JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Mordechai Werdyger, the internationally acclaimed Hasidic singer widely known by his stage name Mordechai Ben David (MBD), has drawn criticism from Yisrael Beiteinu after making remarks about party leader Avigdor Lieberman during a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Shlomi Zionce.
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Ben David, regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Jewish music and among the most influential performers in the Orthodox Jewish world, used the interview to recount personal stories about the late Ribnitzer Rebbe, with whom he was widely known to have shared an exceptionally close relationship during the rabbi’s final years.
האדמו״ר מריבניץ זצ״ל היה מתבייש בכך שמשתמשים בשמו כדי להפיץ שנאה ולהסית לרצח של אביגדור ליברמן. זו חרפה מוסרית, דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה!
אנחנו מאמינים בני מאמינים שננצח את הבחירות הקרובות, נשים סוף להשתמטות ונעשה סדר במדינה. https://t.co/z0bOcPCeFj
— ישראל ביתנו (@Beytenu) August 2, 2026
The Ribnitzer Rebbe, revered by many followers as a miracle-working rabbi, remains one of the most prominent Hasidic figures of the 20th century. Since his death in 1995, his gravesite in Monsey, New York, has become one of the most visited Jewish pilgrimage sites in North America, drawing tens of thousands of visitors throughout the year who come to pray and seek blessings.
During the interview, Ben David discussed Lieberman’s longstanding claim that the Ribnitzer Rebbe served as his mohel, the person who performed his ritual circumcision. Ben David appeared to question whether the claim was accurate and then remarked that, if it were true, “they should have cut off his head instead,” according to translated excerpts of the interview circulated on social media.
The comments prompted a sharp response from Yisrael Beiteinu.
In a statement posted on X, the party said the Ribnitzer Rebbe “would be ashamed that his name is being used to spread hatred and incite the murder of Avigdor Lieberman.”
“This is a moral disgrace. Common decency comes before Torah,” the party said.
The party also used the statement to underscore its political platform, saying it is confident it will win Israel’s next election, end military draft exemptions and “restore order to the country.”
The exchange quickly drew attention online because of Ben David’s stature within the Orthodox Jewish community and his well-known relationship with the Ribnitzer Rebbe, whose teachings and legacy continue to attract a large following decades after his death.
Ben David had not publicly responded to Yisrael Beiteinu’s statement as of Sunday.
Popularity from being a public entertainer should not be a reason for anyone’s opinion to be followed on politics
VIN MUST ISSUE A CORRECTION — MBD NEVER SAID THAT!
The phrase “ער האט געדארפט שניידען דעם קאפ” translates as “he needed to cut into the head” or “cut the head,” not “אראפשניידען” (“cut the head off”). Any fluent Yiddish speaker can confirm this distinction.
In other words, MBD was clearly saying that A.L. would have been better served if the Ribnitzer Rebbe had metaphorically circumcised his “ערלת המח” (the “foreskin of the mind”) to remove the קליפה—the spiritual shell or blockage surrounding his hardened and sinful mind. Both the literal wording and the context make this obvious to anyone who understands Yiddish.
That Israeli left-wing politicians and the mainstream media foment religious hostility is neither new nor surprising. What is truly astounding is that VIN chose to republish this FAKE NEWS story without first verifying the accuracy of the translation or reaching out to MBD for comment before amplifying what amounts to unverified political slander.
I would respectfully ask that VIN publish this comment in its entirety and do the right thing by issuing a correction and an apology. Thanks!
Besides for the fact that Lieberman said something to the effect of “Throwing out the Chareidim with the trash”, it is actually not what MBD said. Anyone who translates it as Yisrael Beiteinu did, has an extremely poor command of Yiddish. What he said was that he should have “cut AT the head”, meaning as in BRAIN SURGERY. Either a laughingly poor error of translation on Yisrael Beiteinu’s part, or simply knowingly trying to misrepresent the words for some desperately sought after condemnation of anything Chareidi.
LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAID
mbd didnt at all insinuate or encourage people to murder leiberman , what he did say in a joking manner was if its indeed true that the ribnitzer rebbe was liebermans mohel, he should have cut off his head (as the charedim would be much better off) then added hopefully hell do teshuva
when things are taken out of context and misquoted everyone gets bent out of shape….
he’s intitled to an opinion as are the rest of us
you dont need to agree but he’s right and spot on
if you listen to the complete podcast as to why the arabs are being so successful in their war against israel its all due to forcing bnei torah to join the army …
Well said MBD!
I agree with mbd he’s 100% right weather they wanna hear it or not lieberman is an anti semite a self hating jew
It’s a mistranslation
He said that he should have circumcised his head, meaning – removed the worthless parts of his psyche.
This week’s sedra
Ahvas yisroel does NOT apply to reshoim meysis umeydeeachim…
to say the least
4 comments?. ..???,
Whose else’s did you take down besides mine??
MBD was the gabbai of the Rebnitzer Rebbe when I went to see him and get brachas for myself and family, He translated my words from English to Yiddish and then told me what the Rebneitzer said.
He is one of the all time great singers and there is nothing he could say that I don’t respect.
Libermann on the other hand is a total A hole and sch^ck. a sick self hating Jew and antisemite.
“Anyone familiar with Yiddish understands that MBD wasn’t calling for violence against Liberman. It’s similar to when Jackie Mason called David Dinkins a shvartzer—people reacted strongly without grasping the cultural or linguistic nuance behind the word.”
Where in the interview can I watch his comment?
As an aside, not sure if anyone noticed, but in the statement they ended off saying “we are Maaminim B’nei Maaminim that we will have a victory”, a play on MBD’s song… Obviously big fans of the music…
It seems to me that Zionce has a knack for getting clicks
Oh, how terrible. He emitted some truth. I’d suggest he follow his advice and does teshuva
“The party also used the statement to underscore its political platform, saying it is confident it will win Israel’s next election, end military draft exemptions and “restore order to the country.” Well….. So is Ben David wrong???