Kosher by Association: Intro (again) and Part 2 - Jewish Community Watch and the Love Triangle

Author's note - This post is the second installment, and primary portion of this two-part series. The Intro is identical to that of the previous post. I am reprinting it here for the benefit of readers who have not read Part 1. Skip it if you read the previous post. It is also recommended to see my earlier post on this subject - Your Friendly Jewish Community Kangaroo Court.
Disclaimer - All of the information presented in this post (with the exception of the non-public lawyer's letter) is sourced from information freely accessible on the Internet. If anything claimed here is inaccurate, please contact me and I will be happy to update the information.

Intro

The gemara in Sanhedrin (91a) tells us an ancient fable.

Antoninus told Rebi (Rabi Yehuda HaNasi) that on the day of judgment, both the body and the soul will be able to exonerate themselves. The body will blame the soul and claim it is the soul’s doing, for “from the day it left me, I have been lying motionless in the grave like a rock”. The soul will blame the body and claim it is the body’s doing for “ever since the day we parted I have been floating around aimlessly like a bird”.

Rebi responded with the following fable:

A king had a luscious orchard and needed reliable guards. He stationed a blind man and a cripple to guard the orchard. The cripple would tell the blind man how beautiful are the fruits of the orchard but he is paralyzed and can’t get to them. The blind man said, “I could get to them if I could see them but I can’t see”. The cripple suggested, “If you let me ride on your shoulders, we can reach them together. Let’s do it.” And they did.

When the king noticed that his orchard was pillaged, he accused the guards. Each guard was able to present a defense. “I can’t even see them”, said the blind man. “There is no way I can access them”, said the cripple. But the king caught on to their scheme and understood what they did. So, what did he do? He mounted the cripple on top of the blind man and judged them as one.

Rebi concluded: This is what HKBH will do on the day of judgement. He will throw the soul back into the body and judge them as one.

What we learn here is literally one of the oldest “tricks” in the book. Two parties team up to do some mischief and when the mischief is found out, each one claims the other guy did it and he has nothing to do with it. In fact, he is not even capable of it.

There is more than one way to pull off this trick. One way is the case of Rebi’s fable. The two culprits spent all their time in public as two distinct entities. They only teamed up to do monkey business when nobody was looking. The minute they were done, they went back to being two separate disabled people. Their purposes were served by the illusion of being two separate restricted entities.

The other variation is the exact opposite. It’s a case where the two parties want to appear in public as if they are one entity. The illusion that they are one entity is what serves their purposes at the outset. It is only after the monkey business is discovered that they try to split to two different directions to stay out of trouble. (This is actually closer to Antoninus’s case.)

We all know the term “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. It’s just that sometimes the sheep’s clothes is not just a wool jacket, but an actual live sheep. It’s the sweet old lady or cute little kid in the graft scheme that distracts the jeweler while the sneaky accomplice steals the goods. The “sheep” makes the “wolf” look respectable, but really both of them are wolves.

Part 2 – Jewish Community Watch – We Cannot be Silent

It’s time to move on. The BDA and RCA are not the only “blind” and “crippled” watchmen that are pulling the wool over our eyes. And they are not even the main ones that I wanted to discuss in this 2-part series. 

Recently I have been writing a great deal about an organization called JCW (Jewish Community Watch). In the wake of the Malka Leifer episode they have done a great deal to put themselves on my radar screen, so I have been looking at them quite a bit.

Last November, I wrote a post about JCW titled Your Friendly Jewish Community Kangaroo Court. The post was written in the wake of a podcast interview of JCW Israeli Office COO, Shana Aaronson. In the interview, Mrs. Aaronson was extolling the virtues of JCW and one of her praises was that JCW has “never been sued”. [Side note – I am not so certain that this statement still holds true.]  In my post, I took exception to this claim and wrote that I believe it to be deceptive and misleading (a “half-truth”). This is because, in most cases, there are so many legal, financial, and practical obstacles to filing a defamation suit as to make it too prohibitive to carry out. I went on to present a list of said obstacles. 

At the end of the list, was the following:

In Israel, it is easier to prove defamation but here we have another problem that Mrs. Aaronson has not revealed to us. JCW is not a legal organization in Israel as they have not registered in their business or non-profit registry (Rishut HaTaagidim). Officially, in Israel, JCW only exists on the cloud.

What this is saying is that, here in Israel, JCW has been trying to stay off the government radar screen while trying to make a lot of commotion with the public. As an official “Amuta” (NPO), they do not exist. As such, if somebody feels they have been unjustly maligned and want to complain or call a Din Torah or sue, not only is there nobody to complain to, but there is nobody to complain about!

So, let’s assume that you are a fine upstanding G-d-fearing Israeli citizen named Avrohom Rosenberg or Zalman Cohen or Shimon Amar. There is not an abusive cell in your body. However, you get taunted, maligned and/or find doors closing in your face for jobs or shidduchim (for you or your children) because your name happens to be identical to some alleged offender that is posted on the JCW Wall of Shame without a photo – so nobody can tell by looking that you are not the offender. And if somebody Googles your name, the first thing they get is a link to JCW's Wall of Shame.


Let us even say that this really hasn’t caused you any grievous harm and you are a bit laid-back about it, but your wife or mother has discovered this “coincidence” and she is losing it. You are totally Israeli, you cannot really speak English and you have no connections to the US.

What are you going to do?

Will you call Meyer Seewald in Florida to a Din Torah? So that he can respond, “No problem, let’s go to the RCA Beit Din (of which, Rabbi Blau, who is a board officer of JCW, is a member)”? 

Will you complain to the Rabbinic advisors – to Rabbi Tauber, ten time zones away in California or to Rabbi Soloveitchik, only a mere eight time zones away in Chicago? (Note - JCW does not have a “Rabbinic advisor” or a legal advisor in Israel.) Will you track down Shana Aaronson who is totally unlisted (and will anyway claim that she is just a lowly staff member)?

The reason that foreign based businesses that operate in Israel need to be registered, is to establish a documented presence. This is so they can be held accountable for upholding local laws and local business practices and, of course, to maintain fiscal responsibility. This is essential to protect the public from damages and to protect other businesses and NPOs from unfair advantages. And so, like many other developed countries, the State of Israel has Section 9, Chapter 2 of the Corporations Law (1999) which, in paragraph 346, mandates any foreign enterprise that conducts business within the borders of Israel to register the name and address of the business, to name a director and (paragraph 348) to file an annual financial report.

Government oversight agencies for business practices is an integral part of any civilization. So much so that our Halacha mandates it as well. It’s right there in Choshen Mishpat 231:2 and 231:20 (see Bava Basra 89a). Just like real estate laws, health codes, building codes, fire codes, and traffic laws, we are Halachically duty-bound to comply with them. Ideally, the local Beit Din should oversee these things. But when Beit Din does not run the show, we must comply with the regulations of whoever does. This is where dina d’malchusa applies.

As it stands, there is currently no indication that Jewish Community Watch is in compliance with Section 9, Chapter 2 of the Corporations Law. This non-compliance insulates them from being sued and it also protects them from filing those pesky annual reports where they need to show how much money they took in, where it came from, and where it went to.

Now JCW is undoubtedly an impeccable organization. Just listen to the glowing praises of Shana Aaronson. JCW claims the hechsherim of Rabbi Elchonon Tauber and Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik, and, of course, they are under the direction of Rabbi Yosef Blau. So, it goes without saying that everything they do is on the up and up. [Coincidentally, Rabbi Yosef Blau is also a member of the RCA although he does not seem to be a board member or officer at present. Nevertheless, his son, Binyamin, is indeed an officer – Vice President, Midwest – so, it would seem that the elder Rabbi Blau is an influential player. Small world.] 

It’s unthinkable that such a virtuous organization as JCW should be in violation of Israeli law. With such a hechsher they must be strictly Kosher. But how do they pull this off?

Well, perhaps we can say that they are “Kosher by association”. 

And who might this association be?

Enter…Lo Tishtok (Do Not be Silent).

Lo Tishtok is a relatively nascent, unimposing, Israeli based CSA advocacy group. So unimposing, in fact, that they don’t have any web site at all, and certainly not a physical office. There is nothing more than a Facebook account. They seem to be operating out of someone’s studio apartment in Jerusalem. Their contact is an email address and the personal cell phone number of Racheli Roshgold. They do not seem to be heavy on resources or personnel. Very low key and very low budget.


Moreover, they have no endorsements of any kind whatsoever - Rabbinic or otherwise. Likewise, no Rabbinic or legal advisors. The few staff members have, at most, very superficial professional credentials. (One has a certificate in "sexual health counseling" and another is studying for a Master's in Clinical Psychology. No sign of any professional practice.)


In short, they are a crew of unaccredited amateurs. What we Jews call "heimishe".

But…Lo Tishtok does have one strong point. They are officially registered in the business registry as an Israeli Amuta – Amuta No. 580633840. 

Lo Tishtok is very closely affiliated with JCW. How closely? 

For one thing, their two main players – Rachel Roshgold and Tzviki Fleischman – happen to appear on the Staff Member page of JCW’s US web site. I call this “sharing resources”. [Note - It seems that the JCW website was briefly offline recently and appears to have been hacked. As of now, they have managed to restore most of their original website. The rare exception is the Staff Member page which, to date, shows no display.]

Moreover, the Israeli JCW website names Lo Tishtok as a “Project” of theirs. A recent article in the Israeli Yisrael Hayom named Lo Tishtok as its “Israeli Branch”. Recent banners, pamphlets and Child Safety booklets that JCW has been distributing in recent events in Israel all display Lo Tishtok as a co-sponsor of their activities.

But the most important thing is that JCW held a marathon 36-hour crowdfunding campaign last December. The campaign was hosted by Charidy.com which seems to be a New York based enterprise (with a branch in Australia, of all places). 

Charidy.com interfaces their site in several languages. The English version of this campaign only mentions JCW and no other organization. This ensures that the funds are for the US based JCW (which probably includes their Israeli “office”) and no one else. I would also assume that the first stop of the money is their American based war chest which is probably some American bank account. [Interestingly, the English language campaign page does not display any kind of Tax ID number for Jewish Community Watch – not US or Israeli (there is no Israeli number, remember?) nor does it even mention Lo Tishtok!]

But if you look at the Hebrew language version – which comes up automatically if you are running on an Israeli ISP – it looks a bit different. The text of the campaign rhetoric starts with a headline that says: Lo Tishtok. It goes on to give some background of the two organizations such that JCW was founded in 2011 and Lo Tishtok was founded in 2014 and the two organizations have “recently united with the understanding that each organization has its own knowledge and capabilities and the alliance between them will maximize their capabilities…, etc., etc.”

What they are saying is that JCW can see and do, but it is not Israeli, so it is a bit crippled. It needs a pair of legs. Lo Tishtok can get around in Israel. They are legal. But they, as unaccredited, unendorsed and unsupervised amateurs, are not so equipped to really see what’s going on. They need some eyes. So, here’s Shana Aaronson and Jewish Community Watch. [Note – Their campaign page includes an embedded action filled YouTube clip of all of the players – Meyer Seewald and Shana Aaronson of JCW and Racheli Roshgold and Tzvika Fleishman of Lo Tistok – having loads of fun playing detective.]

So, the blind man and the cripple get together to collect money in Israel that is [presumably] being banked in America. Is this allowed? 

Well, perhaps it would be okay if the Israeli JCW is registered as an Amuta in Israel. But this does not seem to be the case. Or perhaps it is okay if Lo Tishtok, the legal Amuta, is collecting money for Lo Tishtok. But this does not seem to be the case. Unless…

…Lo Tishtok is JCW in Israel. And this is what they seem to be claiming to the public. 

But if this is so, then a disgruntled Israeli who wants to sue JCW, can file the suit against Lo Tishtok!

Can he?

Well, for the moment, there does not seem to be any legal documentation that unites Lo Tishtok with JCW. Also, I am privy to a non-public statement that a lawyer for JCW in Israel has denied any formal alliance. 

Ah-hah! When they are campaigning for money, the cripple and the blind man are “united”. But when they are not campaigning for money, the crippled one stays crippled and the blind one stays blind!

Now, let’s thicken the plot. Lo Tishtok is certainly not collecting the money for Lo Tishtok. They say they are collecting the money for JCW. But, are they?

Well, in the Hebrew version of the campaign page, they do display a tax ID number. An Israeli one. The number is 580528230. But this number does not belong to JCW, nor to Lo Tishtok. It belongs to an organization called Magen Child Protection.

Magen Child Protection is an earlier incarnation of the JCW model first established in 2010. As far as I can tell, the only difference is that it did not maintain a “Wall of Shame”. But this organization has been totally defunct since the summer of 2015. Absolutely no website (except an inactive blog) and a totally blank Facebook page. No office. Emails bounced. All phones disconnected. Nothing. They did indeed file a 2016 financial report in May of 2018 claiming NIS 206,000 (about $55,000) of revenues and operating fees – about half that of the previous year – but no telling what the money was used for. So far, no 2017 financial report and the 2018 report is already due.

One more thing about the now defunct Magen Child Protection. When they did operate, who was their Social Service Coordinator? 

You guessed it – Shana Aaronson. 

[Update - After publishing this post, a very thoughtful reader informed me that Magen officially closed for business in August of 2017 (again this is after at least two years of inactivity). They sent out an email with this announcement to all their followers. The email states that, "Magen's Victim Services Department has been adopted by the Israel office of Jewish Community Watch..." You can see the email HERE.
So, now it looks like the blind man and the cripple have recruited a third partner - a dead man. Who do you think each one is going to blame?] 

So we now have Racheli Roshgold and Tzvika Fleishman who work for both JCW and Lo Tishtok, and Shana Aaronson who works for JCW and Magen Child Protection. This is some love triangle!

And now, Lo Tishtok, acting on behalf of JCW, is telling donors to chalk up the donation to Magen Child Protection. 

Is this legal?

Well, JCW is a fine upstanding organization under the leadership of Rabbi Yosef Blau and has Rabbi Elchonon Tauber and Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik as Rabbinic advisors and Leah Klein, Benny Forer and Alex Zalkin as legal advisors, and in their FAQs they write how much they are dedicated to creating a Kiddush Hashem – so all this must be legal.

Though I am a bit surprised (I am not a Rabbi or a lawyer.)

As I wrote from the gemara in Bava Basra 89a (Choshen Mishpat 231:2 and 231:20), a Beis Din must set up oversight agencies to monitor associations. This is for the purpose of combating “ramah’im” (swindlers – see Bava Basra 89b). Associations team up to share their “capabilities”. If one association is more “kosher” than another, it gives the illusion of making the other one “kosher by association”. 

This actually is how we “kasher” mikvaos; by attaching a “pasul" one to a kosher one. The kosher one makes them both kosher just by virtue of being attached to it. 

But the purpose of a mikveh is to purify people. People come out of a mikveh clean, so nobody has any reason to want to sue a mikveh. But for an entity that is bent on declaring people to be impure and "pasul" and seeing to it that they stay that way, the rules are different.

A love triangle is only as strong as its weakest link. And, in my personal opinion, Lo Tishtok may have a good reason to remain silent.

והייתם נקיים מה' וישראל!