Anti-Semitic Backlash to Etz Chaim Petition?

A serious posting, expose and plea to the Jewish Community
by Shluffenheimer MacDougal (updated at 10:45am with Rabbi Daniel Feldman's thoughts)

I saw an interesting guest posting by Rabbi Yossi Ginzberg on Harry Maryles' blog Emes Ve-Emunah. It really stood out because he calls out the apologists, who defend the behaviors of Jewish organizations and leaders solely based on the fact that they are Jewish.

HonestlyFrum, a local blogger, adds to Rabbi Ginsberg’s thoughts and ties it all together very neatly in his posting Ad Masi. He writes:
Yeshiva Machane Israel computer smashing ceremony) tops off an embarrassing week for our people. Harry had a guest post up yesterday which summarized this past week, I was both fascinated and ashamed all at the same time:
"I have to ask, after this week of non-stop Frum scandalous news, where are they?
*Where's the response to the Tzaddik's funeral accorded Grossman?
*Where's the response to the Balkany blackmail tumult?
*Where's the response to an Aguna finally being freed, after 48 YEARS?!?
*Where's the response to the frum developer that was convicted of taking $18 million from other Frum Jews?
*Where's the response to the "kabbalist" that is under indictment for scamming desperate people of large amounts?

And all this IN ONE WEEK!!"
The week started out with a bang with all major Orthodox Organizations gathering together to plead for the life of a murderer, and it ended with a bang with the arrest (once again) of Milton Balkany (brother in law of Sholom Rubashkin). The guest poster also missed a few:
*Rav Motti Elon being called out, once again, for his inappropriate, abusive and criminal behavior.
*A Lubavitch "shaliach" being arrested for serving alcohol to minors after one of said minors ended up in the hospital.

I am sure I am missing a few, but the question must be asked from right to left to center, what has happened to our value system and moral compass if our community continues to be plagued by scandal after scandal, many emanating from supposed community leaders like in the cases of Balkany and Elon?

I agree with honestlyfrum. Since when did being Jewish take precedence over morality and common decency? Im ein derech eretz ein Torah. You are supposed to respect and follow the laws of the land you live in. We used to be known for that. G-d's chosen people. What kind of lesson is it for our children to see Jews guilty of breaking American Laws and instead of seeking true justice, our Rabbinical Leaders support the wrongdoers solely because they are Jewish. We are teaching them that it is ok to break the law because they will be protected by the Jewish Community at large. This is the perception of the general population of the USA and the root of the coming wave of Anti-Semitism in America.

How does this effect us in Teaneck?

554QueenAnne,Inc. DBA: Etz Chaim of Teaneck or known outside of the corner of Van Buren and Queen Anne Rd solely as Rabbi Feldman's Shul is sending an email around Teaneck containing a petition asking for support for their zoning approval. The subject of the email is: Please help ETZ CHAIM send a message to Township Officials, in SUPPORT of RELIGOUS FREEDOMS. Etz Chaim of Teaneck claims that the reason why it is having difficulty getting it's zoning approval is because it is a victim of religious discrimination.

Instead of applying for the proper zoning permits to create a synagogue, Etz Chaim applied to build a giant "family room" and got permission to build. As soon as construction was completed it was immediately placed in use for religious services. The surrounding neighbors (Jews and non-Jews) sent a statement to the Teaneck Construction Official and Zoning Officer, with copies to the Township Manager, the Township Council and the Board of Adjustment. It included much of the history of the events leading up to the building of the "family room" and provided evidence that the intention was to use it as a house of worship as well as pictures showing it used as a house of worship. This followed discovery of additional work performed without permits including the renovation of the basement. The town responded with an order to stop using the new "family room" as a house of worship and outlining an appeal process: Etz Chaim appealed.

Etz Chaim was given a cease and desist from using the fraudulently constructed "family room" and they were not stopped from holding services or using any other part of the house. In fact, services have not stopped in the newly constructed family room at all! Their religious freedoms were not taken away. It is easier for them to cry discrimination than to admit they made a mistake and are repentant. Etz Chaim of Teaneck tried to circumvent the laws and rules of the Township of Teaneck and are upset because they were caught.

Where is the moral compass, the Rabbi of Etz Chaim, through all this? Rabbi Daniel Feldman has the power to guide his constituents and help them do hayashar vehatov.

If they actually use this petition, will there be a backlash against the Jews of Teaneck?

The Jewish Week's Assistant Managing Editor Adam Dicker reports in this week's edition that :“No one knows when the tipping point will come — if it hasn’t already been reached — that people will simply conclude that Orthodox Jews are just generally more likely to have a general disrespect for government and to engage in shady practices,” Helmreich said. (a professor of sociology at City College and director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College.) Helmreich said that given the emphasis on morality in Orthodox life, the standard should be higher. “If you claim the moral high ground, you must be better, not just not be worse.

"Mitchell Moss, director of the Center for Urban Policy at New York University, said the perception of corruption in the Orthodox establishment could make politicians “more alert as to whom they are dealing with. The problem is that what we are seeing may not be new, but it means they are being caught. We are discovering that spiritual values can mask criminal behavior.” Moss said that despite what should be the public presumption that the misdeeds of a few are not representative of an entire community, the Orthodox community has to demonstrate that it is policing itself.
“The Orthodox community has to be alert to the behavior of its rabbis, because the rabbis are now really undermining the community. A handful of crooked rabbis can undermine the legitimacy of the vast majority of observant and law-abiding, ethical rabbis.” "So it’s essential for the Orthodox rabbinical organizations to monitor their own members, but the problem is they don’t. It’s a highly decentralized, autonomous system.”

This blogger is scared that if Etz Chaim actually uses this petition it is going to cause a huge backlash of Anti-Semitism towards the Jews who live in Teaneck. Etz Chaim did not follow the proper procedures of the Township of Teaneck and the Township is enforcing the laws. Etz Chaim of Teaneck is not being discriminated against for being Jewish or for holding religious services. In fact, Etz Chaim still holds services at 554 Queen Anne Rd every single Sabbath and Jewish Holiday (except Purim). Etz Chaim finds itself in this predicament because it tried to circumvent the laws and got caught. Anyone of any religion, race or creed that follows Etz Chaim's path would be in the same situation. Using this petition will perpetuate the feeling of the non-Jewish residents of Teaneck that the Jews in Teaneck, especially the Orthodox ones, act as if they are above the law. It will further drive a wedge between the Jews and Non-Jews in Teaneck.

What does Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman say about prominent community leaders who cause publicized hillul Hashems, criminal or civil, when they had a chance to make a grand kiddush Hashem?
On July 28, 2009, Rabbi Daniel Feldman wrote an article in Cross Currents in response to the Jewish scandals of this past summer.
It has been an awful week for the Jewish people an awfulness compounded and aggravated by the fact that what has happened is known to anyone on the planet with a newspaper, a radio or an internet connection. It is further exacerbated by the fact that the events of this past week, while extreme, are certainly not the only causes of embarrassment in the eyes of the world that the Jewish community has suffered recently.

While many facts are not yet known, and we can certainly hope and pray that the truth will prove to be less egregious than it seems, it is undeniable that, in the aggregate, we of the Jewish community have been given an overwhelming call to introspection and self-assessment, as in any case is called for with particular urgency as we approach Tishah B’Av.

The article is a very good read and well worth taking the time to click on the link and read the entire article. Rabbi Feldman makes a lot of great points.
He concludes: The experience of Tishah B’Av requires the knowledge and belief that redemption and rebirth remains not only a possibility, but a necessity. We are promised that there will be a geulah. At the same time, as the Semag reminds us (mitzvas aseh 73), the redemption can only happen when it is clear in the eyes of the world that the Jewish people are obvious symbols of morality and rectitude. As such, the two statements taken together can only mean that there continues to be a potential for the Jewis people to assert that theme. It means that every time there is an instance of chilul Hashem, there is the possibility for us, individually and collectively, to create a Kiddush Hashem of such proportions that it overwhelms and dominates the narrative. As challenging as that may be, it becomes the central mission, one of overwhelming urgency and moment. It has been an awful week, and an awful few months, and that places growing obligation on us to change the direction. To do so, we must combat complacency with both introspection and outrage; we must combat anxiety with faith in G- d; and we must combat despair with renewed belief in and commitment to our Divine mission. In doing so, may we come sooner rather that later to the time when we shall know no more crying.

It appears that Rabbi Feldman and I were in agreement in the summer of 2009. Well, at least in words. Since then, Rabbi Feldman has yet to assert himself as the mara d'atra and moral beacon of Etz Chaim of Teaneck or rein in Robert Erlich and to do everything in his power to take this situation and turn it into a massive and grand Kiddush Hashem.

The apologists, who defend the behaviors of Jewish organizations and leaders solely based on the fact that they are Jewish are going to sign this petition without any concern for the fallout in the community. It is time for the Rabbis of the RCBC to stand up and hold their moral ground and not blindly support one of their own.

This isn't a Jewish Issue, it is a Secular Issue. Don't let Etz Chaim of Teaneck hide their wrongdoing behind the guise of Religious Discrimination. Don't foster ill will towards Jews in the community. All of us will be caught in the backlash.

Please do not sign the Etz Chaim petition.
This is your chance to turn a hillul Hashem into a massive Kiddush Hashem.
The ramifications are far greater than you realize.