Sinas Chinam I - Ghosts of the Past

Not surprisingly, I barely post. For one, writing takes a lot of input and energy and I don’t have an endless supply of either one. Secondly, there is not much interest in my subject matter.

Everybody is concerned about the fluctuating war and the impending, albeit elusive, geulah, the shrinking dollar and their own shrinking bank accounts, and the health of the Belzer Rebbe, Shlita. I have nothing to contribute to these things. 

All the ghosts of “Yutzmich past” have retired to their crypts. Yet occasionally, some of them spring back to haunt us even now in the midst of all our anxiety. As such, a few long-retired issues that I have written about profusely, which I hoped were buried forever, have recently come back to life. These issues are:

• The Covid Vaccines
  
  
• The Kol Koreh about reporting suspected abusers
  
  
• The Malka Leifer episode

I believe I found a common denominator all three of these ancient topics. This is that they all involve some level of sinas chinam which doesn't want to go away. The recent resurgence of these topics is proving this point. Clearly, this sinas chinam needs to stop. It is one thing that is delaying the "impending geula". As such, I feel a need to discuss all three of them.

in this post, I will cover the subject of Vaccines.

To briefly recoup, I have felt that any type of medication needs to be proven and time-tested to be safe, effective and necessary (meaning there are no better alternatives). This applies especially to vaccines because vaccines, as opposed to remedial medicines, are given to people who currently are not even sick.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

My personal research brought me to the conclusion that the MRNA vaccines that were promoted during the Covid hoax did not pass any of these three requirements. When I say “research”, I mean hearing out the opinions of a wide range of medical experts (i.e., doctors), both pro and con, and analyzing the available data that was made public at the time. All this coupled with common sense. It did not come from hearsay or bubbe ma’ases.

My position hasn’t budged.

It is important to note that there was also a strong representation of Rabbanim and poskim in our camp. I wrote about all of this at length in my original post on the subject from January of 2021.

One very outspoken posek who was not in my camp is HRHG Asher Zelig Weiss, Shlita.

I have a bit of a connection with HRHG Weiss being that I attend his weekly shiur in Har Nof. In general, I admire him greatly and I am blown away by his yiras Shamayim, the breadth and depth of his knowledge, his constant writing and publishing, and his involvement in tzarchei tzibur. This includes his availability to the public. I can’t imagine that he gets much sleep.  

I consider him a Rebbe of mine on conventional Halacha and, of course, an inspiration of middos tovos.

That said, there are two topics on which I did my own research and heard out dissenting opinions and cannot agree with him. One is the topic of Techeiles which I wrote a full series about, and the other is the aforementioned vaccine controversy.

Rav Weiss has always been a strong proponent of the Covid vaccines. He was there straight out of the starting gate. You can see his drasha HERE.

He took care to stress that this is his personal opinion and he acknowledged “it's not very comfortable because I know that not everybody will like what I say. However, I always express myself in a respectful manner. I have no reason in the world that…I don't like to argue and to dispute and to be mezalzel in others.” Yet, he did not appear to come across very receptive of other viewpoints. 

As I wrote in my original 2021 post, Rav Weiss strongly maintained that his consultation with “doctors” and professionals in the field convinced him that the benefits are high and the risks are low. As such, the benefits outweigh the risks. I challenged that assertion up front. You can see the details there. 

Of course, Harav Weiss was not oblivious to the situation of controversy. He talks about the Halachic procedures of conflicting opinions and of following the majority or the most prestigious doctors. As part of the shiur, Rav Weiss goes on a tirade quoting numerous sources from Shas that we are enjoined to rely on doctors and professional medical opinions to come to Halachic conclusions. 

However, there are several major flaws in his presentation:

1. From all these sources which refer to rofim (doctors), who is to say that we were not referring to Jewish doctors who understand the halachic ramifications of their medical opinions?

2. All of the quoted sources in Shas and poskim are referring to a doctor’s advice concerning a specific individual who is suffering from some ailment. The doctor(s) examined the patient and understand his or her unique circumstances and prescribe treatment accordingly. The sources do not refer to global medical opinions involving the collective public.

3. The term used to denote the medical professional is a rofeh, not a doctor.

What is the difference between a rofeh and a doctor?

A doctor is a person who has a doctorate in medicine. This means that he studied and mastered the science of medicine and knows it quite well. It does not mean that he ever treated anybody.

A rofeh is a healer, not a student of medicine. He is one who actually practices medicine and treats people and knows what treatments work and what doesn’t and how to vary them for each individual case.  

In short, a “doctor” knows the science of medicine. A rofeh, or healer, actually practices it.

In today’s world, where most doctors specialize, it says that they can only be considered a Halachic rofeh, healer, in their field of expertise. As such, one who went through basic medical school and received an M.D. and then went on to specialize in ophthalmology may be called a doctor, but he is only a rofeh for ophthalmology. Same for a dermatologist, urologist and all the others. 

Certainly, they all learned the basics of cardiology in medical school, but if one does not practice in this field and treat people with heart ailments, he may still be called a doctor, but he cannot be called a healer. He does not get the Halachic status of a “rofeh” outside his field.

What’s more, in the days of old, a rofeh/doctor was primarily a pharmacologist. His expertise was to determine which herbs and potions work for what type of problem and to know exactly how to prepare it and administer it. Once again, the Talmudic “doctor” was one who knows how to diagnose and treat the problem at hand and for a specific patient.

Aside from the fact that immunology and contagious diseases is a specialized field with a limited amount of practitioners who are qualified to give any opinion, all of this can only apply to a known ailment and known remedies. None of this can possibly be applicable to the “new” Covid-19 and the untested new-fangled vaccinations that the pharmaceutical companies were pushing.

Lastly, any medical professional’s advice can only be valid if the professional is totally objective and impartial in his opinion and not subject to any shochad (financial gain) or duress or coercion. This disqualifies anyone funded by a pharmaceutical company and anybody threated to lose their platform or license.

In light of all the above, there were not many professionals on the “pro-vax” side, if any at all, that met the above qualifications. On the flip-side, those who were actively treating patients with zinc, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and the like, and who had no personal stake in these medicines, and can vouch for their success, do indeed qualify. To be sure, none of these true healers were bribed or coerced to speak up in favor of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. I can assure you of that. 

Despite his claim to have been thoroughly versed by the most qualified professionals, he seemed to be oblivious to all the flaws and to much of the opposing viewpoints. What’s more, he looks to be a bit hostile. 

Let’s look at what he said from about the 54:00 mark. Then I will comment. I will print his remarks in blue and emphasize key phrases. My comments will be in dark red.

54:18 - So, all these absurd theories that the vaccine might cause infertility and it might have long-term effects, one cannot say with certainty there will be no long-term effects because how would we know? But that is true with every new medicine that every new medicine or medical procedure might have long-term effects. 

54:40 - But we always try to strike the right balance between what is needed now and what might theoretically happen in the future. As I explained before, it's very unreasonable that the Covid vaccine will have long-term effects… 

55:35 – [but] this is a safe vaccine in as far as we could know and that is the opinion of rov minyan and binyan of chachmei haumos. I wrote a letter many months ago before Covid regarding the other vaccines to one of the gedolim and I argued even if the anti-vaxxers would have some merit but if this is the opinion of the establishment of rov minyan and rov binyan, we could rely on שומר פתאים השם. What is a person supposed to do if not follow the mumchim (experts)?

56:27 - There were always doctors that had different opinions but if that is the opinion of the establishment, שומר פתאים השם.

Let’s analyze:

So, all these absurd theories that the vaccine might cause infertility

Comment: Are they absurd when stated by people like Dr. Robert Malone who is credited at developing the mRNA vaccine? What’s more, the people who are allegedly dying are typically aged 50 plus. The ones who need to be concerned about infertility are aged below 50. If the below 50 population isn’t dying, what justifies the risk?

one cannot say with certainty there will be no long-term effects because how would we know?

Comment: But, didn’t he tell us seven minutes ago (47:25) that the long-term risk from this vaccine is totally without any reasonable חשש? 

 

that every new medicine or medical procedure might have long-term effects.

Comment: Most new medicines go through rigorous testing that takes years. New medical procedures are almost never carried out without a situation where known procedures did not work and with full uninhibited informed consent. New medicines or medical procedures are never mandated – until now.

might theoretically happen in the future

Comment: At that time, the “future” wasn’t here yet, but when it does indeed happen in the “future”, it is in no way theoretical.

rov minyan and binyan of chachmei haumos.

Comment: Aside from the fact that we cannot listen to any chachmei haumos who are biased, I wonder how many chachmei haumos from the opposing camp he even heard out. How did he arrive at his consensus of “rov”?

Also, if rov minyan and binyan of medical professionals can only say that this vaccine is safe “as far as we could know” how is this saying that it is safe?

I wrote a letter many months ago before Covid regarding the other vaccines to one of the gedolim and I argued even if the anti-vaxxers would have some merit

Comment: This blew me away. Firstly, it seems like he has been at odds with “anti-vaxxers” for quite some time. From this conversation, it seems that he was having a dispute with another “gadol” which he does not identify. Who was this gadol? He does not tell us what was the position of the other gadol, but it clearly looks like he was trying to convince him of his viewpoint. What does the other gadol counter with? Did he succeed to convince the other gadol?

We’ll never know.

Also, this is before Covid. Before thousands of people were dying of anything. There was no crushing need. Why does shomer pesayim Hashem apply and overrule שב ואל תעשה עדיף?

What is a person supposed to do if not follow the mumchim?

Comment: First we need to hear out the “mumchim”. All of them.

but if that is the opinion of the establishment

Comment: By “the establishment” he is referring to the likes of Anthony Fauci, Albert Bourla, and Bill Gates, none of whom took the vaccine themselves.

Within a year of this exchange, I was able to update with much more disparaging news. You can see it all in this post and this one.

At the same time, Harav Weiss was admitting telling us we need to take the booster shots since the “effective”, life-saving vaccines don’t work past six months! Still, not a word about taking conventional medications or even to take vitamin C and D.

In any case, all this was 4 to 5 years ago. Since then, the pandemic petered out and much has been uncovered to give some merit to the “anti-vaxxers”. One would assume that we all acquired some wisdom over the years and that there would be no need for Harav Weiss to proliferate the sinas chinam that he bitterly complained about in his initial shiur (57:08).

Nevertheless, last month we find that Morenu Harav Asher Weiss, Shlita, participated in the Chemed Medical Conference. This clip is dated April 21, 2026. you can see it HERE.

29:23 - Q. Without getting into specifics, a lot of politics have crept into the way medicine is practiced. Vaccinations are to be administered. Does this affect the neemanus harofim?

29:35 - A. I think in previous years we spoke already about trusting science and trusting doctors. To my dismay, since COVID broke out, we have needed to deal with all different kinds of strange opinions and philosophies who cast doubt in medicine, conventional medicine, antivaxxers...

31:15 - So, we had to deal with these antivaxxers and antivaccinations and I came to the conclusion you can't even have a dialogue with these people. They are so bent on what they believe. But neemanus in rofim is clear in Halacha, [618] in Shu”A (Orach Chaim) dealing with Yom kipper who needs to eat. Clear Halachos. treatment. You consult doctors and you rely on what doctors say...

32:46 - ...and I think it is so important as yes we need to trust medicine mainstream science and if you won't trust doctors then you are in a very unsafe and very hazardous place. 

I cannot really blame him for discussing this subject now. He didn’t bring it up. It was the MC at the conference. But, since it was brought up, and he did respond to it, I need to voice my objections. 

It pains me that after all this time, HRHG Rav Asher Weiss, Shlita is still so trusting of the corrupt medical establishment and so antagonistic to sincere people who are raising an alarm. It doesn’t seem to be as respectful a manner as he claimed in his earlier shiur or that he tries not to be mezalzel in others.

we had to deal with these antivaxxers and anti-vaccinations

Comment: He gives the impression that “anti-vaxxers”, as he calls them, are just a bunch of misinformed Neanderthal luddites or a brainwashed cult who have no other agenda but to make trouble.

I came to the conclusion you can't even have a dialogue with these people. They are so bent on what they believe.

Comment: With all due respect, במחילת כבוד, I am aware of a number of people who tried to “deal with” Harav Asher Weiss, Shlita. They came to the conclusion that you cannot have a dialogue with him. He is so bent on what he believes.

[618] in Shu”A (Orach Chaim) dealing with Yom kipper who needs to eat

Comment: He seems to have forgotten Yoreh Deah 155:1 which says that any non-Jewish doctor who has a financial interest cannot be trusted, as well as Choshen Mishpat 37:1 that disqualifies testimony from even any Jew who has anything to gain (or avoid losing).

if you won't trust doctors then you are in a very unsafe and very hazardous place.

Comment: The “anti-vaxxers” are the ones who heard out Dr. Zev Zelenko, Z”L (Chareidi), Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Ryan Cole, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Harvey Risch (Shomer Shabbos), Dr. Simone Gold (proudly Jewish), Dr. Pierre Kory, Dr. Retzef Levi (Israeli), and others. We saw the VAERS reports and the blood clots exposed by Alabama embalmer Richard Hirschman (no relation and seemingly not Jewish) and funeral director John O’Looney. We saw Tiffany Dover  and hundreds of athletes collapse. There is no indication that Harav Weiss crossed paths with any of these personalities.

We believe that if one blindly trusts “doctors” who have no yiras shamayim, and who are biased, sold out and compromised, you are in a very unsafe and hazardous place. 

We live in an imperfect world and what goes around, comes around.

Perfidy 2023 – Part 2: He Made his Own Lunch

  

Author’s note – This post is the second and final part about the Ron vs. Versano defamation case. Please see Part 1 (HERE) and the Interlude (HERE). All information about the case is factual and based on court records. All the associated commentary is my personal opinion.

 

As I was visiting with the Eldest Oyster and discussing vaccines and name-calling, he proceeded to tell me the story of Ron vs. Versano. You can see it all HERE.

On February 12, 2021, an attorney by the name of Roye Ron posted on his personal Facebook page his support for forced vaccinations. But it wasn’t only that he stated his opinion. He wanted to actively submit a petition to the Israeli Supreme court to mandate his agenda for forced vaccinations. Thus, he was calling on his followers (his Facebook “Friends”?) to join him in this venture.

Evidently, this fellow was not merely speaking his mind. He was calling for action. He is an activist.

Since he is an attorney, we can assume that he wasn’t kidding. Indeed, according to his June 14, 2023 post, he certainly wasn’t kidding. We will see that he was very proud of his position then and remains so today.

To set the context of time, we need to time-travel back to Feb. 2021. What was going on then?

The official vaccine rollout in Eretz Israel was around Dec. 20, 2020. At that stage, there can be no denying that it was totally experimental. The FDA was still in the process of slowly granting EUAs to the various jabs. Johnson & Johnson still hadn’t gotten theirs yet. Also, still no approval for pregnant women. There was no full authorization for anything as of yet.  

See my post from Jan. 17, 2021.

Still, Atty. Roye Ron is already worshipping the god of Covid vaccines. So much so that he is pushing to petition the Israel high court to make it the national religion.

When was this? This is on Feb. 12, 2021, or about a mere 8 weeks after this rollout. Hence, it is undeniable that he is advocating for forced experimental medication on healthy people. And he isn’t even a doctor!

As far as I know, this is exactly what Dr. Mengele and his cohorts did (although some claim that Mengele really was a doctor), and what was ultimately outlawed by the Nuremberg codes. But this fellow is a lawyer, and he is pushing for it! To be forced on Jews! On fellow Israeli Jews!

What kind of response did he get to his Feb. 2021 post?

It says HERE that he received hundreds of views, comments, likes and shares.

All good. Except that not every single one of them was a compliment. At least 13 respondents did not agree with his position or with his activism. They felt that forcing healthy people to take experimental biological agents (medications/pharmaceuticals) without their consent is a breach of international law, the Nuremberg codes, and just plain medical ethics.

And they told him so, straight to his facebook. Exactly where?

In the comments section of the exact same post on his Facebook page where he posted his despotic ideas.

These comments were not all subtle. To make their points, several commenters opined that his policies are akin to Stalin and the Nazis and specifically Dr. Mengele and were fascist. Also, that the writer is a danger to society. You can see all of them HERE.

One of them pointed out that our Atty. Roye Ron, being an attorney, is not a medical practitioner. He has no credentials to preach medical procedures even if these were within the limits of medical ethics, which they are clearly not. Incidentally, Mr. Ron seems to be a very strong proponent of medical cannabis.

So, what did tough lawyer Roye Ron do about this?

Did he debate them and prove why he is not a fascist, not akin to Mengele, and not a danger to society?

No.

Did he just ignore them?

No.

Did he delete their comments from his own Facebook page?

No.

He did what any self-servingrespecting lawyer would do. He tracked them down and sued them for civil Lashon Hara.

Oh, and by the way, did this lawyer first warn the commenters on his Facebook page that, in his opinion, their remarks constitute civil Lashon Hara and they should retract or they will be sued?

There is no indication of it, and Mr. Ron, who is an attorney after all, wants their money, so why should he? (We will see later why he should.)

So he sued them in the Petach Tikva magistrate court and the case came in front of Judge Ariel Bregner.

Plaintiff Roye Ron claimed that he was terribly maligned. There is a raging plandemic pandemic going on, and these vaccines are the only solution. Anyone who opposes him is not only antagonizing him, but is even endangering the world!

To impress how misguided the detractors are, Atty. Roye Ron claimed to be the son of a “Holocaust survivor” and he flaunted this claim to the hilt. How can the son of a holocaust survivor be compared to a Nazi?

The defendants claimed that Mr. Ron made himself into a public figure and he was indeed preaching Nazi and fascist policies. It is his position that poses a danger to society. There is no question about what he wrote in his post. As such, their comments addressed true circumstances. Moreover, he consciously entered very controversial waters. He should have expected a strong backlash from the skeptics. As such, their comments do not constitute slander or defamation. The defenses of “I told the truth” and several of the good faith clauses (Clause 15) applies to this case.

“So,” the Eldest Oyster asked me, “what do you think should be the result in this case?”

I told him that I think this case should be thrown out on its head.

“Why?”

“Look, I’m a chareidi. The Israeli government, the judiciary, and law enforcement have been acting oppressively for as long as they have been in business, and we have always been on the receiving end. With forced autopsies, forced Shabbos desecration, forced mingling, dragging Yeshiva guys to the army, beating us up during legal demonstrations. Not to mention, they also pulled off the “disengagement” and they continue bulldozing Jewish settlements and torturing “confessions” out of hilltoppers. They have acted like Nazis, and we have frequently said so.

“In 2012, a law was proposed in Israel to outlaw calling oppressive people Nazis even when they are maliciously oppressing (see HERE). Actually, this bill was aimed at the chareidim and was just another form of the oppression. At least then, some civil rights group came to the rescue. One group is called the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). They put out a statement as follows:

‘Freedom of expression means the right to say difficult things that might be even hurtful. It means the right to give bold and extreme expression to positions, feelings, and thoughts, and also includes the right to make rhetorical use of provocative and harsh images.” They added, “Because of the importance and centrality of the Holocaust, the attempt to dictate when and in what context it can be referenced is very problematic.’

“Apparently, the law was not passed, so it is perfectly legal to call an oppressor who publicly emulates Nazi and fascist policies 'Nazis' and 'Fascists', as long as it’s true.

“Oh, and about his flaunting his “son-of-holocaust-survivor” credential, I think it is deplorable.”

“Why so?” he asked.

“Firstly, I am not impressed with the credentials.

“He claims that his father, who is now 83, is a holocaust survivor. This means his father was born about 1940. [Note - The court record says this is “along with his mother, also 83”. I am assuming that this is a mistake and it really means that the father survived the war with his mother – i.e., the father’s mother who would be Roye’s grandmother – who lost most of her family, and I gather her husband (Roye’s grandfather), in the Shoah. That woman would be way more than 83.]

“The Holocaust ended in May of 1945. As such, any person who was born before May of 1945, specifically, in lands that were dominated by the Nazis, and who was still alive after May of 1945 can call themselves a Holocaust survivor. Technically, this is even if their family escaped to Switzerland or even to the free West in 1938 and they didn’t actually endure the Holocaust. Likewise, I suppose, many Russian Jews who spent the war on the Russian side of the fence also can call themselves Holocaust survivors.

“This fellow’s father was born in 1940 and survived the war with his mother (Roye’s grandmother). I must assume that in 1940 they were somewhere out of harm’s way because, if not, it would be almost impossible for a mother with a newborn to survive. As such, the term Holocaust survivor rings hollow to me even if it’s technically true.

"Roye’s father is definitely not a concentration camp survivor and wasn’t anywhere near Auschwitz. My father, LOY”T, was born in 1929 and did go through Auschwitz. He is not just a Holocaust survivor but a death and labor camp survivor. Incidentally, he says that he has no idea if Mengele was involved in the selections he went through, but he went through them.

“But, secondly, what bothers me a lot more about his flaunting his 'son-of-Holocaust-survivor' credential is that, if he really is, he should know better. And so should the judge. Does he really mean to tell us that because his father is a holocaust survivor that he has a license to defy the Nuremberg laws and incite forced experimental medications on healthy people???

“Incidentally, did his proposed petition to the Begatz include mandating informed consent? No mention of it in his June 14 post. This is besides the fact that any kind of mandate violates consent.

“On top of all this, his position about vaccinations is exceedingly tenuous.

“Aside from the fact that at that time it was purely experimental, we also knew then that there is absolutely no product liability to the manufacturers, or to anybody, for adverse effects, injury, or death. And adverse effects were showing up from the start.

“It was soon discovered that this vaccine causes heart problems including myocarditis, pericarditis, and cardiac arrest, blood clotting, turbo-cancers, women’s health issues and miscarriages, strokes, aneurisms, and neurological disorders. In other words, it ain’t safe. (See HERE for testimonies. If you like to see people drop dead in front of your eyes, see HERE and HERE. Viewer discretion strongly advised.)

“We know a lot more now. We know this ‘vaccine’ was never really effective. Not only does it require constant ‘boosters’ which means it loses any efficacy it might have had inside of six months, but we all know people who are ‘fully’ vaccinated who still got Covid. Also, Pfizer admitted that they never tested their ‘vaccine’ for stopping transmission.

“We know that the sinister Prime Minister “Haman” Netanyahu, צורר היהודים, sold the Jewish nation to Achashverosh Bourla for 10,000 shekels to be Pfizer’s Guinea pigs without anyone’s consent להזריק להשמיד להרוג ולתעד את כל הישראלים מנער ועד זקן, טף ונשים, בבת אחד. He says so in public right HERE.

“We also now know that the Israel Ministry of Health knew all about the adverse effects the Pfizer vaccine, including some that were not on Pfizer's list, and they covered it all up. (See HERE)

“So, this 'vaccne' was never safe, never effective, and owing to preexisting remedies such as Vitamin C and D, zinc, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, it was never necessary.

“This trial lasted until May of 2023 and those of us who are still around are much wiser now, so it’s obvious that the case should be tossed out. Was it??”

 

The eldest Oyster looked at me,

      But never a word he said:

The eldest Oyster winked his eye,

      And shook his heavy head —

Meaning to say, the judge ignored

      The defenses that were pled.

 

Sure enough, Judge Ariel Bregner was exceedingly sympathetic to Atty. Roye Ron’s noble cause. So much so that he was able to convict 9 out of 13 detractors and force them to pay compensation. Not only compensation but he also threw in a collective NIS 16,000 punitive award to the “Medinah”.

Judge Bregner wrote “I think that comparing any person in Israel to the Nazi Mengele is the epitome of Lashon Hara”. And he made similar comments on the other “put-downs”. So, he handed out judgements of between 7,000-18,000 shekels to the nine folks that he convicted for a total of NIS 106,000. To this he added a collective NIS 20,000 for lawyers’ costs and the NIS 16,000 was because the eight defendants who shared a defense lawyer submitted eight separate defense scripts instead of one combined one.

“So,” my friend asked me, “what do you think of this judgement?”

I said that I think it is horrendous.

“Why so?”

“I believe that Atty. Ron’s position does not merely constitute his personal opinion. He is advocating for actively forcing people to do as he believes. Aside from a breach of international law, this is pure incitement by Israeli law. People have a right to protest against oppression and incitement. It is supposed to be one of the most protected rights here in Israel.

“Nazi and Stalin comparisons are always made when one preaches oppression. The Nazis and Fascists are standard models of oppression. When one claims oppression, there is no alternative for comparison except for the standard models. The left-wingers tried to outlaw it, but that ship didn’t sail. The civil rights groups defeated it.

“So, the judge is taking sides in this debate and is actually supporting the oppression and incitement and punishing those protesting against it. This is pure bias and oppression in its own right. I should expect both an attorney like Roye Ron and an Israeli judge to be strong on civil rights. In this case, they are trampling on it. And it’s not like these claims weren’t brought up in the defense scripts. The judge simply ignored them.”

The Eldest Oyster said, “I think something else is bothering you. Something else that the defense claimed and the judge ignored.”

“What makes you think so?”

“It was something you wrote earlier in this post when you were summarizing this case.”

“You mean when I mentioned that these comments were written directly to Atty. Roye Ron’s own Facebook page, that he didn’t delete them, and he allegedly didn’t warn the writers before filing suit?”

“Precisely. What were you implying?”

“The defense claimed that Atty. Roye Ron has 100% shared liability. The judge just ignored that. But it’s a fact.”

“Explain it to your readers.”

Well, there is an unwritten law in Israeli litigation that a damaged party is responsible to do everything reasonable to minimize the damage. It is not stated explicitly in the Tort Ordinance (Pekudat HaNizakim), but it is implied in clause 76. It is specified in Contract Law and is universally applied to Tort law as a “Halacha Pesuka”.

How does this relate to Atty. Roye Ron?

Firstly, all the comments were made to his comments section. This is what a comments section in social media is for! A grown-up confrontational person like Atty. Roye Ron should not expect all the comments that he invites to his page to be compliments.

Every person with a Facebook account is responsible for the comments on his own page. This is to the extent that the same Petach Tikva Magistrate Court (with a different judge) issued a landmark ruling in February 2020 (a year before Roye Ron’s post), that if a commenter writes defamatory remarks against an outside party, and the host of the social networking site maintained it (i.e., did not delete it), then the host account holder can be held liable for damages against the outside party. (See this post.)

Why is this? Obviously, because the host is the master of his account. He holds the keys to what can appear there and what cannot. If it can damage another person, he is responsible to delete it. If the “other person” is him, he is no less responsible for deleting it. After all, there is a Halacha pesuka to minimize damage to one’s self!

Add to this the rule we quoted from US defamation law in the previous post that when the defamation is in second person voice – i.e., you are a Fascist Nazi – this is not defamation. We call it הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך.

Thus, as the defense claimed, Roye Ron is 100% co-responsible for all damages to him. He could have simply deleted all the comments immediately. He facilitated the damage himself.

He made his own lunch!

So, why didn’t he just delete the comments? And why didn’t he warn them to retract before filing suit?

It must be because he wanted to cry about defamation, he wanted to sue. He wanted to “cancel” his opponents and to pick their pockets.

Clearly, the purpose of the lawsuit was not to get them to delete or retract their comments. This is evident because they were posted on his own Facebook page and he had every opportunity to take them down himself. Note, he eventually did so, because the entire post is now gone.

As such, the money he received cannot be for damages. As I wrote, Mr. Roye Ron cannot claim to be damaged for at least three reasons:

• All the remarks were relational slurs relating to his stated position which he stated publicly. His position is undeniable. Those who support him will continue to do so. Those who do not will oppose him because of his viewpoint, not because of the slurs. The slurs do not cause defamation.

• Secondly, it was all in second person said directly to him. It was meant to chasten him not to defame him to others.

• Thirdly, it was on his own Facebook page, for heaven’s sake! He can delete them as soon as they land. If it wasn’t deleted and there was no warning, then it is not being done to protect Roye but to silence the opposition and to obtain money. He obviously chose not to do so only so he can kvetch to a judge and demand sympathy and money.

To summarize, Atty. Roye Ron believes that he is allowed to bully people into taking poisonous vaccines and to incite division and hatred toward those who don’t want to. Yet, when these folks let him know that he is acting like Mengele, he gets very offended and, instead of deleting the comments, he sues them for their money. And, based on his June 14 post, he is so proud of it. Here is what he wrote (translation by Google Translate):

"Mengele was proud of you", "fascist", "terrorist supporter" - that's what vaccine opponents called me personally on Facebook.

I "earned" these defamatory comments following a post I wrote at the height of the Corona period

And in it I called on my friends to join me in submitting a petition to the Supreme Court that would require vaccinations, in order to keep us all healthy, with an emphasis on the adults.

In the defamation lawsuit I filed against them, the court ruled that they must pay me compensation in the amount of 126,000 NIS, and in addition they must pay the state 16,000 NIS, for the awkwardness they took in the legal process.

Reducing derogatory discourse on social networks and in general, starts first of all with education and values. However, it is important that we, the victims, do not remain silent in the face of harsh and insulting statements that damage our good name and our livelihood, we will exhaust our right not to make statements and conduct of this type a part of the agenda, and we will send a clear message that there are red lines for freedom of expression as well.

I personally do not think Atty. Roye Ron is educated about vaccines or has values. and I am not the only one who thinks so (see comment by א. בלב). He did not attempt to educate or engage with anybody to set them straight; only to censor them and sue without warning. Still, he will call himself a “victim” even though there is no reason the “insulting statements” that he chose not to delete should damage his “good name and livelihood”.

As the son of a true Auschwitz Holcaust survivor, my personal feeling is that he should be ashamed of himself. Both for his misguided oppressive activism and for running to a judge to get back at people who justifiably and legally opposed him. I personally think that if Roye Ron was any kind of a mensch he would apologize to all the people he upset with his post and give the money back to those he collected from. In my opinion, it’s treife gelt.

I don’t think Judge Ariel Bregner has anything to be proud of either. His job is to curb the aggressors, not to empower them.

 

It seems a shame,' the Walrus said,

      To play them such a trick,

After we've brought them out so far,

      And made them trot so quick!'

The Carpenter said nothing but

      The butter's spread too thick!'

 

As I took leave of my friend, I told him that I think this case sets a very ugly precedent. Actually, this whole story reminds me about a poem I once read about a Walrus and a Carpenter.

The Eldest Oyster winked his eye and shook his heavy head.

“This is scarcely odd”, is all he finally said.