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.