Op-Ed: The Destroyers

I sit by my computer in tears, thinking to myself is this really true? Is this really happening to me? To us? Take “me” out of the picture. Let’s talk about the ‘us’.

First I thought I was alone, it was my pain my suffering, maybe I did not raise my children right, maybe I did not get involved enough in the yeshivas, their education. Maybe I was too stressed trying to pay the bills earn a living that I neglected my children. Maybe it is entirely my fault.

Then I spoke to this parent quietly and then I spoke to that one, and I realized it is not just me there are many who suffer as I do. But we all suffer quietly blaming our selves. There are many children being destroyed and ruined. And by whom? By the ones we entrust their education to. By the ones we pay with our hard earned money, by the ones that are called “educators and roish hayeshivas” and so on.

Op-Ed – A Culture of Democracy – Something has to Change

Something has to change

We have two Botei Din claiming authority over this community.

We have two factions now fist fighting over the community council.

We have two groups (shomrim, shmira) who are “ensuring” that we are safe, meanwhile ensuring that the other group sits in jail.

Something has to change!

We have two boards both claiming to be the legitimate (Netzigim) representatives of the community.

We now even have two different Hechsherim both claiming to be under the supervision of the badatz dekak decrown heights.

Something HAS to change!!!

Op-Ed: It’s 3AM… Can you outdo negative with positive?

I can’t sleep, I’m tossing and turning, my mind is racing with all sorts of crazy thoughts. I’m frustrated, upset, and my head is beginning to spin.

I moved to Crown Heights five years ago after me and my wife (from out of town) got married. We loved it here. I work, Daven and shop in Crown Heights. I am your typical “survivor” or simple guy, one that works hard to cover my basic expenses. I’m young, full of energy and already have a small family. I feel that were ever I live I should help, care, give back and create a better community. (I currently volunteer in two local organizations.)

But recently I began to ask myself WHY?

Op-Ed: Enough Already!!!

The disputed elections have taken place, and it remains to be seen what will be on June 3rd. If the plaintiffs drop their claim, then these are the people we will live with for the next three years.

What’s particularly disturbing to me in all this are not the disagreements but the vitriol with which they’ve come to be expressed. The comments made on community websites, particularly CrownHeights.Info have been especially nauseating. The wisdom of posting them aside, the feelings revealed by these postings are irrational to the point of borderline dangerous.

Rabbi Osdoba has been vilified in the most vile terms. Therefore I feel a need to express my opinion.

Op-Ed: They All Must Go, Time for Radical Change

Let me begin by saying that I have no doubt as to the sincere motivation of all who are serving in community posts today. That includes the rabbonim as well as the netzigim, gabboyim and vaad hakohol, Shomrim and Shmira etc.

However, something is just not working in Crown Heights. I have not lived there in some time, but even when I left, the beauty and kedusha of Kan Tziva Hashem es haBrocho, of the Rebbe’s Dalet Amos, was obscured by physical decline that mirrored the societal and spiritual decline which is sadly gaining a greater and greater foothold in Crown Heights.

We are beset by problems of children going off the derech, of adults who are barely hanging on physically as well as spiritually, of rising crime, and of a general atmosphere of decline. Then there is the problem of tznius which deserves separate mention, though sadly it is a problem throughout Chabad and not only in Crown Heights.

Op-Ed: Who’s who?

Who’s who you ask, allow me to tell you but first let make an introduction – Politics.

Crown Heights has a history in politics, to the average Crown Heightser its “let them fight” and “who cares” or “I’m not interested” is that so? In politics there are a couple of aspects – rumors, propaganda, and fact.

Rumors come from one party and spread from a misunderstanding of the whole situation and without any fact backing and no one wanting to stand by their own statement.

Propaganda is when a party would like the community and its residents to believe that they are the right and just cause, and that they are fighting for your rights and in turn they receive your support.

Op-Ed: Why We All Need To Vote

A few years ago, my son came home from Yeshiva. He told me about the discussions of the day in Yeshiva concerning the arguments between Rabbi Osdoba and Rabbi Schwai regarding the necessity of a filter for tap water. My son told me that the discussion became very heated amongst the bachurim and everyone began taking sides. I asked my son, “Which side did you take?“ He answered me, “When it comes to Rabbanim, I don’t take sides.”

I also have tried very hard to stay neutral, and B”H maintain a good relationship with both Rabbonim.

Op-Ed: A Letter to my Supporters

Note: This is a speech I would have given to my supporters, as a contestant in the Vaad Hakhol elections. This speech is purely hypothetical, as I unfortunately cannot see the value of spending time and effort in running for a seat, being that there is so much politics, name-calling and smearing going on. Please use it as some food for thought.

My Dear Friends & Neighbors,

Thank you for joining me tonight, together with my esteemed colleagues, all running for a seat in the Vaad Hakhol. I am pleased to see that there is a positive move to clear up the internal politics and strife that has been eating away at our community for so many years.

9,311 Counts of Child Labor Violations: A Modern Day Blood Libel?

POSTVILLE, IA — It seems that prosecutors are doing a lot of rushing to judgment these days. Not an innocent rush to judgment, but a libelous, diabolical rush to judgment that shamelessly and irrevocably ruins the reputations of innocent people, causing them and their families irreparable damage, heartache and emotional trauma.

A number of recent news stories have proven the increased aggressiveness of many prosecutors and the near lynch mob atmosphere they seek to create regarding their defendant.

Prosecutors’ Dismissal of Identity Theft Charges Against Rubashkin Hailed as Victory and Government Admission of “Overreaching”

On Monday, prosecutors dropped the identity theft charges – the centerpiece of its immigration violation allegations – against Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin of Agriprocessors (Agri). The government cited the fact that a recent Supreme Court ruling determined that prosecutors who file identity-theft charges must prove that the defendant knew that the identity used belonged to another person. Knowing that their case was doomed and in response to a motion filed last week by Rubashkin’s lawyer, the prosecutors asked a federal judge to dismiss seven counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.

Op-Ed: That Loving Feeling

We all dream of “falling in love” and being totally swept away in a wave of passion and excitement. We are certain that when we meet our destined one we will know without doubt in our hearts that this is “the one” We have this vision in our minds of how it’s supposed to be, and when reality fails to live up to our expectations we are certain something must be wrong in the relationship.

Seeing is Believing: The Remarkable Jewish Educational Media

So long as I am in New York City, I enjoy frequenting an informal eatery in the Chassidic neighborhood of Williamsburg. Usually, I meet an array of customers who like myself have patronized the establishment and meet there every Thursday night to enjoy heated cholent, pastrami, and conversation.

I enjoy exchanging Chassidic insights and traditions with the group who represent a number of Chassidic sects. Consistently, after having debated ideas and swapping scholarship, the dialogue becomes focused on the life, teachings, and example of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Judaism’s beloved religious leader.

The young Chassidim of Satmar, Vishnitz, or Bobov that I passionately converse with are curious about the man who was a leader of men. They wish to learn from the teacher who was so called by eminent Torah giants. They are eager to make contact with the endless love for the Jewish people that was displayed and embodied in the person of the great Rebbe.

Op-Ed: MEDICAID MADNESS

There was ominous news buried deep in the financial plan released last week by Gov. Paterson’s budget office: Five years hence, one in every four New Yorkers will be on Medicaid.

And that will drive the state’s Medicaid spending — at nearly $50 billion a year, already the most lavish in the land — to even more astronomical levels.

True, some of this is due to the current climate: More people unemployed means more people forced onto the taxpayer-financed medical program.

Op-Ed: Swine Flu: Misguided Mass Hysteria?

Unless your head is buried in the sand, you’ve probably been told to beware of the coming “pandemic”, “health crisis”, or “epidemic”. You are most likely being as careful as possible to wash your hands often, stay away from crowded areas or, perhaps, to go as far as keeping your children home from school.

To add intrigue to the virus, the media has now given this “deadly plague” a mysterious and sci-fi sounding name, the “2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus”. Of course, any virus whose name contains a combination of names and numbers must be dangerous and deadly – and I must be next!

However, one must keep things in perspective, especially when it comes to things like fear and danger. Failure to keep accurate facts and statistics in perspective can result in even more unnecessary injury and death. In most cases, the very same evasive measures taken to help prevent one from contracting the disease can place a person in substantially more danger than the disease itself.

Op-Ed – Countdown

Everyone seems to be counting these days. Americans have just finished counting the first 100 days of the Obama Presidency. Jews are in the midst of counting the Omer days that connect Passover and Shavuot. And as they mark their 61st birthday, the Jewish state is learning that they cannot count on the Obama administration to defeat the greatest threat to its existence, and civilization as a whole.

You can count the days since Iran’s president delivered his dark rant in Geneva last week, and already the world has returned to being a neutral Switzerland. While dozens of representatives of governments from across the world did indeed stand up to exit in protest of Achmedinejad’s incendiary sermon, only Israel seems to be willing to stand up against his intentions. 

World attention is rightfully focused on fears of a swine flu pandemic. However, we cannot forget about the messianic fundamentalist regime that would happily annihilate millions and cause global mayhem, believing in the reward of a few dozen maidens. 

Op-Ed: Stroller Controller – on Inconsiderate Stroller Operators

Even when William Congreve coined the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, he could not have envisioned the utter lack of courtesy and decency with which I and many other residents of this community are confronted on a daily basis.

I am referring to what I like to call the “Baby on Board Syndrome”, where many mothers feel as though they are the queens of their domain, and that the rest of the world must either make their motherly lives easier or get out of their way.

The most common example of such lack of courtesy takes place when a person sees a woman with a stroller who needs to enter a store. Naturally, most bystanders quickly react by opening the door and holding it open for the mother with the stroller.

Op Ed: Musings of a Wannabe Reporter: the Decline of the Newspaper Industry

Unused newspaper racks clutter a storage yard in San Francisco.

Almost since I can remember, I’ve wanted to go into the newspaper business. Specifically, I’ve wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always felt a connection to the written word: book report assignments in elementary school thrilled me and I often finished them the same day they were assigned; I am a voracious reader, probably utilizing my library card more often than I do my credit card; and I rarely leave the house without a book or two tucked away for long train rides or delays at the doctor’s office. Watching my father flip through the New York Times every morning when I was a little girl made quite an impression on me: whatever could demand his attention first thing in the morning, as well as the attention of millions of readers around the world, was something I wanted in on. And let’s face it, there was probably no cooler heroine when I was growing up than plucky Lois Lane, who went after her story without thought of safety or consequence (though admittedly, not every reporter has a superhero to rescue her from any potential peril).