Millions of eyes that are rarely exposed to the words of
Orthodox spokespeople, read the words of several in recent
days. Four letters -- in as many weeks -- to the editor of
The New York Times carried the signatures of Agudath
Israel of America representatives.
The first these appeared in the paper's July 30 edition.
Written by the Orthodox organization's director of public
affairs, Rabbi Avi Shafran, it took issue with the
characterization, in a Times article that appeared
several days earlier, of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin's assassin as "ultra-religious." Rabbi Shafran
suggested that "ultra-nationalist" might not be an inaccurate
characterization, but that Yigal Amir "has consistently
maintained that his act of murder was motivated entirely by
political, not religious, beliefs."
"Many religious Jews," Rabbi Shafran's letter continued, "may
be intensely skeptical of some Palestinians' intentions
regarding Israel and its Jewish citizens. But discourse,
democracy and prayer, not violence, are the means we use to
advance our convictions and hopes."
The widely-read newspaper's obituary for the Bobover Rebbe,
zt"l, was the subject of the second recent Agudath
Israel letter to the editor to appear in its pages. It was
published on August 6 and penned by Professor Moishe Zvi
Reicher, Agudath Israel World Organization representative to
the United Nations and director of international affairs. The
obituary had included the fanciful speculation, apparently of
a sociologist well known for his antipathy for the chareidi
community, about the fact that the Rebbe, zt"l, went
beardless during the Holocaust.
"The Rebbe meticulously conducted his life as an observant
Jew in the dark days of the Holocaust," wrote Professor
Reicher. "It was a profound test of faith from which he did
not flinch." The Chassidic giant felt it necessary "to
protect himself from those who targeted leaders capable of
transmitting Jewish heritage and thereby rebuilding a vibrant
Jewish world."
"The Rebbe's success," Professor Reicher's letter concluded,
"in working undercover to save the lives of others, inspiring
them spiritually, and then in rebuilding Jewish life after
the war, affirms the correctness of his judgment."
The third recent Agudath Israel letter in The New York
Times appeared on August 15 and was written by the
organization's executive vice president, Rabbi Shmuel Bloom.
It contested the assertion in an op-ed column about vice
presidential hopeful Joseph I. Lieberman by journalism
professor and author Samuel G. Freedman, that "Modern
Orthodox" Jews alone among the Orthodox are engaged with the
larger society.
"Chareidi community activists, academics and business leaders
abound," wrote Rabbi Bloom, "chareidi Jews vote in high
percentages, and Agudath Israel of America has long been an
advocate for Jews and religious Americans in Congress and the
courts."
"Besides," Rabbi Bloom's letter concludes, "chareidi Jews who
choose more insular lives can hardly be faulted for doing
what they can to protect themselves from the cultural
corruption that Senator Lieberman has so consistently and
laudably condemned."
Most recently, on August 25, The Times published a
response by Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israel's executive
vice president for government and public affairs, to a letter
published several days earlier by Deborah E. Lipstadt, the
director of the Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory
University.
In her missive, Ms. Lipstadt averred that support of Roe v.
Wade "is the only position that a traditional Jew could take"
since "Jewish law mandates" the killing of a fetus "in
certain cases, like saving the life of the mother."
Responded Mr. Zwiebel: "Ms. Lipstadt is right that an
absolute legislative ban on abortion under any and all
circumstances "would be unacceptable to observant Jews."
"She is wrong, though," the Agudath Israel representative
continued, "to assume that the only public policy choices in
the area are all or nothing.
"One can easily conjure a policy that prohibits abortion as a
general matter but allows for exceptions in extraordinary
cases. Indeed, that is precisely the policy that polls show
most Americans support."
His letter concluded: "[The] standard of Roe v. Wade is at
fundamental odds with Jewish tradition."
Reaching millions of eyes, even four times in one month, is,
of course, not a solution for ignorance. But it is certainly
four steps in the right direction.
