JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Radio anchor Ron Koffman, who has in the past made pejorative references to charedim, spoke out on his program Tuesday terming them “Cancer in the Israeli public arena”.
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Koffman said that “We need to clean up internally, all the Eichlers. 13 percent of the public are a cancer in the Israeli public arena.”
Shas head Aryeh Deri responded to Koffman, stating that “To term a huge Jewish community a ‘cancer’ is a terrible deterioration, reminiscent of what our enemies did to us in the diaspora, when they denied Jews’ humanity and allowed their blood to be spilt freely. These are terrifying and shocking statements which must be utterly denounced and repudiated. It is forbidden to let any difference of opinion lead the public discussion to such a level of incitement.”
The B’Tzalmo organization has called in a letter on the ombudsman of the news corporation, David Regev to initiate suspension proceedings against Koffman.
B’Tzalmo head Shai Glick said that “There are no words to describe the shock when a news reporter in the state of Israel dares to call his brothers and members of his nation the most derogatory term in the arsenal of expletives – “cancer”.
“Cancer is a foreign item which entered the body and is destroying it. The charedim are an integral part of Israel’s citizens. It is unthinkable that a radio anchor should stand up and rant against Israeli citizens just because they are charedim.
Moreover, Ron Koffman is welcome to visit the oncology departments in various hospitals around Israel and there he will find many charedim but not as cancer patients but rather as members of organizations that help cancer patients- both Jews, Arabs, religious and secular.
“This man should be immediately suspended, and I hope that while he is suspended he goes around the oncology wards in hospitals and sees the amount of charedi voluntarism and understands that he was mistaken,apologizes and begins to volunteer himself in these organizations.”
Perhaps, a little perspective is needed.
In Israel, Ron Kofman is a “radio anchor.”
In America, Mr. Kofman would be a soon-to-be unemployed car service driver.
Why doesn’t someone invite him to a Seuda in a Sukkah this year? Show him what Shabbos is about, what Yomtov is about, what Tefillin is all about.
There are better eitzos than firing him.
His inflammatory comment got him a lot of publicity and press, which is what he probably wanted.
soon to be hired by nyt. he would work well with elissa shapiro, Freidman, beinart, et al
Wrong word that he choose.
But what did he say wrong?. The charedim dont work .They let others work and are front and center tocollect the stipens. The dont serve in the Army and let thers do the heavy lifting and risk their lives in combat.
Maybe it is time that the Charedim took an ative role insupporting all the people and the country.
It would be a well put service to explain to the media-crity pundit that the Torah is a tool of immunologists and serves to protect against cancer. Cancer is when cells grow uncontrollably and mutate their gene structure. The Jewish people have endured many cancers in the past two millennia. Torah Tavlin and a protection from cancer.