Magen-Israel.Org – Our Protector and Holy Gatekeeper of the Holy Land

 

I would like to discuss a fellow we’ll call “Bernie”. But, before we do, we need to have a few preludes based on writings from the past.

Prelude 1 – It is a mitzva to live in Eretz Israel

I made Aliya back in 1997 because I considered it a big zechus and a big mitzva. I wrote about it in my book and made a special blog post about it back in 2009 and an update in 2020.

In the course of inquiring whether to make Aliyah, my first stop was not the Jewish Agency. I was not interested in their opinion. I went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, ZTL, Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, ZTL, and to the Gerrer Rebbe, Shlita.

Here is how I wrote about it in my book (slightly edited):

In August of that year, I undertook another business trip and, this time, I truly did come with more than one order of business. Through the assistance of my Bnei Brak brother-in-law, I merited an audience with Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Shlit”a. I told him that I am an American businessman with a growing family and my wife has been on my case to settle in Eretz Israel me’az hayita l’frau.

 

He responded by quoting a Mishna in tractate Ketubot: “All [spouses] can demand immigration to Eretz Israel but not all [spouses] can demand emigration. This applies equally to the husbands and to the wives.” (This Mishna is brought down in Halacha in Even HaEzer 75.)

 

I thought it would be wise to get a second opinion from one whom I could converse with at length, and in my native tongue. I approached Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Shlit”a and presented the issue. He didn’t seem to be too interested in particulars either; he merely said that “I am pro Eretz Israel.” To make one final stab at a dissenting vote, I approached the Rebbe of Gur, Shlit”a. No dice. He did nothing more than wish me Hatzlacha (success).

 

All told, it came down to a unanimous 3-0 decision. It’s a zechus to be able to come live in Eretz Israel; and once one has this zechus, it is certainly at least a mitzva kiyumis.

This essentially applies to any authentic Jewish person. It shouldn’t matter if they are not everyone’s favorite type of person. It shouldn’t matter who they are, and more so, who they were.

One thing is more than certain, any Jew that is already here has every right to stay, no matter what.

 

Prelude 2 – A Jew is always a Jew

Before I embarked into the murky waters of the Malka Leifer episode, I wrote a preamble post to “lay down the law” titled, Mesira XIII: Thinking Like a Jew. The purpose was to present the Halachic definition of the relevant concepts such as: “Giluy arayos”, “Rape”, “Child”, “Rodef”, “Mesira”, etc. At the end of that post, I threw in one closing topic:   

אף על פי שחטא, ישראל הוא – A Jew, even though he sins, is still a Jew (Sanhedrin 44a)

 

This concept goes together with: “The soul of a human lusts for illicit wealth – gezel - and forbidden relations – arayos” (Makkos 23b) and “The majority stumbles in gezel and a minority stumble in arayos and all people stumble in [avak] lashon hara” (Baba Basra 165a).

 

How many times have we been sitting at a Shabbos table or at a simcha discussing the latest scandal (avak lashon hara) and somebody mutters: “How can frum people do such a thing?” Whereupon some self-righteous person always exclaims: “I’ll tell you how, they are simply not frum!”

 

This is very wrong. People have lusts which they cannot always control and the gemara tells us that these two infractions, gezel and arayos, stand out at the top of the list. Yet, even if one stumbles in some of the 365 lo taasehs, this does not mitigate his Jewishness one iota. Anybody who believes in the 13 Ikarei Emunah and keeps Shabbos, wears tallis and tefillin and keeps all of the positive mitzvos is as “frum” as anybody else. He (or she) must obviously deal with their demons and make restitution to the people they hurt or be segregated from the community, but it cannot be said that their service to HKBH in unrelated areas is at all defective. There are "frum" ganavim and "frum" molesters and their infractions do not inhibit their rights and responsibilities to daven and learn and keep Shabbos and Yom tov and kosher, etc.

 

(Note – I once had it out with a Rav after his shul sent a letter to a member who had been suspected of past abuse. The letter said that he can only daven there if this and that and he stays in his seat and…he is not entitled to get any kibudim or aliyos. I asked this Rav, “What are you going to do when he has yahrtzeit?” And this Rav just looked at me with a puzzled look on his face as if to say “It didn’t occur to me that he still has to be Jewish.”)

 

Thus, if a community must take measures to deal with a confirmed miscreant and certainly with one who is only suspected, there is no justification whatsoever to employ a method that will inhibit him from continuing to keep Torah and mitzvos faithfully as long as it can be avoided. I can assure you that anybody who participates in an action that impedes another Jew from continuing his (or her) observance of Torah and mitzvos will have to answer for it under a very, very hot lamp.

 

 

Prelude 3 – Yes, people can change

In my earlier analysis of the very flawed Kol koreh, I wrote a 2-part guide on how to deal with Jewish sexual offenders based on a long list of facts that many of us do not know or do not want to acknowledge. Some of these facts came from a frum psychologist/social worker who I know quite well.

Here are some that are relevant to our discussion (this post):

Fact #8 - Most offenders are not psychopaths and have no malicious intent. They are driven by urges that they cannot control. 

Fact #9 - As such, most offenders will continue doing their deeds even after being exposed as long as they are not thwarted from doing so. 

Fact #10 - However, upon being exposed, most offenders from the Orthodox community are exceedingly cooperative to preventative and/or rehabilitative measures.

When I analyzed these facts later in the post, I wrote:

Fact #10 tells us the most important and most unacknowledged chiddush of all.

 

It tells us that – in most cases - once a molester is exposed and confronted, he can be “managed”. This is most often true for the 90% family molesters because, after all, they usually care about their family status. For the 10% Class B (communal) molesters, such as a rebbe or the shul candy man, once he is exposed, it is quite easy to create a barrier between him and potential victims and avoid coming into contact with him in compromising circumstances.

 

What this says to us is that every molester has two phases to his “career”:

 

Phase A – Before his nefarious activities become known to anybody beside the victim(s).

 

Phase B – After he has been caught.

 

In other words, a Phase B molester is not the same kind of threat as a Phase A molester.

 

That was what I wrote then. I wish to add now that another two facts on the list are very important:

Fact #11 - Most offenders are victims of sexual abuse themselves.

Fact #12 - Of the above, many never received any professional help or offers of professional help and in some cases, they were even thwarted when they sought out help.

 

Regarding these two facts, it’s important to know that even if one was not previously abused, many of these people were initially suffering from personality disorders (anger, control, low self-esteem, narcissism, etc.) that, until they were exposed, went undiagnosed and untreated. Many of these conditions or disorders are highly treatable through therapy and/or medications.

If this is the case and the offender underwent treatment subsequent to being exposed, it is another reason to justify that we cannot compare his current status to his previous one. Especially if there have been no additional charges against him once he entered Phase B.

Sometimes all it takes is some TLC, a few years in the pen, and some mind-altering meds to straighten someone out.

 

Summary of Preludes

Let’s review these three preludes and see what they are telling us:

• It’s a big mitzva to live in Eretz Yisrael
  
  
• All Jews, regardless of whether they are nice folks or not such nice folks, are both entitled and obligated to keep mitzvos.
  
  
• Just because someone wasn’t very nice twenty years ago doesn’t mean he or she hasn’t gotten nicer since then
  
  

Save that thought.

 

Déjà vu all over again

Now, let’s talk about “Bernie”. Who is Bernie?

Bernie is a Jewish fellow who allegedly has an unsavory past that nobody should be proud of. According to the reports, it involved crossing many lines in terms of keeping his distance from females as well as numerous instances of bullying and physical violence to males and females alike. Plus, lots of abuse of authority and breach of trust.

After what is claimed as three decades of overindulgence, Bernie’s luck finally ran out and he was called to task for his multiple sins. It seems like these iniquities were investigated and confirmed (possibly never even denied) and Bernie went as far as three years in the slammer.

The relevant timeline seems as follows:

Bernie was born in 1949, started his mischief circa 1970, was first publicly exposed in 2000, initial conviction in 2002 but there were appeals, jailed in 2005 and released in 2008.

As such, his transition from Phase A offender to Phase B offender took place in the year 2000 or, at the very latest, 2008.

Now that last date was 14 years ago and Bernie hasn’t made it to the headlines since until very, very recently.  

American rabbi convicted of sex abuse, is given residency status in Israel | Israel National News - Arutz Sheva

In the meanwhile, it looks like he’s been behaving himself. Moreover, he is currently 72 years old which is way past retirement age. I’m sure he is currently collecting Social Security for all those action-packed years at NCSY.

And now, it appears that Bernie wants to make Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael.

Is he entitled to do so?

Well, nobody disputes that he is Jewish and that it’s a big mitzva for any Jew to make Aliya and he is getting on in years and hasn’t bothered anybody for at least 14 if not 22 years. So, the answer is a resounding: YES.

Absolutely.

And this is the position that any G-d fearing Jew has to take despite how they feel about it. Truth is, taking any measures that are harmful to another Jewish person, and more so if they infringe on their fulfillment of Torah mitzvos, be it extraditing them out of Eretz Yisrael, blocking them from entering Eretz Yisrael, signing petitions or participating in rallies supporting these measures, and certainly reporting one to non-Jewish authorities, and even just taking their lunch money, are all issues in the realm of Choshen Mishpat which requires nothing less than a Beis Din acting in the presence of the person being judged.

And yet, we see people from the “Orthodox” community vocally and actively interfering with this G-d given right without any support from a Beis Din.

Who is at the forefront of this debacle?

The usual suspects.

The bi-line of the aforementioned Arutz 7 article reads as follows:

Orthodox activist group pushing Israel to deny citizenship to an American rabbi, citing his conviction for sexual assault.

 

Can you guess who this “Orthodox activist group” is?

There is no need. It says so clearly in the article. Yes, the “Orthodox” activist group is Magen-Israel.org led by our “Orthodox” activist do-gooder, Shana Aaronson.

Now, Shana Aaronson looks “Orthodox” and maybe even talks “Orthodox” and presents her organization as an “Orthodox” activist group. But we know it is not really “Orthodox” because, as I wrote previously, an Orthodox group is overseen by Orthodox Rabbanim and an Orthodox Beis Din when it is necessary.

This group is nothing of the kind.

And if the group isn’t Orthodox, neither is Shana Aaronson. An Orthodox Jew would not “push” or take measures to block a Jew from making Aliyah or doing anything against the interests of another Jew without the sanction of a Beis Din.

The only time a Jew is empowered to take a situation into his or her own hands is a case of rodef or Chillul Hashem in progress, as with our hero, Pinchas. As long as there is no calamity in progress, there is no excuse not to consult a Beis Din. Rambam says so in Hilchos Rotzeach 1:12 along with many others.

But Shana Aaronson has no need for these formalities. They just slow things down and interfere in her agenda to make the world a safer place. And she certainly does not respect the Rambam or the gemara in Sanhedrin 73 where it comes from.

This is not “Orthodox” to me.

Actually, I think it is a chillul Hashem for a medium like Arutz 7 to even refer to the organization as “Orthodox” if they are printing that it is in violation with our Halachos.

According to the article, Mrs. Aaronson is going to great lengths to find reasons to justify her active measures. Firstly, she openly and audaciously calls a decision to allow this Jewish person to immigrate to Israel, which is at least a mitzva kiyumis for all Jews a “morally bankrupt decision”:

“It’s more than disheartening, it’s infuriating that despite efforts by organizations like mine and by various government agencies, the government would make such a morally bankrupt decision like this,” Aaronson said.

 

Next, to justify her position (which apparently couldn't be morally bankrupt) she needs to build a case. First, she refers to a civil lawsuit that is currently being brought against Bernie:

A pending case like that should be reason enough to reconsider the rabbi's request for residency, said Shana Aaronson, director of Magen, an Israeli organization that advocates for sexual abuse victims, especially in the haredi Orthodox community.

 

Alas, civil lawsuits do not involve bail and flight risk injunctions. The man is free to travel. Besides, in today’s day and age, civil lawsuits can be carried out across oceans, can’t they, Shana? This need not stand in anyone’s way.

So, she needs more "schmutz":

If granted citizenship, “he could tomorrow walk into any school and apply for a job and be given a certificate of good standing from Israel law enforcement and get a job working with kids,” she said.

Let's see. This fellow is now 72 years old, probably cannot speak conversational Hebrew, has stayed clean for 14-22 years, carries the mark of Cain, and is constantly being watched by hawks like Shana Aaronson. Short of death (ch”v) can a “potential” threat get any more diminished? Do you really think any school would give him a job? At his age and language level I don’t think he could even volunteer for a job!

One thing Shana Aaronson knows how to do very well is to “build a case”.

Still, who on earth does Shana Aaronson think she is that she can determine who has a right to live in Eretz Yisrael and who doesn’t? Ayelet Shaked?

Yes.  Ayelet Shaked.

It looks like Shana’s efforts have born forbidden fruit. In a more recent article published by Times of Israel (in the wake of the July 7 Haaretz article and the July 8 statements by Shana Aaronson), it was announced that the pro-extradition, grand protector of all Jews, Ayelet Shaked, Minister of the Interior, “clarified this morning that in light of his grave actions, she has no intention of approving his request to receive citizenship after the temporary residency visa he has expires.”

I personally suspect that Mrs. Aaronson has a great influence upon Ms. Shaked. I will go out on a limb and make an assumption that Shana Aaronson is personally acquainted with Ayelet Shaked from her old Ministry of Justice days and is in regular contact with her. They can correct me if I am wrong.

But it certainly isn’t only Shana Aaronson. There are a number of additional “Orthodox” Rabbis who seem are likewise pushing this un-orthodox agenda and leaning on Ayelet Shaked. The same Times of Israel article displays a letter addressed to Ayelet Shaked signed by American “Orthodox” Rabbis Binyamin Blau and Mark Dratch and written on official on RCA stationary with a zillion other names and proudly distributed by Rabbi Ken Brodkin explicitly imploring her to deny Bernie his rights to live in Eretz Israel.

When our leadership paskens based on their feelings and not on Toras Moshe we know we have reached the level of  פני הדור כפני הכלב and can look forward to the geula shleima very soon.

I am ready to sign off, but I know what many of my more cynical readers are thinking:

Would I protest if Bernie moved into my building in Har Nof?

The answer is, that it goes without saying that I prefer neighbors with clean records. However, we don’t all get neighbors that we prefer. Aside from the fact that I think he is anyway a tzeklopte hoshana (has-been) and not a genuine threat, once he is identified for who he is (or was), I know how to be מקרב בימין and  דוחה בשמאל. I am more concerned about other offenders who (a) are not retired and (b) I cannot identify.

So, the answer is: No, I would not protest it, nor do I think I, or anybody, has a right to.

Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time. And I didn’t protest it then either.

However, we can ask another similar question:

Would I protest if Shana Aaronson moved into my building in Har Nof?

And the answer is…

… It goes without saying that I prefer all of my neighbors to be Orthodox.