The Fox Sets an Ambush for the Orthodox Union
I have long noted that Rabbi Yoffie is ‘the man,’ and someone who is firmly committed to increasing the Reform movement’s power. The spiritual fight in the U.S. for American Jewry has ultimately been between the Reform and the Modern Orthodox. Eldridge Street was created in order to stand up to the Reform. And the Orthodox Union was formed at the Eldridge Street Synagogue for similar reasons.
The Orthodox Union is the true rival of the Reform. And Rabbi Yoffie is certainly aware of that. And it is the Orthodox Union who has led the strongest Diaspora resistance against Olmert negotiating away any part of Jerusalem.
Haaretz reports,
“The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, promised Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week that his movement would support the government if a peace treaty with the Palestinians is reached, including concessions in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yoffie told Haaretz that if the Israeli right wing mobilizes its supporters in the United States against such an agreement, the Reform Movement would respond in kind.�
Notice that Yoffie is not pushing for anything specific…he is only promising to support such a policy IF the Israeli government arrives at such a conclusion. The Reform’s ancient rival, the Orthodox Union, is therefore positioned as anti-democratic, against the will of the Israeli people.
Haaretz notes,
Yoffie said that he understood that there is no choice but to include the future of Jerusalem in these negotiations and, “If the government of Israel were to reach an agreement in which real peace would be achieved also by concessions in Jerusalem, I am confident that American Jews would support it. Of course though, this is the sole decision of the government of Israel.”
Yoffie to Orthodox Union: Try it, and we will fuck you up!
Yoffie said that despite their statements, he doesn’t believe that the right-wing elements in U.S. Jewry would mount a serious public opposition. “Such an agreement would also be a major part of American foreign policy and they wouldn’t dare to try and derail it,” he said. “But if they do try, we would also mobilize our people against them.”
This is the fight between ethical Monotheism and Modern Orthodoxy. It is the most dynamic debate going on in the Diaspora. And it is not a new one. There is no greater question in Judaism. For most pre-war American Jews, this has always been the question.
And it appears to be reaching Jerusalem.
19 comments
What will of the israeli people, you moron.
Olmert is opposed by the vast majorities of Israelis in poll after poll and he’s on the edge of indictment. His agreement is not subject to any referendum.
Standing up for the will of the israeli people, means opposing Olmert not supporting him.
Amos, we often view things differently over here in than you sandal wearing types in the Middle East. Olmert was elected by the Israelis. He is your government until he remains in power illegally.
Are you a right-winger, Amos? Are you religious? Well, then if so…if you don’t like the election results, you can always shoot Olmert, right?
DK’s right about that. Israel’s corrupt political system has given itself its own ideal valentine. The Israeli political right-wing must be wondering whether its killing pf Kahanism was such a great idea.
Of course Reform doesn’t care about Jerusalem. They wrote it off 200 years ago. Because the religious roots of actual Judaism are found in Jerusalem, the sooner they wither away and the kiruv magic worked by the Western Wall, the Old City and those other embarrassments of ancient Jewish life go the way of Berlin — Reform’s Jerusalem of a century ago — the better for those “temple” membership dues from gentile families, all to keep the likes of Mr. Yoffie in their cushy sinecures.
You underestimate Yoffie, Ron. You are believing your team’s own propaganda. That’s a good way to lose a war.
LOL DK, they’re losing it for for themselves. Talk about drinking Kool-Aid. Don’t worry, you’ll “continue your civilization” in the those beautiful Reform Temples with Rabbi Kristine Schwartz and her rebbetzin quite nicely. A little more Aryan blood will strengthen your civilization against the dark horde.
Actually I kid. Reform has nothing to say about Israel; non-orthodox aliyah is statistically insignificant, and only the dying Ashkenazi chiloni elite in the country has any interest whatsoever in liberal Judaism and its creed of effete schmaltzy Unitarianism.
Now when you argued for Bnei Akiva, that at least was a principled position, DK; now you’re just a misnagid. I mean mitnagid.
And if you believe this, by the way, you’re not even reading MO’s own literature. Or… The Kvetcher.
Come on, mate. Decide what your bête noire is and gore it proper already.
Ron,
The spiritual fight for the Eastern European masses IN THE U.S. was between the Reform and the Modern Orthodox. The Conservative Movement was nothing more or less than attempting to accommodate both forces. It was not stable ground because neither side was seeking peace. In the end, it is losing to both. It’s only amazing it has taken this long…
True, there are other factors and camps…and true, the MO have other things on their mind than saving American Jewry, or the Reform for that matter…
But many of us who were pre-war never severed ties completely with the Orthodox, but were involved with the Conservative Movement precisely because of the inroads of the Reform’s “ethical Monotheism.”
You know why under Yoffie, the Reform doesn’t fight for religious status like the Conservative Movement does? Because he understands that secular Israelis already are ethical Monotheists. He doesn’t care if they call it secularism. He understands it is essentially the same thing. And the Conservative Movement understands that this is NOT THEM, and so they are the ones who feel marginalized the most.
Wow, who brought up Conservative? Not me. I didn’t know they were still in business.
Your finer points about Yoffie and his movement are well taken. Why, if you would calm down your rhetoric and pain less broadly we’d have much more productive discussions around here! But then you wouldn’t attract the massive traffic, so believe me, I hear ya…
Ron Paul! Ron Paul!
Hmmmm, the ‘Reform’ Jews of Berlin (which weren’t exactly Reform in the American sense, but the outcome of a social progress within the Jewish community often were to some degreee religiously educated or reigion-conscious. And it’s the children of those Jews even many Orthodox kvell about, pointing out their Jewishness: Einstein, Weill, Heine, Arendt, Mendelsohn, Kandinsky, Lasker-Schüler,…
Well…I don’t know about the Jewishness of Mendelsohn…as I presume you mean Felix…and he did convert out, no?
The entire Mendelsohn clan was originally Jewish. (Mendelsohn is a distinctively Jewish name at that as opposed to e.g. Kaufmann.)
I thought really, Kaufmann was originally Jewish also.
Kaufmann is just the German word for merchant. A quick search in the current German White Pages generated more than 33,000 hits for Kaufmann. Maier / Mayer / Meyer / Meier can also be a German lastname (one of the most common ones over here), as it refers to a lower administration position in the medieval court system.
“Kaufmann is just the German word for merchant.”
So…definitely a disproportionately Jewish name!
It can be, but since any tiny village had a merchant selling groceries, it’s an extremely common German lastname. Medieval Jewish merchants, due to their close interaction with Roma and Sinti, picked up words from Rotwelsch, the Roma language, as well, where a merchant was called a “Maggeler”.
Orthodoxy also wrote off Zionist as heretics two hundred years ago. The orthodox in both Western Europe and Eastern Europe were all anti -Zionists.
The only pro-zionist movement in America was the Conservative movement.
Orthodoxy, and only the liberal elements, started to recognize Zionism in the late 1950’s the same time that Reform did!
I also deal with this at my blog.
The Left is traditionally only interested in democracy and popular opinion when they have winning numbers. Thus the famour two quotes by Shulamit Aloni. When Oslo was popular she told opponents they had to abide by the will of the majority. When it became very unpopular, she announced that sometimes the majority is wrong and shouldn’t be followed.
Yoffi is a “Not me!”. Whenever non-Jews decide something is politically incorrect about Judaism, whether it be public expression of Torah observant behaviour or Israel’s silly insistence on survival, Jews like him jump up and short “Not me! I’m like you guys! I don’t like it either!” His opinion, and he has the right to it, is that he will support anything that the world likes even if it’s bad for Jews and Israel. That says volumes about his “Jewish ethics”.
“The Left is traditionally only interested in democracy and popular opinion when they have winning numbers.�
This is such a broad generalization I had to comment. You could say the same thing about any political group: the left, the right, liberals, conservatives, anyone. Look at U.S. President George W. Bush. When his opinion numbers are high, he can claim his policies reflect the popular will, and when his opinion numbers are low he says he has the authority to do what is best for the American people and implement unpopular policies. My point isn’t to pick on President Bush, simply to point out that your comment applies to just about everyone in politics regardless of their particular political ideology.
“The spiritual fight in the U.S. for American Jewry has ultimately been between the Reform and the Modern Orthodox.”
It’s a good thing we of the USCJ are sitting this fight out… no, wait, no it’s not. I better write a letter to whichever committee which may or may not have been set up yet to address this or not.
Darn.
Leave a Comment