New York – Agudath Israel executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel has asked Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael B. Oren for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the situation in Emmanuel.
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Israel’s High Court ruled that a school created in that town by parents seeking to maintain their religious standards was discriminatory against Sephardi Jews, and eventually held the parents in contempt of court for not sending their daughters to the original Emmnuel Beis Yaakov. Dozens of parents were jailed by the court and a massive throng of supporters accompanied them as they marched to the jail on Thursday to turn themselves in.
Rabbi Zwiebel wrote Ambassador Oren that while “Agudath Israel of America rarely involves itself in internal Israeli affairs, “the Emmanuel situation “compels us to insist that some sanity be brought to bear here.”
After reviewing the facts of the case, Rabbi Zwiebel quoted from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah statement protesting “mightily the wrong that has been done” to the jailed parents.
“There are few if any things more important to a haredi Jew than the education of his or her child,” he wrote further. “It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the haredi community (along with other champions of individual conscience) in Israel and around the world have been understandably distressed, if not horrified, at the sight of parents interested only the welfare of their children being held in prison for refusing to act against that interest.
“This needn’t – this shouldn’t! – have happened…The High Court’s portrayal of parental concerns about the educational needs of their children as mere cover for a pernicious ill will toward Sephardim insults not only good people but truth. The school the parents established did not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity. More than a quarter of its students were Sephardi girls! Little wonder that footage of the parents being taken to prison showed a number of them who were clearly of Sephardi heritage.
“More generally, as an attorney with considerable experience with constitutional and judicial matters in this country, I can assure you that were a court, even the highest in the land, to arrogate to declare a religious matter a secular one in order to bring it under its jurisdiction, the expressions of outrage would be many and loud – and rightly so. That is especially so with respect to any effort by the government to force parents to send their children to a particular school.”
The Agudath Israel leader referenced a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1925, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, that struck down an Oregon statute requiring all schoolchildren to attend public school.
In its unanimous ruling, Rabbi Zwiebel noted, the Court focused on parental rights: “The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
Requesting that the Ambassador convey to the relevant members of Israel’s government that “Agudath Israel of America stands firmly behind the jailed parents’ right to have their children educated according to their religious beliefs,” Rabbi Zwiebel added another excerpt from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah statement – that “we join wholeheartedly, along with hundreds of thousands of Jews around the globe, in [the] pain [of the jailed parents]. May their hands be strengthened and fortunate are they for bearing the honor of Hashem and the Jewish religious tradition on their shoulders at this time.” And he requested that the Ambassador “grant us the opportunity to discuss this issue face-to-face as soon as humanly possible.”
maybe aguda should do something for pollak? or shalit?
why do some slonimers come first??
Is Agudah crazy or just too self absorbed? They want Ambassador Oren to run to them so they can lecture him about AMERICAN LAWS to Israeli Government? Why should Michael Oren waste his precious time to deal with Agudah that never officially defends Israel or spends a dime for Pro-Israel lobbying or advocacy like AIPAC does? The matter is purely internal that affects Israeli citizens. American Agudah has no right to request a meeting with Israeli officials and then dictate to them about US Supreme Court decisions. Israel is a sovereign state that has it’s won legal system and laws. Michael Oren shouldn’t be lectured by foreigners because Israeli Charedim want to violate Israeli laws and continue racial profiling and discrimination under the excuse of ” not stringent enough religious observance from Sefardi students..”
Rabbi Zwiebel, don’t hold you breath your meeting will be fruitless, the Israely Gov. Only understands Hafgonas
Thank you rabbi zwiebel for expressing the outrage felt by jew in th us.You were to gentle howevere.You should have sarcastically congratulated israel on it’s new findings,sephardim who are anti sephardi” racists”.
MK gafni ws much sharper today.He pointed out how in all the secular fields in israel,the sephardim are hardly represented,but immanuel bais yaakov(with 30$ sephardim!),that’s the racists.He also pointed out the absurd stupidty of putting sephardim in jail for being “racist”.
Rabby Zwiebel: its a waste of time, isreal is not made to live for erlica yiden it worsh then russya or even iran
If you are not fighting their wars, don’t preach to them.
אם לא עכשיו אמתי – Aguda of America must act, because aside from arranging the Siyum Hashasm, they are a pretty much an in name only organization. They are barely involved in anything and there is an outrage among many about there silence up until now.
Parents as a private entity should be entitled to raise there children they way they see fit, that’s what freedom is all about. No one should be able to tell anyone how to raise their children, especially given the fact that Rav Vosner, Rav Elyashiv, Rav Shteiniman have about 300 yrs of experience when combined.
Aguda is a powerful organization and lobby and should let Oren know that if we cannot achieve our goals we will take to the streets of Manhattan and that wont be to good of PR for Israel as of now. Having parents behind bars punishes the children and is cruel.
Interesting how the Chassidim constantly run to the American courts to settle their own internal disputes, but are now very upset that an Israeli court wants to settle a dispute between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Are the American courts more versed in halacha than the Israeli courts?
Dear Rabbi Zweibel,
So until this issue, the Agudah was pro-Israel? Can you name me a single Agudah Institution that says the Tefila for the Medina or the Misheberach for the soldiers each Shabbos, or that celebrates Yom Haaatzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim? Why this sudden love for the State of Israel all of the sudden?
I have mixed feelings. The state has a responsibility to make sure children are educated in order to survive in this world. What if someones religious beliefs precluded them from taking math and science? Also, all Jews MUST live together. Achdus is learned when we live together and understand each other. We are not talking about a secular Jewish situation. We are talking about a religious school. What is not taught well enough in school, the parents must provide. Israel will not make it if we can not live and learn together as one people. Sinas Chinum destroyed us once or maybe more times than we know.
Thanks rabbi zweibel. Great letter. I hope it brings results!
The Agudah should keep its nose out of internal Isareali politics. This is just a formula to generate a photo opportunity that will allow the media to claim that orthodox Jews in America have no respect for the rule of law (whether in Emanuel case in EY or in the SMR case in the U.S.). Maybe Agudah could focus its limited time and resources to supporting EY in world opinion rather than complaining about a legal decision by the highest court in EY.
The bais yaakov in Immanuel is not a strictly private school – they operate with the assistance of government (taxpayer) funding. if you don’t want government involvement, don’t take government money.
With all the security issues threatening EY, this Zweibel character would burden the ambassador with their complaints about the court decision in the Emanuel case? Maybe they should do somthing relevant in support of the state of israel for a change.
all those that criticize the aguda for not being zionistic, not saying the tfilah for the medina etc… you live in chutz laeretz yet you criticize the gvt. for giving back gaza. how dare you? you racist. i don’t see you going to join the army. oh i forgot, you go to the parade, never mind.
If this court ruling would have happened here in England there would be a national outcry.
The entire judgement, which his based solely on an ubsurd extension of “comtempt of the court” has essentially given the Israeli justice system carte blanche to persue anyone of a crime and prevent them from taking any preventative action.
I’m proud the USA has a frum lobbying organisation that is willing to meddle in internal Israeli affairs when such a blatant miscarriage of justice is occuring against frum yidden? If our hearts bleed for the poor Emmanuel families how can we not act? I only wish we in Europe had such a strong voice that we could even consider lobbying Israeli ambassadors for their country’s attack on frum yidden.
Here in England, our state-funded jewish schools have a right to determine their pupil body is in line with the ethos of the school (recent admission policy issues aside – which aren’t dependant on ethos). I believe the same is true for the USA. How then could Israel insist the school change its pupilship to accept those who do not beleive in the school ethos?
And how could an offer to school their children in Beis Malka in Beni Brak) be considered contempt?
Where was the Agudah when bombs were going off all over Israel? They specifically declined to participate in the protest in Washington.
Rabbi Zweibel may be right about it being a religious matter rather than a racial one.
But that did not give the Chassidim the right to treat the “less religious girls” as if they a had a highly contagious disease. forcing them into a “walled off ghetto” in their own school so they wouldn’t infect the Chassidic daughters.
Nor did it give the Chassidim the right to humiliate the “less religious girls” by forcing to wear different color uniforms to make sure the quarantine could not be breached. Reminds me of the yellow stars the Jews had to wear in WWII
Above all, this reminds me of Kamtsa Bar Kamtsa. In that case also, the matter should have never reached the Romans. Today, Rabbi Zweibel and the Agudah would like us to believe that the only bad guys in that story were the Romans and
the Israeli Ashkenazi Charedim add Bar Kamtsa to the guilty list Both would like us to believe that the host(baal habayis) and the Taanaim who did not intervene were completely blameless. .
A careful reading of the gemara there in Gittin leads ore to the conclusion that the Amoraim blamed all three Jewish actors with the major share going to the Taanaim.