"…Anyone who has ever attended a Yeshiva knows that a posek cannot and does not issue a ruling, much less a ban, unless he is presented with both sides of the story and carefully weighs the evidence before he issues a ruling. We know for a fact that this procedure was not followed in this case, since not one person from Mishpacha's Hebrew staff was summoned to Maran Rav Elyashiv's home to explain their side of the story.…"
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv
Originally published 10:52 pm 1-2-2012
This memo was allegedly sent out to Mishpacha Magazine's English language edition's staff:
The letter which was published by the Hebrew Yated [Ne'eman] in Israel last Friday, in which Rav Elyashiv supposedly banned the Hebrew-language Mishpacha, was part of an ongoing business war that Yated is waging against Mishpacha. This specific letter was prompted by the Hebrew Mishpacha’s launch, last week, of its mid-week edition, which is distributed free of charge to 150,000 chareidi families across Israel.
Mishpacha's new newspaper was launched with the staunch backing of gedolei Yisrael including representatives of Rav Aron Leib Steinman, Rav Nissim Karelitz, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rav Gershon Edelstein, Rav Ovadia Yosef, and gedolei haAdmorim, shlita, and is perceived as a major threat by the Hebrew Yated. Apparently, the Yated’s fear of competition spurred them to orchestrate this new “ban,” to which they accorded wide publicity.
The following was our response to a chareidi news outlet who contacted us yesterday, asking whether we were aware that HaRav Elyashiv was planning to sign a letter against the Hebrew Mishpacha or if this move caught us by surprise.
"We were most definitely not caught by surprise, as we are well aware of the ongoing turf war between the Israeli Yated and the Hebrew Mishpacha. In fact, we were expecting it, since similar tactics were attempted by the Yated previously, both with Maran Harav Elyashiv Shlita and other gedolim. While we are not privy to all that's going on behind the scenes, we highly doubt the authenticity of this letter. Anyone who has ever attended a Yeshiva knows that a posek cannot and does not issue a ruling, much less a ban, unless he is presented with both sides of the story and carefully weighs the evidence before he issues a ruling. We know for a fact that this procedure was not followed in this case, since not one person from Mishpacha's Hebrew staff was summoned to Maran Rav Elyashiv's home to explain their side of the story. We are therefore confident that this letter was penned and signed by Yated's Hebrew staff members, who have access to Rav Elyashiv's court and are able to do as they wish while using and abusing the name and the honor of the Gadol Hador. And that is the real disgrace in this entirely shameful incident."
Since the release of this statement, we obtained information that seems to confirm that the signature was indeed a forgery.
Despite the negative publicity, Mishpacha will continue to protect the honor of gedolei Yisrael and will not react to such manipulation of the gedolim.
It should be underscored that the Hebrew-language Mishpacha is totally distinct from the English magazine of the same name, with different content and a different Rabbinic board. In addition, the Hebrew-language Yated has absolutely no connection with the English language, American-based Yated.