An editorial recently published shed light upon a phenomenon indicating that our camp has been infiltrated by the pseudo chareidi communication media adapting all of the devices of the Fourth Estate (the mass media) and its drawbacks. This phenomenon is not unconnected with the sweeping enticement of the secular street; it embodies all of the external and internal elements of all that is labeled as `dropout' even though ostensibly, it is only marginal compared with the whole gamut representing those who have left the Source of Life.
And yet, it has the destructive impact powered by what it represents, the vicious and ruinous power which the written and verbal media has exercised in this past generation: the ruination of Yiddishkeit and devastation of all moral-ethical values of the Torah.
It is amazing to comprehend that precisely in the era that the president of the world power castigates the media as an empire of lies and falsification of reality, at the sunset of the Fourth Estate, we see a worship of it from the outskirts of the camp.
We need not wander far off to distant lands. In these past years, we have been witness right here in Eretz Yisrael to the power struggle between the two major (secular) newspapers which have become the kingpins of the political power struggle headed by the Prime Minister himself. This struggle has focused the limelight upon what is going behind the curtains of the newspapers. This battle has removed the veil behind which the wicked kingdom of the media hid itself and exposed its ability to speculate and profiteer with the news even while endangering vital issues. This battle has especially exposed the true face of those stand behind the media and who give an impression of awesome power but are instead exposed as nothing more than beggars, sycophants, street corner instigators et al, in order to pander to their monetary greed.
The Malbim
This struggle reminds us of the caustic observation of the Malbim who stood at the helm of the fight against Haskalah. During his lifetime, there were two secular newspapers, Hashachar and Haboker Ohr, which vilified the Torah-true camp and disseminated secular Enlightenment. Throughout this period, they spouted the so-called spirit of seeking righteousness and justice, while simultaneously directing sharp criticism against rabbonim and the chareidi public in general.
With time, these newspapers began waging a power struggle against one another, heaping mountains of abuse and ridicule against each other.
At that time, the Malbim presented a parable which described two dogs who had lost their way, separately, in a dark forest. When they encountered one another, each imagined that the other was a fearsome wolf and were terrified. With dawn, Hashachar, and the morning light, Haboker Ohr, they realized that they were nothing more than dogs!
Along the lines of this amusing shaggy dog parable, we can state that if anyone imagined that these newspapers were the watchdogs of democracy, from the moment that they began attacking each other, it became apparent to all that they are no more than wolves thirsting for prey.
