Rabbi Dr. Yuval Sherlow, a prominent member of the Tzohar Rabbis and rosh yeshiva of the Petach Tikvah Hesder Yeshiva spoke out against the Hebrew Yated Ne’eman newspaper. “There isn’t another newspaper that carries as much loshon hora and humiliates like Yated Ne’eman. It is unbelievable how much mud there is there”. The rav made his comments in an address to a “Ne’emanei Torah V’Avodah” Conference.
The rabbi was addressing how the media should be run in Israel, a Jewish democratic nation. He expounded on the importance of shmiras haloshon and arrived at the conclusion that one should simply avoid reading newspapers which are filled with forbidden content. “This must become a top priority for there is nothing more important to a person that his good name and there is nothing more dramatic than the halacha of loshon hora and the prohibition of not standing by your brother’s blood” he told participants.
He cited the chareidi tzibur in particular, stating “the community has found a new way for loshon hora, addressing only issues that pertain to the community. I read Haaretz and there is more loshon hora in Yated Ne’eman. We must differentiate between the public’s right to know as interpreted by the secular community and the right of the chareidi tzibur not to know”.
“We must set criteria regarding how far the public’s right to know takes us…but what is the mechanism in place that we must follow. The second principle is the conditions as set forth by the Chafetz Chaim demanding integrity in journalism. At times, there are significant wrongs, such as a headline and the body of an article. A code of ethics demands symmetry between a headline and report” the rav concluded.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
There are times when a statement needs to be made, but it needs to be done by the right person. Otherwise, it’ll go in one ear and out the other. I’m afraid that a person who accustoms himself to reading Haaretz is not someone who will be taken seriously in the Chareidi community about moral values. Thus, his statements may in fact be considered Lashon Harah itself being that it is clear that he most likely knows that no-one will give ear to what he’s saying.
Wasted words.
“At times, there are significant wrongs, such as a headline and the body of an article.”
This fault seems to be pervasive.
Yeted, the self appointed guardian of frumkite, should be banned from the houses of all avrachim and only permitted in the toilets of the elite of Ramallah.
It is news at the worst, full of self love and hatred towards anyone who can dare to think differently from what they project the gedolim should think.
It is a busha for all of klal yisroel.
I happen to look forward to receiving the free Yated in my mail box every tuesday.
My kids use it for paper mache.
Haaretz is, of all mainstream Israeli media, absolutely the most positive / neutral one about chareidim. They have published numerous entirely neutral, very long articles about chareidi issues. One of their most famous journalists, Gideon Levy, has regularly spoken out in defense and in favor of chareidim, on numerous occasions.
Those who attack Haaretz for being “anti-religious” make a big mistake. Haaretz is anti-settlements. It is not “anti-religious” at all – but those ‘frum’ people who might typically read Haaretz are typically the pro-settlements crowd, and they interpret “anti-settlements” as being synonymous to “anti-religious”.
Unfortunately I can’t post any links here, but I have a collection of pro-chareidi articles. And most importantly, NEUTRAL articles, not pro- or anti-anyone, just pro-truth…
Please remind me;
Is this YWN a torah site or
Promoters of haretz and its readership?????
“…I read Haaretz and there is more loshon hora in Yated Ne’eman…
So, this great Gaon and Tzaddik thinks that the Chareidi-Bashing left-wing newspaper Haaretz is superior to the paper founded by the Godol Rav Shach A”H.–That is a self-incriminating statement, if there ever was one.
“V’Ish LeFi MaHalloLo”–A man is known by whom he praises. Ther Chazon Ish, A”H always warned of the temporizers in the Mizrahi camp. They will always come down on the side of the anti-religious left.
#1, #7, that’s the way – pay no attention to Rav Sherlow’s lomdus, his experience, his following, his leadership. If he’s affiliated with Tzohar, or chas vecholilo a tziyoni, he must be treif and you can accuse him of loshon horoh just as you acknowledge the truth of what he says. Oh, and by the way, if you want Mizrachi “temporizers” to come down on the side of the anti-religious left, you are certainly doing well at pushing them in that direction. #7, twisting his words is setting up a classic straw man. He didn’t write that Haaretz is superior to Yated. You did, then accused him. If you are going to argue, do it better than a six year old.
Oh please “Deep Thinker”, think again! The paper may have been founded by Rav Shach A”H, but he is not here to give it his ongoing hashgacha. What is was then and what it is now, may be completely different as it has been more than a few years.
There is clearly something great to be said for the honest reporting of the facts and separating that from editorial opinion. In addition, presenting both sides of an issue or at least giving someone a fair chance to respond to one sided accusations would be a real game changer, wouldn’t it?
Let’s try to grow and learn together and get past the high pitched rhetoric and hyperbole.
Any newspaper with agenda = lashon hara
In agreement with the RAV.
Is their a halachic Rabbinic board that oversees the articles and oPED pages before they are published? There is room for major improvement in the Yated.
Any paper started with intent of machlokes doesn’t end up kosher…vehamayvin yavin
Uh… Isnt this guy saying Lashon Harah himself?
Pubicly defaming a jewish newspaper is a very,very serious form of Lashon Harah.
And may I dare to question the frumkeit of this “rav”- he obviously reads Haaretz often enought to have been able to “exactly measure” which paper has more lashon harah.
So I would not take this seriously.