Dear Readers:

Tomorrow’s Jerusalem Post is running a column on my initiative to get people to write letters decrying the violence in Eretz Yisroel. (It is posted already on their website here.)

I am not posting the column on this site, as I am deeply disturbed that the thrust of the column was directed at rabbonim and rabbinic leadership, which projected the Jerusalem Post writer’s feelings and was diametrically opposed to mine.

If you look at the direct quotes attributed to me, none of them mentions rabbonim or rabbinic leaders at all. In fact, it is interesting to note that the title of their column is “Haredi Leaders Should Slam Violence,” but when you click on that link, and look at the top of the blue border of the column, it says, “American Rabbi Urges Haredim to Condemn Jerusalem Violence,” which properly reflects my feelings and comments to the reporter.

The only time that I discussed rabbonim and rabbinic leadership at all was to make points diametrically opposed to the theme of the column:

1) That the rabbonim are deeply opposed to the violence

2) When he asked me why our gedolim don’t speak out, I mentioned that many Roshei Yeshiva condemned the violence and forbid their bachurim from attending the hafganos – I mentioned Mir Yeshiva in particular, which posted signs clearly informing their bachurim and yungerleit not to attend the hafganos. However, I explained that it is not the style of our Roshei Yeshiva to give media interviews, and therefore that message is not getting out.

3) That Yoel Kraus is orchestrating the violence not our gedolim shlit”a.

To sum up, I certainly stand by everything I wrote in the three columns I released and what I said in the interview that I gave on the Zev Brenner show. However, the theme of the Jerusalem Post column that I criticized rabbinic leadership is a distortion of what I feel – and said.

For that reason, I feel it proper and appropriate to use this venue to set the record straight.

Respectfully,

Yakov