Published With Permission
UOJ,
I was thinking about writing the following for a while and, trust me, it has nothing to do with Tuvya. I know what his agenda is. I believe that it is my responsibility as a person committed to truth to air my thoughts. I hope that you will take my comments in the way that they are intended to be delivered. Please bear with me as this may be long.
The work that you have done to fight molesters is commendable. We need change and parents need to step up to the plate. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I am trying.
I am constantly bothered, though, by the following on your blog (this will not be new to you) and would appreciate a heartfelt response in a non-UOJ manner:
Ridicule of chachomim such as Rav Kaduri, The Baal Shem Tov, others and Kabbalah in general. I did not grow up in a world of Chassidus. Viewing the culture from the outside, it is certainly different than what I am accustomed to. However, some time ago I took up a serious study of Chassidus and Kabbalah in general - both from Jewish and historical sources. My thoughts and views have evolved since then. The Baal Shem Tov was a great leader. We do not know whether some of the stories are true or not, but we do know that his main talmid was the Maggid, a Talmid of the Pnei Yehoshua - a man of great organizational ability. He was a "Litvak" and fell for the Baal Shem. Many other learned individuals did as well. The Baal HaTanya was a major Talmid Chocom who compiled the Shulchan Aruch HaRav - a work of great accomplishment. True, the Gra had many issues with Chassidus - a big theological issue was the machlokes on "tzimtzum" with the Gra rejecting the Chassidic view as heretical and refusing to meet the Baal HaTanya. Also, there were chassidim who engaged in activities that were not sanctioned by their leaders. It is important to note that R' Chaim of Volozhin had a much softer attitude towards chassidim though his Nefesh Hachaim answered the philosophical and kabalistic approach offered by the Baal HaTanya.
One of the points of chassidus that you should like is that it was for the common folk - the leaders understood the people. There was a warmth and closeness that they didn't feel previously. Perhaps some of this is overstated by modern day historians, but apparently the common folk welcomed the movement with open arms. One of the fears that the Misnagdim had was that too much faith in one individual would be harmful. Perhaps we have seen this materialize to some degree today both in the chassidic and Yeshiva world. This doesn't de-legitimize the movement though.
Another point is that Kabbalah predated chassidus and stands independently of the movement. Putting aside the mystical element of Kabbalah, the core of kabbalah deals with the inner meaning of life and Yahadus. Pick up the Sefer Tomer Devorah by the Ramak in which he discusses how to emulate Hashem's thirteen midos. The kabbalists, through a deep understanding of the inner workings of the universe and cosmic reality, strived for a more meaningful existence.
How does this relate to the issue of molestation? Kabbalah discusses the soul, the neshama, at length. When I view the destruction of the soul that the molesters cause to the innocent victims, it causes me much pain. Our connection to G-D is through the soul - spirituality - and the molesters rob our innocent children of their spiritual nourishment. It goes without saying that these poor children are robbed of their emotional and physical growth as well.
It hurts when you disparage Rav Kaduri, etc. I was personally blessed by him and it was an unbelievable experience for me. I am not a big "bracha" person at all - believe me - but being in the presence of these great Tzadikim whose lives are pure, elevated and sanctified is very special indeed. We are not talking about Rabbonim who Chas V'Sholom would cover and enable for child molesters.
You have ridiculed other Rabbonim: I have no problem whatsoever publicly exposing any Rabbi who is complicit in covering up crimes against our children. You know that. But printing a list of "A, B and C Rabbonim was in poor taste - some names even made the list because of relatively minor indiscretions.
I do not believe that commenters using names of individuals (obviously phony aliases) should be allowed. While we all enjoy a quick laugh, it causes embarrassment. This is contradictory in nature to your goal of defending the innocent and weakest amongst us.
Rav Elchonon - Too harsh, even if there is some truth. I understand your disappointment and disillusionment. I really do. But think how Hashem would judge Rav Elchonon. This is what I referred to with the Sefer Tomer Devorah. Mah Hu Chanum... The ability of the kabbalists to try and reach almost G-Dly levels is amazing and, I think that it is important to consider that this is our purpose to judge compassionately even as we deal with all this disappointment, etc.
Language, etc.: Inappropriate language and humor should not be allowed. I understand that there is frustration out there and much of it is well-founded, but as mature adults we need to express ourselves a bit differently in a public forum - just as forcefully, but with different language.
I have written the above because I believe that you are very well-meaning and because I feel that I have gotten to know you a bit. It seems that you do your thing, but I really hope you will consider my words. Your blog would be just as effective and hard hitting without all of the extras that I have pointed out. What you have done is incredible, but, in my opinion, wrong is wrong. My points have nothing to do with the molestation issue. I believe that you are right on and have been correct on all your outings and have even shown tremendous restraint with Yeshivas such as Gerer and YOB.
All the best,
Eli Greenwald
I respectfully encourage readers from all walks of life and beliefs to comment on Eli's thoughts.
UOJ
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57 comments:
I agree with Eli, but to UOJ's defense, he is speaking from frustration. If one were able to dig deep into his brain, one would see that his views are probably not as harsh as we think.
I agree with Eli Greenwald completely. I am getting tired of the disparagement and bashing of noted individuals. We cannot be their judges, only Hashem can. While I have my own issues with certain Rabbonim (not about covering up abusers), I still would hesitate to bash them on a public forum in such a distatsteful manner as some of the bloggers do.
Nice Piece,
As a Gerrer Chossid who agrees with you on many issues. I hope you do apologize for calling the Gerrer Rebbe such vile and despicable names.
Ger, just like every Chassidus has a big problem when it comes to molestation/abuse cases. No argument about that.
There are many in the Gerrer community who agree with me (and you) that something needs to be done FAST.
However, by writing such disgusting things about a Godol B'yisroel (even if you don’t think so) you are shooting yourself in the leg. You aren’t gaining anything by doing that.
No, I'm not threatening you with anything. I don't know (and don't care) who you are. But one thing I humbly request, please remove those offending remarks.
Thank you very much.
Thoughts from all walks of life says
Eli is a gentle soul. He is right, uo.
Bashing, mashing is good for carrots, not rabbonim.
As we recover from broken Luchois, may we be zoiche to the geula.
Inspired by holy thoughts, achas sha-alti, all i ask is: what's for breakfast?
civility wins, uoj.
civility.
Your fans request:
1. an apology to all the rabbis living and ded that you besht.
2. no more appropriating real people's names for visual interest. Stick to dead ones.
3. Language should not be allowed.
The question is fairly raised, uoj, if you were wrong about Mr. Plotzker, a distinguished graduate of Touro, why have you not apologized? If you are truly a superhero after truth, you would admit your mistakes. We await your response to this delicate subject.
I totally agrede with Eli G. Definently strong food for thought. And that said I admire your (UOJ) courage immensly and respect your care for the kids of yesterday and the kids of tommorrow. I believe all of this can be done with taking a little bit (or more then alittle) of his message and just toning down the approach somewhat. And that does not mean to go easy on any sc--bags that hide behind mirror walls.
Once again Reb Eli Greenwald shows what a class act he is. Of course he is right in every particular (with the considerable exception of UOJ being correct on all the outings). The bashing excesses not only repulse good people who could be part of a good cause, but they also hurt the cause of survivors by giving their adversaries an easy target.
Does UOJ have the courage to change? That is the question.
Eli;
I'm of the opinion that UOJ took this extreme approach deliberately in order to shake up the Oilam from their Choni Hamagal slumber. Using the King's English
and civil debate would not IMO have gotten the results and public awareness
that we have now.
It's really incredible how much UOJ has accomplished in so short a time.
Unfortunately, the cover-up, aiding and abetting by our hanhola is so deeply entrenched that nothing short of verbal Tsunamis would be effective.
As Exhibit A, I give you Charles Hynes,
Brooklyn D.A. who has gone into the Witness Protection Program so as to not have to extradite Mondrowitz. If you've never seen a "bought" man, cast thine eyes upon Hynes face; especially during an Election year when he makes the Rebbe rounds with that ridiculous yarmulke on his head.
And to you Gerer Chosid: Your protests ring hollow. UOJ has a point. Why the cover-up by Ger? Not a peep. And the pressure on the families of the boys molested by Leiserowitz not to go to the Police! What's up with that, Jack? Business as usual.
And if Ger really meant to do right by families, how are they allowing Leizerowitz to apply for jobs in Yeshivas in Yerushalayim for the upcoming Z'man??? This is straight out of the Twilight Zone. Want to help him get a job, OK. Anywhere, but not near or with kids.
Mr. Greenwald has written a thoughtful challenge to UOJ. Few can disagree with what he's said. Frankly, I think all the phony screen names were silly, but then I don't live in Flatbush. Also, we have to keep some sense of humor about us. Jews have always been able to laugh in the face of adversity.
I wonder though if UOJ hadn't been hyperbolic regarding some pretty important rabbis like R. Wasserman, the Besht, Rav Kadouri, whether he would have gotten the attention of folks like Tuvya.
FWIW, if UOJ was wrong about Mr. Plotzker he should be a man about it and apologize in good faith.
The question is fairly raised, uoj, if you were wrong about Mr. Plotzker, a distinguished graduate of Touro, why have you not apologized? If you are truly a superhero after truth, you would admit your mistakes. We await your response to this delicate subject.
------
Does UOJ agree ?
I agree with Boog, I have been here from the beginning. If UOJ would have acted like a gentleman, who would have paid attention to him? Nice guys finish last.
He began calm and gradually increased the volume on his microphone when he realized how many people agreed with him.
His accomplishments are absolutely phenomenal and deserves kudos from the entire Jewish world.
Having said that, perhaps UOJ you now need to tone down the rhetoric if in fact your readers want you to. Go crazy when need be but some of the name calling perhaps could be eliminated.
UOJ,
Eli's right. Everybody supporting the molestors points to the foul language , etc. of this blog and say "UOJ is a menuvel and just hates Yiddishkeit; his accusations are just that of a bitter man."
We need to put the interest of the victims first by making this blog as credible and believable as possible. All it takes is asking yourself before posting something: Will this post/comment help the victims or not?
Remember, this is much more than just any blog; it's hope, it's justice, it's a reckoning to the abusers. So, UOJ, please try as hard as possible to heed Eli's advice. You know he means well, as do all your supporters. But if not for Eli, if not for ANYBODY else, at least do it for the victims who are crying "Asey l'maaneinu im lo l'mancha."
Boog,
We can agree that UOJ took the extreme approach deliberately. You are not wrong, but he can be just as "extreme" and tough on crime without the language, etc. that Mr. Greenwald refers to.
The problem is that until UOJ, nobody has stood up to the molesters and enablers. UOJ has been superb! But, we need to make an honest evaluation of the entire package. This is a far cry from Tuvya and team who say that the bad outweighs the good and UOJ must be stopped at all costs. He and his crowd are way off base and severely misguided.
The fact remains, that you have sidestepped the key point which is that UOJ can shake the Oilam with strong, harsh language and anger, but without mocking true chachomim, etc.
As a victim of Liezerowitz I take exception to Eli Gs criticism. Armchair logic and opinions do little when the crux of his article is to shoot the messenger and his faithful elves. Did he give a moments thought that perhaps those so outspoken in thier comments (the elves) are the sorry voices of molested souls and thier families? And as so eloquently stated by BOOG, maybe this is the only way to wake the klal to the horofying reality of abusers and the incompetent ra-bonim that enable them? Did anything positive happen before we decided to stop taking the high road? The king's english would have ensured the status quo and children would still be at risk. Why all this wailing in defense of the Gerrer when he alone is responsible for Liezerowitz being in ger all these years when he was fully aware of what was going on. Did he think sending a snivling old thief who was runing from authorities in Israel and an incompetent local jackass to watch over Liezerowitz would keep him from molesting countless more victims? This holy rabbi has blood of countless victims on his hands and will have to account for it on judgement day. I don't care what his approach is now with regard to Liezerowitz, the facts are screamingly clear, he took no action until UOJ set his holy pants on fire. You can count on ger to harbor the next molester until UOJ and his elves rat them out and threaten big time scandal. I look forward to Eli addressing my points.
Boog, I never saw a word from u I didn't agree to. I wish I knew who u r. Other than UOJ himself u sound like the sanest guy on earth.
One of the ironies is that the baiters don't realize that uoj doesn't write all the anonymous posts. He has renamed some, according to his will, but doesn't edit. He either blocks them completely or lets them go.
Thus, the ineluctable conclusion is that those detractors who ascribe anonymous postings to the blogmeister himself are not nearly as subtle as they think they are. In fact, they're dense. For such individuals, uoj has a case when he's blunt.
UOJ's talent is the character he portrays himself to be. Lunatic, warm and fuzzy, caring, daring, funny as hell, sarcastic to the max. Come on, you must admit his blog is addictive.
He is the conversation everywhere, not too shabby a challenge to all of us.
I agrre with the above victim. we all can criticize this and that at uoj. He singlehandedly took this abuse issue out of everyones closet and shoved it down our throats for us to be able to fix it. In any war there are casualties.
without UOJ's take no prisoners approach, nothing would have changed.
The current issue of the Yated discusses the abuse issue.
Orthodox Jewish Camps Issue Safety Guidelines
One of the crown jewels of the Torah Community is the vibrant camping system. Every summer, thousands of youngsters enjoy fun-filled summers in a warm and stimulating atmosphere. Camps have also long served as important components in the chinuch system, as much thought and effort is devoted by hundreds of dedicated mechanchim to ensure that the summer months are educationally fulfilling. Beyond the actual Torah imbibed, thousands of children are exposed to the ruach and spirit of yiras Shomayim and love for the Torah way of life.
It goes without saying that the most important mandate of any camp is the health, well-being and happiness of its precious charges. As such, concerted efforts have always been made to train staff members, from the most senior to junior, in procedures that ensure this well-being.
In an effort to underscore this attitude, the Association of Orthodox Jewish Camp Operators (AJCO), the umbrella organization of frum camps, has issued guidelines designed to address the terrible yet vital issue of child abuse. The AJCO, on the advice of Gedolei Yisroel, has sent all its members an extensive mailing with suggested guidelines for staff and procedures for formal training of all camp employees. These guidelines are modeled on the rules in effect in Torah Umesorah schools and long in effect at many of our camps.
In an effort to enforce a zero tolerance policy towards any type of abuse, these camps have trained their staff in the importance of strict adherence to these standards.
In addition, the information package contained an important memorandum addressed to parents informing them of these initiatives, and urging them to discuss these sensitive issues with their children. Specific talking points for these parent-children discussions were included in the packet.
UOJ cannot let up !!! Everthing he said is backed up by historical fact !! Imagine, forward the clock 15 years from now - Artscroll and feldheim would have been outdoing each other to write Lipa Margolius biography.
Margolius would have been the guest speaker at the next sium hashas and at all the aguda conventions.
Rabbi Moshe Eisenmann could have been the next godol hador and shia fishman would have been considered a tzadik.
WE still don't see any godol doing tshuva re: this disaster. UOJ has to keep on firing full blast until the gedolim are shvitzing bullets !!!
take a look at today's Wall Street Journal. Interesting op-ed about how in America we are a kid-run society. This is something R' Shimshon Pinkus spoke about the Agudah Convention before he died.
I ASK ELI TO ANSWER WHY NO RABBI HAS PUBLICLY CONDEMMED YEEDLE OR ANY OTHER ENTERTSINER WHO HAS DONE VILE ACTS
WHY ARE THERE DEFENDERS
WHY DOES HYNES PROTECT MONDROWITZ
ISNT IT HIGH TIME THAT WE LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY FALL
you yourself write that it is mostly fabricated SO WE SHOULDNT POST ABOUT YEEDLES ARREST
which part is the mostly
the fact of swallowing the disk with the naked pictures
the fact of giving underage girls drugs
the fact of having sex with underage girls
the fact of being arrested
no one accuses avraham freid or shloime dachs or shlomo simcha or yehuda or shwecky or williger of being arrested or giving young girls drugs
SO WHAT ACTION ARE YOU DEFENDING
YEEDLE SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO PERFORM IN ANY JEWISH VENUE EVER
WILL YOU LET HIM BABYSIT YOUR DAUGHTER
ASK THE FAMILY OF THE GIRL HE DRUGGED
Looks like somebody has an axe to grind with Ger/Leizrowits
What happened to the rest of the chasidishe known molestors?!
Boog nailed it again.
If it is true that Kolko is (or was) involved with camps and children at Lake Compounce, that alone is proof that UOJ's methods are not strong enough! This is no time for political correctness but a time to continue to identify the emperors who aren't wearing any clothes. At this point there is convincing enough evidence that illustrates how worthless the rabbonim, "gedolim" and rosh yeshivas really are. The silence is deafening and the complicity is sickening.
AXE TO GRIND?!?
Are u retarded? If a teenager is molested u shrug it off as a mere axe to grind? U are 1 sick puppy!
If UOJ cleans up his act with the rabbis he disagrees with, the phonies are going to once again get a free pass, or think they can. UOJ has to keep it up so that they know that their days of doing whatever the hell they want are over! They're afraid that their old boys club may have to break up, and if UOJ goes soft, they're off the hook. UOJ, keep it up. The soft approach will make you an enabler to all the crud that will inevitably continue!
To all those panicking that this is a call for UOJ to take a soft approach, re-read the article please.
It calls for an equally tough approach against the molesters/enablers. Nobody is asking for UOJ to back down on that one bit.
All of you are correct that without UOJ, there would not have been even a THOUGHT to make any change. And it is true that Margulies may very well have become the guest speaker at the next Siyum Hashas.
The article takes the position that UOJ can and will be equally effective without the mockery and language. That does not mean that he should drop his UOJ character and become a mellow, laid back pacifist. He should be tough and "crazy" against the molesters and enablers, but not the rest of the world.
It is important to read carefully before responding. The thrust of the piece is that UOJ is right on, but in the quest for real Yashrus, we can not allow for innocent casualties of war. It is plain wrong.
The article does not DEFEND anyone or any ACTIONS. Please re-read the article. In fact, the author speaks about his deep pain for the victims.
One has to wonder whether uoj really believes everything he writes or whether he does it for the shock value. In a serious conversation with journalists and mosdos I doubt he uses that kind of language. But to amplify his voice while speaking to the deaf/dumb/sleeping rabim, this is what he must do to awaken them. Until they are fully awake he should not stop.
IOW, eli makes valid points for a different time about a different topic. For this topic at this time, uoj should continue what he doing, the way he is doing it.
BTW, I heard that yudi was at a waterpark, in an employed position, around undressed boys. I also heard that Leizerowitz is applying for teaching jobs around boys. Doesn't that just prove the point?!?
Uru yeshaynim me'shenaschem.
p.s. I think it would be helpful to this conversataion if everyone would choose a screen name. Not your real one, but not an obviously fake one. Although, I don't see the harm in making believe you are Albert Einstein or some other 'chochom'.
I don't think uoj was making believe the, lemushol, he was the mizrach vant in frankel's. Some guys were just having fun. In the interest of keeping customers and attracting more, uoj allowed the posts to go through; b'shev ve'al taaseh. Interestingly, that behavior has recently stopped. Did those people get tired of their joke, or did uoj stop letting them through? In the meantime we must be dan uoj lekaf zechus. ;)
We've heard from heshy, we've heard from anonymous, we've heard from so many readers from all walks of life and beliefs, but not from uoi.
C'mon uoj. If you admit you made a mistake, you are human. You acted impetuously attacking a lawyer, who gets paid well to fight the bad guys. what harm is there in being nice to Bernie Lander's talmidim? He's not a member of the moetzes? Oi, oi, uoi. Rational minds respect honesty. Be true to your calling, your mission in life. Tuvya should chazer daf yoimi or volunteer at oihell. For the sake of your Pirchei fan club. apologize, if you must - only for mistakes, rash judgment, nothing else.
Please call Jerry, the GM at Lake Compounce, 860-583-3300, extension 6926. Leave a message telling him not to allow an accused child molester to supervise hundreds of children at his park. Or better yet, please e-mail him the N.Y. Magazine article on Kolko, the e-mail address is jerry@lakecompounce.com
I just left a message on Jerry's voice mail. Thanks for the head's up!
Kolko needs to know that the arrogance and PURE CHUTZPAH needs to stop. He is walking around like he is still King!
The Common Peasants need to rise up and get involved.
To Whom it May concern:
Please be aware that your park allowed a pedophile on its grounds in conjunction with an event for young boys on July 20, 2006.
Please be aware that the pedophile will be hosting/arranging another event on August 9, 2006.
It is shameful and bad business for you to enable this criminal. Furthermore, I do not know how you will defend yourself, in a court of law or in the court of your own conscience, if a child is harmed on that day.
For more information on this deviant please read the 2 articles hyperlinked below.
http://nymag.com/news/features/17010/index.html
http://nymag.com/nymag/letters/17070/index.html
Thank you for your time, and for doing the right thing,
Mark
guys, cut this out. Don't drag the manager at a park into this mess. If you want to talk to the offenders or those hiring them, thats fine but to air your dirty laundry in public is unforgivable.
RE: The Yated Article About Camps Issuing Guidelines
It is the first time the subject has been addressed and though it may not be perfect, we should be happy that finally children will be protected to some degree.
anonymous, you're an idiot. and that's putting it mildly. If our people in charge (Lipa etc) can't control themselves, and we can't control them (chutzpah) then at least we can try to indirectly control them through shame or by having Jerry ask them, 'what's up?'. Yes, let Jerry do our dirty work for us because we are so nervous about kovod hatora and kovod habriyos and kovod adam godol and kovod rebbeim and kovod gelt.
guys, cut this out. Don't drag the manager at a park into this mess. If you want to talk to the offenders or those hiring them, thats fine but to air your dirty laundry in public is unforgivable.
___________________________________
This is the only way Margulies will get the message. He will not listen to hundreds of victims, to a multi-million dollar lawsuit or to any of us. Maybe this will get his attention that we are not going to take it anymore. Enough is enough, KOLKO MUST GO!!
yudi will tell jerry that it's all a big mistake, all totally unsubstantiated, the allegations of bums, AND that he'll have his day in court.
he's right.
Anonymous said...
guys, cut this out. Don't drag the manager at a park into this mess. If you want to talk to the offenders or those hiring them, thats fine but to air your dirty laundry in public is unforgivable
___________________________________
We tried talking and we tried lawsuits, nothing has worked yet. The other option is not to send our kids on the trip. I don't think that's fair. My son's camp has nothing to do with YTT and Silver Lake. Why should he and other boys miss out on a fun trip? I think the solution is that Yudi should be the one made to stay home (for good) and not to punish the innocent children because of Margulies' stubbornness.
Anon:
Airing the dirty laundry in public???
They brought the dirty laundry to the public!!!
Anonymous said...
yudi will tell jerry that it's all a big mistake, all totally unsubstantiated, the allegations of bums, AND that he'll have his day in court.
he's right.
___________________________________
And until then, stay away from our kids, you pervert.
but, uoj, defuse tuvya's crisis of faith. restore our belief in gedoilim. if you done wrong, admit right. If Paul is plotzing from shame and embaressment, if he's been outed on the world wide web for nought, say it ain't so, uo, or apologize.
Admit you are human, that you make mistakes, if you do. Perhaps, your p.i. was lost trying to analyze what tuvya's rebbe said over was relevant in the gemara about pi. eat humble pi lekovoid shabbos, and tuvya will leave you alone. A general apology to any I may have offended, excluding molesters, enablers, fake gedolim, anonymous bloggers, something like that.
why are you silent, metzitz min hacharakim?
Re: Kolko working at Camp Silver Lake, and managing another outing at the Lake Compounce water park on Wednesday, August 9.
We have to test the system. People should immediately write and call the rabbis associated with Torah U'Mesora and Aguda, e.g., Rabbis Yaakov Perlow, Dovid Feinstein, and Shmuel Kamenetsky, and demand an immediate beis din and p'sak barring Yudi Kolko from working near children. Kolko has not admitted he is a pedophile, and submitted to treatment. This is an important fact to note because while the majority believe that pedophiles, treated or not, should never work near children, a few believe that after very lengthy treatment and barring additional incidents, some pedophiles should be able to work near children. Yudi Kolko does not fall into either category. He has not admitted his problem, he has not been treated, and he has not been recently evaluated by any professional mental hygiene specialist.
Even if the effort to get a p'sak fails, it will show, once again, the malfunction of our system, and spur us to future solutions. The effort will also further marginalize Lipa Margulies.
People should also be in contact with Robert Kolker of New York Magazine and Jennifer Friedlin at the N.Y. Jewish Week.
August 9, by the way, is Tu B'Av. How sick is Kolko working at a water park with children on a day as kadosh as that. I'm reminded of what Rav Elazar Shach, ztl, the Ponevitch Rosh Yeshiva, once screamed at a soccer stadium filled with about 100,000 Jews congregated to hear him speak. After giving all of his reasons why the importation of chazir should be banned from Israel, the Rosh Yeshiva screamed, "IS THIS JEWISH?"
RE
Thank you for taking the time to write about this. Lake Compounce will take every precaution necessary to make sure that all necessary arrangements are made. Lake Compounce will not cast a prejudgment on anyone who is not found guilty in a court of law. Thank you for the heads up and I appreciate your comments.
Jerry Brick
General Manager
cute story, not quite sure what to make of it though.
uo, klal yisroel waits.
we wait for godot.
we wait for cocoa.
we wait for u.
The overwhelming amount of e-mail that I have received is urging me to show NO RESTRAINT of the truth.
So I will respond to Eli's thought out and well-written post on Sunday. In deference to Eli, it will be a serious post, not a rant.
Stay tuned, it will be a winner!
If Kolko is really guilty as many victims have attested to, then they should have a tail on him where ever he goes during his job (if he is not dismissed).Apparently this is a job he is good at, except for his tendency to go after boys in an inappropriate way. So someone should be his constant shadow, making sure he doesn't stray.
uoj: the fact that you cite the overwhelming amount of email urging no restraint as the reason why you will respond to eli is proof that you are waging a propaganda war and don't necessarily fully believe everything you say to its fullest extent. You are playing to the crowds trying to get results in this dangerous game the hanholos are playing with our precious kids ~ our future.
Heshy,
I firmly believe everything I say...absolutely. The only thing that I may have done a bit different was to tone down "some" of the language.
uoj-i think you showed way too much restraint even in your languge.
I hope we get to know who you are. The Jewish people need a genuine hero we could look up to. What we have now is charra.
Tha was fast!
Say thank you.
I can't for the life of me understand why these people think that issues of merit, such as fake frumkayt, fake daas toireh, protecting molesters for the gaiva of the hanhola, is somehow undermined by the willingness of a few to wish evil on a fellow Jew. Self righteous, they are obsessed with self.
I take uoj seriously when the issues he raises are serious and no amount of ad hominem attack can remove the righteousness of a cause which is fundamental to the Jewish spirit.
Uoj's family is irrelevant to the discussion. Calling him a coward and worse doesn't solve any problems for the Jewish people, unless you believe that covering up problems, chinks in the armor, holes in the soles of the well connected who have inherited institutions from relatives who founded them. This is das toyreh?
I do not know if any or all of uoj's allegations are true, but based upon their tactics, their animus, their prejudices, their anonymity, his detractors are just as cowardly as he. The difference is that they are loyal to daas toyreh, the system they were raised in. "You can take the bochur out of yeshiva, but you can't take the yeshiva out of the bochur," goes the song. If our yeshivois were truly so great loafers wouldn't be faking holding by learning in Lakewood, the Mir etc. in larger numbers than in any time in our national history. At least we have frum baalebatim, they say. At least we're frum. At least, they're fake frum. Boruch Hashem. Mitoch shelo lishma...
To say, as tuvya does, that uoj is a liar and a meglomaniac etc. based upon his "evidence" hardly does credit to the issues. I don't care if uoj is a dog catcher. If he speaks truth, especially unpleasant truths, we have something to learn from him. If anything positive has resulted from his efforts, those who attempt to thwart him are part of the problem rather than a solution. How pure are their motives? How much does revenge play into their thoughts? Are the "end end end whoever" thinking only of themselves, power, glory, or do they really believe that by badmouthing other Jews on the internet without a higher purpose than silencing their enemies they are serving the Ribbono shel Olam?
If uoj has accused innocents wrongly, he must answer set the record straight. To do otherwise is a terrible avairo, evil. But, if his critics intend to intimidate him because they are made uncomfortable by unpleasnant truths he has given a voice to, they are shakronim, and worse.
Tuvya, whoever he is, has an agenda. His motives are not entirely pure.
I also feel that you are a real Jewish hero.
UOJ,
I admire what you are doing and I urge you to keep doing it. As others have said, if you were nice and sweet and respectful in your observations about the yeshiva culture, no one would pay the foggiest bit of attention to your message. The squeeky wheel is the one that gets oil, naturally. The regrettable fact is that many of the people caught figuratively and literally with their pants down are way too fond of their "status" and the "respect" that they think people "owe" them, which is how they started on the path they're on in the first place. It is those who arrogantly have no fear of G-d that take advantage of people monitarily, socially, and even sexually. You are simply giving them the shame and ridicule that they deserve - and if they had heaped it on themselves in genuine teshuvah, none of this would be necessary. Measure for measure - they are getting what they deserve.
what happened to innocent until proven guilty?
why is kolko guilty? bec 1 person woke up 25 yrs later and said he sat on kolkos lap?
kolko is a good guy let him have his day and court, if hes guilty let him go down...until then let him be
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