuine and reform is not.

Wake up you putz, they are both equally man made creations. The difference is reform is at least honest about it while orthodox pretends their invention was dictated by god and bases itself on lies lechatchilla!

[Josh]

I suppose this explains why there is so much dishonesty amongst the charedim: when your whole religion and life is based on lies what hope can there be for its adherents in being truthful with others when they cant even be truthful with themselves?

[barry]

Jekyll Jacobson hostility to 'these kabbalists and their BS' could even be described in Freudian terms as the narcissism of small differences. Kabbalists are dangerous to them because for those raised in the 'normal' ultra orthodox version of Judaism and their BS, the kabbalist’s even more extreme interpretation is not a huge leap.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

Barry
You have your truths and I have mine. Quoting Sigmund Freud and other weirdos who had their theories on just about everything, (some refuted by other whackjobs (alt. wackjobs) and some still hold in the psychoanalytical community until further proof can be obtained) doesn't make your truth more acceptable than mine.
Your argument can be applied to 'rational' Judaism which views the Haredim as BS, as well. Now do the math if you have the capacity...
We all try to find a middle ground between two extremes. I have found mine; how about you?

[SimoneF]

Jekyll - advocating "looking the other way" to criminal behavior by haredi rabbis and calling anyone who tries to prevent such crimes a "piece of filth" is not exactly what anyone with more than half a brain would call "middle ground."

[Shmarya]

RWisler –

It was founded by a Chabadnik who studied in non-Chabad haredi yeshivas as well as Chabad yeshivas. He had the blessings of both the Rayyatz and the Rebbe, I believe, and for decades YAd L'Achim was considered by many Chabadniks to be a Chabad stealth organization.

At the same time, Yad L'Achim was very close to other haredi rabbinic leaders and had their open support.

[Joe Field]

Jekyll Jacobson;
“We all try to find a middle ground between two extremes.”

Be objective are you really in the middle of the spectrum? If you claim yes, please illuminate us, who is on your right and who is on your left.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

I made it quite clear: reform is far left and kabbalists are far far right. Both are destructive to Judaism.

[Joe Field]

Jekyll Jacobson;

I could understand your view on the left, but the Kabbalistic on the right; no way, they are more liberal than most orthodox groups. In my view every orthodox Jew is on the right. The only differences are, each group wants to control all the other religious groups. The underlying goal is allways financial gain.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

Joe
We are referring to different Kabbalists.
I for one am not attempting to control any Haredi group. Neither ate any of my acquaintances. You are right though about fighting factions of the same denominator...

[Joe Field]

Jekyll Jacobson;

Generally people are sheeple, therefore you with being truthful can claim that you don’t want to control others. My comment is to outline a foundation off why you have numerous groups and subgroups. It is always about control the mind and the pocketbook. This is not exclusives to Judaism; it is every religion on this earth. Each major religion has different subculture which detests the others with hate and venom.

Look at the Muslims Sunni and Shia. Look at Roman Catholicism and Christianity they killed each others for hundreds of years. The same goes with the different Chasidim sects. It is always been about control the mind and as a result the wealth.

I don’t expect you to all of sudden recognize the underlying facts of every major religious institution, but if you read history of other religion’s you slowly will spot the money angle.

[Jekyll Jacobson]

Joe
Same goes for political parties. Same holds true by rivaling government agencies. Should we therefore disband 'em all? Are you promulgating anarchy?
Money and power is what appeals to us lowly humans. It's what entices us to get involved.
So amidst all the corruption, one must find his comfort zone. I did, how 'bout you?

[Joe Field]

Jekyll Jacobson;
Grant you, that politics is also grounded in the desire to control and enrich a person or a movement. Nevertheless, that could be overlooked, because the competition is about a financial system, as long as the political system is not discriminating against minorities or any other groups. I am sure you have your view about government and I have my view. If you have the same general view about the function of a movement, than you will not have anarchy.

Yet I am denouncing the religion aspect of the control, which is not about the financial system of government, but, a belief system, which tries to control your education and your self-determination. When it comes to control Orthodox Judaism, is on par with the extremist Muslims.