Yidden! Don’t Pasken According to Stormfront!

I have been in a rather shrill debate for months with an anonymous contributer on a major Jewish group blog who has seen fit to evaluate the merits of my arguments (and those of others) not on the basis of whether or not they make sense, what my sources and proofs are, but rather, whether or not they might converge with his perception of those on Stormfront, a large neo-nazi website.

I am going to go on record as saying something shockingly controversial.

Stormfront is not my Posek.

There, I said it.

Sound reasonable?

Think again. Not in large swaths of the Jewish community. Stormfront or their predecessors must sign off on many aspects of Jewish policy.

It has been going on for some time. How many Reform American Jewish organizations invoke the Nuremberg Laws when discussing a person’s status as a Jew, and to justify patrilineal descent?

When it comes to the “who is a Jew” question, F-ck the Nuremberg Laws. They have no halachic importance. None.

Just as our goal should not be to act in accordance with Nazi ideology, so it should not be to act the opposite of Nazi ideology. It’s giving them way too much of a say. They should have zero power in determining policy and debate within the Jewish community. If they say the earth is round, that doesn’t mean we should say it is flat.

And let’s take it one step further.

If we have a point of disagreement about a Jewish policy, and mine is contrary to that of most mainstream Jewish organizations, I don’t care if you think Stormfront is saying the same thing. I don’t even care if they ARE saying the same thing.

They don’t rule my world, they don’t rule my mind, and they shouldn’t rule yours.

And they should not set the parameters of debate within the Jewish community.