Fox News opens series on the problems Hasidic Jews bring to the U.S. communities they enter
Some members of the East Ramapo (NY) Central School District Board of Education on which Orthodox Jews are a majority. (AP)
By Carollyn Yeager
FOX NEWS PUBLISHED ON MONDAY THE first of three articles promised on this subject that I have covered extensively in around 10 or so articles. I give it high marks for a mainstream source. Written by Fox senior reporter Elizabeth Llorente, it doesn't flinch or back down from most of the touchy issues associated with Orthodox Hasidic Jewry. I encourage everyone to read it here. There are a couple of worthwhile videos you can watch too. And the comments are of course interesting.
However, it's suspicious they came out with this on the day of Trump's North Korea summit meeting, meaning it's already pushed completely out of the headlines. The Jewish Lobby has no doubt been at work to minimize its impact. Still, I'll play it up here and you can do the same wherever you can find space to give a link to it.
The article begins by observing that unusually large family size is a distinguishing mark of Orthodox Jewry—with 10 children per family not being unusual. Combine this with a poor secular education, early marriage and the tradition of young men remaining in full-time religious Talmudic study until their Thirties, and you get communities with the highest rates of welfare assistance, subsidized housing, food stamps and Medicaid. Indeed, the all-Hasidic village of New Square, north of New York City has 77 percent of residents receiving food stamps in order to eat, the highest rate in the U.S.
Poverty rates in communities with concentrations of Hasidic Jews
District Pop. % in poverty Median h/h income
Borough Park, NY .. 105,913 20.6% …..... $36,893
Lakewood, NJ ….... 100,758 31.5% …..... $42,993
Spring Valley, NY … 32,603 26.4% …..... $45,355
New Square, NY ….... 8357 70% …..... $21,773
Kiryas Joel, NY ….... 23,094 55.7% …..... $26,341
Williamsburg, NY …...17,965 53.2% …..... $23,188
Percent households receiving food stamps/SNAP in the past 12 months: US: 13% ; NJ 9.3%; NY 15.4%
Median household income in 2016 dollars: US $55, 322; NJ: $73,702; NY: $60,741
Isaac Abraham, advocate for Hasidic communities, says those who complain about the Orthodox are "none other than racist low-life bastards." (Photo:Benjamin Nazario)
The article does point out that the biggest culprit in allowing this to go on are politicians who know these groups' power to deliver huge, uncontested blocs of election-altering votes.
Naftuli Moster, a reformer who grew up in a Hasidic home as one of 17 children, said that “for the sake of votes, too many political leaders have turned a blind eye” to the problems caused by these communities as well as the problems within them.
“They know how to game the system,” said Samuel C. Heilman, a sociology professor at Queens College of the City University of New York. “They know the ins and outs, or they get professionals and find out how to apply for things like Section 8 housing subsidies. It's usually done legally."
Heilman also said, “They’ll do what rabbis tell them to do because they’ll get assistance.”
Gentile groups who go up against the Orthodox Jews never seem to win. The charge of racism, antisemitism and religious intolerance is usually used against them.The answer given by Isaac Abraham, an advocate for the Hasidic community in Williamsburg, is that others should accept that the group is growing and will look out for its own best interests.
"If these little towns want to putz around with racism, no problem," Abraham said. "We have and we shall overcome them. ... They'll be running for cover, because the lawsuits will be coming."
Part 2 was published already on Tuesday: Hasidic Leaders sharply limit members' web, smartphone use: "It's like we're in North Korea"
To Orthodox Jews, there is no need to surf the Internet or explore a marketplace of ideas, because the truth is right there in the Torah.
Part 3 Community in Conflict: Hasidic Jews and Defection. It was really hard for me to find this today (Wednesday). It is not featured on the 'front page'; only by clicking on the reporter's name on Part 1 did I discover it. Were the lawsuits threatened? Did Fox News run for cover? This seems to me the most sensitive topic of all, so it's possible Fox was worried about it.
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Jews, Special Treatment for Jews- 2635 reads
Comments
Welfare
If you insist on scattering food on the ground for the squirrels, the rats will invariably take at least their share of it, and likely more.
Abolish (tax-funded) welfare.
Agreed.
Agreed.
The Hasidic Conflict Is Not About Religious Freedom
Good article, Carolyn. Yes, Fox News’s presentation is amazingly clear in many ways. However, the presentation makes clear to me that the conflict is not about Hasidic religious freedom. Other religions like the Shakers or the Amish were self-sufficient, self-reliant, and separate communities. Hasidic "religious freedom," in the context of American life, is only about economic parasitism while using the U.S. Constitution that Hasidic Jews have little regard for except only insofar as it supports their continued parasitism. The conflict is not really about their negative views of the secular world, Smart technology, social media or the Internet. Any religious group can adopt any or all of these views and never run into conflict with society at large at all.
There's a religious group known as the Fellowship of Friends in northern California today (originally based on the mystical teachings of Russian G.I. Gurdjieff), which has been in existence since early 1970 and continues to flourish, disdaining meanwhile all expressions of the secular world, including reading newspapers and watching movies, etc., dancing, aerobics, etc., but they do not hoist their members onto the welfare system, even despite the fact that religious leader of this group is no saint and has had many sealed, out-of-court settlements with victims of sexual predation there (if you search the Internet for details about predatory cult behavior). This group nonetheless prefers to remain independent like the Shakers or the Amish, and they work hard to support themselves (however deluded they might be -- in my opinion). No, this conflict with Hasidic Jews is only about their using the American system economically for their own financial gain and to value the U.S. Constitution only to whatever extent the law can be stretched to protect this parasitism.
Torah
Is the Torah also true where it says "A bastard (mongrel) shall not enter the congregation"? If so the Torah is of no use to these critters.
I'm amazed how people that is
I'm amazed how people that is stranger wherever they go, can get all the benefits at the expenses of the US taxpayers, and go to a town that they like and expel under intimidation the native inhabitants with the incredible passivity of all federal institutions, when their main job is to have kids and study their sacred books !!, this is unbelievable !!
It will be extremelly difficult to revert this situation, but the first point to attack is the corrupted politicians that exchange all type of benefits with the hasidics jews by their votes.
An education
What gets me is that the women have to keep their heads shaved all the time after they marry and wear wigs. I thought it was more optional. What sense does that make? It's so that these people do not love and 'worship' each other but only G-d. The man's job is to love and obey G-d (by obeying the rabbis or becoming a rabbi) alone, and the woman's job is to submit to her husband but not to appeal to his senses. Ugliness is not a turnoff, obviously. I guess being ugly to the 'secular' world is to their credit!
It's sick, and to me it can't possible have a future in the world as it's moving today unless they stay very isolated, which they can't really do when they live in such large degree by parasiting off the secular community.
These articles educated me in that I didn't know they restricted their faithfuls' use of Internet and TV so severely. I thought these Ultra-Orthodox were all over Internet like the Hasbara. But it's not them. They are truly scared little rabbits who cling to their leaders for safety. Some of them are very arrogant, it's true, but they couldn't stand up in a real fight except in the courts, with their lawyers. This is why they demand goverment protection for their 'community' and need the help of the ADL and WJC, etc.
Fake Noachide or Noahide "Laws"
The future the rabbinate envisions is a future where all non-Jews must adhere to the made-up "Noahide" "laws" wherein, all non-Jews are no longer "idolaters". This means Christians (who HAD been the bulwark against organized Jewry for millenia) RENOUNCE Christianity under these "Noahide" "laws" because it is "idolatry" to worship a triune God. IF non-Jews do not renounce their "idolatry", they are to be beheaded. Look up the "Noahide" "Law". They were made part of public law under the guise of "Education Day" during the regime of George H.W. Bush. They are still part of public law in the U.S. (Interestingly, Mohammedands do not worship a triune God and under that part of these "laws" are not considered idolaters.)
"Gentile groups who go up
"Gentile groups who go up against the Orthodox Jews never seem to win. The charge of racism, antisemitism and religious intolerance is usually used against them.The answer given by Isaac Abraham, an advocate for the Hasidic community in Williamsburg, is that others should accept that the group is growing and will look out for its own best interests. "
One way to combat this type of sociological incursion is through the ACLU as is currently beiong done in one situation. BY going through a third party organization such as the ACLU you bypass the need to go directly to the state.
Another organization to look into is the Rutherford Institute which may be interested in taking on such a case.
Funny you should recommend
Funny you should recommend the ACLU, in light of the very recent publication of this article by Alan Dershowitz, your fellow Jew: http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/391682-the-final-nail-in-the-aclus-coffin The ACLU has decided to go full-fledged political.
By the way, I just learned that Alan Dershowitz was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (home of the very strict Satmar Orthodox sect this Fox News series features), on September 1, 1938, the son of Claire (née Ringel) and Harry Dershowitz, an Orthodox Jewish couple. He was raised in Borough Park. His father was a founder and president of the Young Israel Synagogue in the 1960s, served on the board of directors of the Etz Chaim School in Borough Park, and in retirement was co-owner of the Manhattan-based Merit Sales Company. Alan attended Yeshiva University High School, an independent boys' prep school owned by Yeshiva University, but he is now a secular Jew (he worships Israel).
Re: Funny you should recommend (REPLY)
Carolyn...
Why do you call Alan Dershowitz a fellow Jew??? I have never had any use for such people and nor do I associate with people of his ilk.
In any event, the case I was referring to had nothing to do with him but I believe was a group in upper NY that was suing the state as a result of these incursions into such rural communities. I believe the case is predicated upon the fact that the Hasidic Communities are not acting in the general welfare of the communities at large, which they even admit to openly. Obviously they feel quite secure in their proclivities.
I believe I also mentioned another institute that is more conservative than the ACLU, The Rutherford Institute.
Nonetheless, the correct strategy to fight this is to use "flanking" movements by taking advantage of third party organizations that can help such communities.
I completely agree with the commenters here in that the concept of "diversity" has been taken way too far in the United States and it is being used as a battering ram to destroy more conservative and traditional values. However, theradical Left assumes that if something is conservative than it is racist wneh I see Conservatism in this regard as merely something that is more balanced.
The one thing I have noticed from a number of commenters on this site though, is a tendency for racism in reverse by charging all Jews with the crimes of the elites. If this tendency continues, your side of the argument will not be able to take advantage of the seriously declining interest in Israel and such abhorrent policies by the American Jewish Community. This is a trend that should be carefully co-opted by more conservative thinkers so that you can bring back a better balance to social interaction in the United States.
Lastly, stop getting so emotional over such matters, though I understand it is very difficult. It is not a way to win in conflict, which must not be fought from the heart but instead, from the mind.
Steve,
Steve,
I want the readers to know that I've had previous experience with you before this comment exchange. One major fault with your input is that you make generalized statements but never offer any details so I or others can check it out for ourselves. For example you reference "a group in upper NY" who brought a case, but you don't say who, when where or how it turned out. Did they win or lose? We have had experience with ACLU and other organizations going back to the 1980's with holocaust revisionist- school issues and never had any positive results.
I did check out the Rutherford Institute online, same deal. You offer nothing when you mention there is such a place.
You ARE a Russian Jew racially, if not in practice. Your aim in writing to me is to promote a view of Jews as a diverse group with many potential allies for European-Americans. This practice has also been going on for a long time, with many dreadful consequences for Whites. Therefore it is vitally important for the readers here to know that you are a racial Jew (knowledge I gained for myself by searching your name and which you chided me for doing).
Alan Dershowitz probably has Polish or Russian Jewish ancestry (they are very close when not identical and I have often said they are the worst Jews of all) and is now a highly accomplished and respected member of the secular Gentile world. So you do have that in common with him. Except that he is a staunch Israel supporter while you say you are not. He also pushes the Holocaust on every opportunity, while you say you doubt it but don't take up the cudgel for Germans. You want to have your cake and eat it too.
To your last paragraph, please point out where I was/am "so emotional". This is the favorite charge against me when men want to force me to accept their inferior arguments as superior, which is an emotional reaction in men. This has come from numerous men over the years when I have not, in fact, exhibited any emotionalism at all. So please, I demand that you answer that if you expect any more reply from me.
Carolyn...
I am not sure at all where you are coming from but you have no idea who I am despite your promotions to the opposite. You look up a name and you think you know who I am? That is taking a pretty large leap considering that my background is primarily Russian White (traditional/conservative) with a dash of Russian Red(Bolshevik) thrown in for color.
And what is your thing about my background anyway??? Why is that so important to you? Are you conflating some view of yourself as part of some type of master race, a term that the Nationsl Socialists neverr used beyond their own view of their own manifest destiny (which is quite common for all cultures). Or are yo taking this literally somehow??? In other words the concept as used in the West was a western concotion, not National Socialist one. Sort of like the same that was done with the term, blood and soil...
You think you know me... Than bring it on girl! You will find I do not give quarter... And I couldn't care less if you are a woman or a man. I treat everyone equally, though I prefer interacting with women on the whole. For the most part they appear to be the saner part of the Human species...
As to The Rutherford Institute, all you had to do was type in the name into a search engine and you would have found the link... https://www.rutherford.org/
It was a suggestion for consideration...
As to Alan Dershowitz, I do not understand how you can say that he is a respected member of the "secular gentile world" when he is considerd pretty much of a loon in large segments of the Jewish world, similar to David Horowitz of Campus Watch (or CAMERA, I am not sure which acroynym is correct).
Your article on the ACLU was taken from The Hill, a notoruiously conservative publication, though not to the same level of idiocy that is Fox News. However, to have Dershowitz (who wrote the article you cite) claim that it is moving too much to the Left is somewhat disinegenuous since he is one the more serious promoters of distorted histories regarding the Holocaust and Israel, neither of which have anything to do with what is commonly called Revisionist History today. And there is no such thing as Revisionist History since all history is open to re-evaluation when new facts come into play as a result of ongoing research.
As to what I was referring to, here is a link to an ACLU legal document for one of the cases that the ACLU has taken up against the KIRY AS JOEL Hasidic Community, which was initiated in 2013...
https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/nyclu-v-kiryas-joel-memorandum-law-support-verified-petition
As my wife, who works as Legal Assitant, can attest, such cases can drag on for years. Five years in the scheme of Civil Law then is really nothing.
This particular case regards the illegal separation of park areas that I believe the article you noted was cited as one in which the Hasids were demarking lines in a municipality for their holiday requirements.
And you are acting too emotionally on this subject. Just look at your own reactions. You denigrate fairly benign comments which were basically written to promote a legitimate strategy for your viewpoints.
As to promoting diverse views on Jews as potential allies for European Americans; what are you talking about? A standard military axiom is to obtain cooperation from within an enemy's sociological construct. You ever hear of counter-insurgency doctrine???
And exactly what should I be doing for the German Cause??? Where did that come from? I thought your site was to promote some level of honesty as it regards how people view the German situation before and during WWII. What has this article I commented on have to do with German history???
Okay readers, I think this
Okay readers, I think this meandering comment show you enough about Steve Naidamast and where he's coming from to understand why I won't publish any more of his comments. If it doesn't, then you have a problem.
Steve, I don't have any use for your brain-bending rhetoric. You are probably getting hard-up to find people/sites who do tolerate it.
BTW, you misunderstood me. I DID find Rutherford Institute online but do not want to engage in a wild-goose chase. As I said, I've been there, done that.
Defectors
I am stunned to have recently discovered what many of these people who are defecting from the Hisidic communities are faced with. I just watch the documentary, One of Us, which follows 4 individuals depicting the horrible an unfair trials they are faced with when leaving.A mother of seven lost her children after being in an abusive relationship for years. She was present for every court proceeding, but lost because the community came together to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight her for custody of her children. She lost and was given one hour a week to be with her children. For fear of looking naïve, I had no idea that leaving these communities was so difficult. I highly recommend this documentary. Does anyone here know whether the ACLU is helping these people?
Thank you