Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is “not kosher” — meaning she is not fit to serve on the court — according to more than 850 Orthodox members of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. That’s the term the rabbis used about Kagan in a press release issued Thursday, saying “Elena Kagan is not kosher. She is not fit to sit on this Court — or any court.”
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, spokesman for the alliance, told CNSNews.com on Thursday that “a great deal has been made about the fact that she would be the second Jewish woman on the court, and we want to signal to people across the country that we take no pride in this.”
Levin said most people are happy when “one of their own” is nominated to such a high position. But, he added, “We feel that Elena Kagan turns traditional Judaism on its head – from a concept of a nation of priests and holy people, she is turning it into, ‘Let’s Toeiva’ize every segment of society. And by the way, partial-birth babies have no right to be delivered.’”
In a statement issued Thursday, the rabbinical alliance called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to refuse to confirm Kagan to succeed the outgoing Justice John Paul Stevens.
“It is clear from Ms. Kagan’s record on issues such as abortion-on-demand, partial-birth-abortion, the radical Toeiva agenda, the “supremacy” of the anti-family panoply over religious liberties of biblical adherents, et. al., that she will function as a flame-throwing radical, hastening society’s already steep decline into Sodom and Gomorrah,” the rabbis said in the statement.
Levin told CNSNews.com that his fellow rabbis – and hundreds of thousands of Orthodox and traditional Jews – are puzzled at the president’s choice of Kagan.
“What exactly was Obama thinking, President Obama thinking, when he nominated Kagan? Because eventually, down the road, someone — or some group — is going to ‘take the hit’ for the crazy decisions that Kagan is bound to make. So we would have much preferred if President Obama had given this ‘distinction’ to another minority group, instead of singling out the Jews.”
Barring a rebuff from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Levin told CNSNews.com that the rabbis want someone in the Senate to launch a filibuster to stop Kagan’s nomination from coming to a vote.
‘We’re waiting for the more courageous, decent senators – whether it’s a (Sen.) Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) or a (Sen.) Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) or a (Sen.) Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) – we’re looking for them to stand up and filibuster this embarrassing endangerment of a nomination,” Levin said.
Confirmation hearings for Kagan begin Monday at the Senate Judiciary Committee. Neither Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) nor Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) — both members of the committee, known Kagan supporters and top Jewish members of the Senate — responded to calls for comment on this story.
(Source: CNS News)
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21 Responses
She’s well to the right of what most Democrats want, and the Democrats did win the last election by a very substantial margin (indeed, no party has had such a win since 1992 (covering the 1993-1994 Congress).
So let’s hope the five moderate or conservative judges remain very healthy.
While what he’s saying has some validity, Rabbi Levin embarasses frum Jews worldwide by his attention-seeking, unsophisticated style.
Very interesting . . . let’s remeber this story the next time someone asserts that we live in an anti-Semetic country with a hostile establishment. The very fact that Rabbi Levin and the RAA would talk this way to CNN shows how safe and secure we are here in the Unbited States.
What’s with the Talis?
What is CNS news?
Is this mainstream media?
Rabbi Levin is doing a wonderful thing by showing us that the Umos Ho’olom can also provide Nachas Ruach or CH”V the opposite, to HKB”H depending how they behave. They too are the children of Hashem.
I sincerely hope that we take his Hadrocho to the next important extension, to improve our sincere caring, for the well being and possessions of the Umos Ho’olom, who are also the creation of Hashem in His Tzelem Elokim.
We should be Mechanach our children that HKB”H does not derive any Nachas when we speak in a careless or volgur manner about his Briot. Even in private, HKB”H hears everything, and He is a Dayon Tzedek that will stick up for any of his children.
To #2:
You don’t speak for me, because I am certainly not embarassed. I am a frum Jew, and I am impressed by Rabbi Levin’s courage. I certainly do not want this nation to believe that frum Jews accept Elana Kagan’s radicalism. By remaining silent we are sending the wrong message.
Yasher koach Rabbi Levin!! We need more frum Jews like you.
Rabbi Levin comes crawling out of the woodwork anytime he gets a chance to scream about ‘toeiva’. It seems he’s only worried about this issue. Makes you wonder.
Rabbi Levin int he quintessential “one trick pony.” YAWN!!!
What do you expect from obama. He is far far left and wants and I believe wants or his surroundings including George Soros to destroy America. With such leftist and it was written in 1963 by the communist is to DESTROY family
life. Abortion and toeiva is part of that plan. Your children will be force to listen to lectures on “alternative life styles” or the parents will be declared unfit. Sounds crazy right but look who has power and I never in a 100 years would think such things as this would ever happen. Everything he does leads to the government controling all. He wants a stop on drilling in off the USA shores but invested in Petrobras for $2 Billion to drill in the Atlantic [but a different nation]
DOes anything he does make sense and you want to make sense out of this person. obama is going done in history as the WORST PRESIDENT even worst than the peanut farmer.
He is too too power hungry [dictator type of mentality]
a Gutten Shabbos to ALL
To # 6
I always tell my kids, that when the children on the school bus start using Nisht Eidele Verter, just because they saw chidren or grown-ups of Einu Yehudi passing by, they should tell them, it’s wrong. Even in Bais Medrash where only yidden can hear, we must remember that HKB”H sees everything.
In this Zchus, Hashem should never again implant Sinnah into the Felker, directed at us.
Using the word Kosher for things besides food will hurt us when we try to get Kosher laws passed in various states and argue that Kosher has only one meaning as determined by Halacha, it is not a word that just means “good”. If we start to use it like that who are the we can no longer argue that we have the sole ability to determine what is Kosher and what is not and we will have no legal recourse against companies that market their food as Kosher.
Blue Pinky
That is clearly Loshon Hara. I hope the moderators delete your comment.
This Levin wacko is the voice of INSANITY. and dare not arrogate to yourself, mr levin, the sanctimony of the Orthodox Jews as a class. Your classless and vitriolic fervor does NOT represent me or other sane Jews.
CNS News was founded on June 16, 1998 under the name “Conservative News Service”. It doesnt amount to much.
Rabbi Levin seems to be a one issue rabbi. I have never heard his outrage on issues such as the Priority 1 vouchers, the Rubashkin sentencing, the Emanuel situation. When I see that he claims to speak for 850 members of the Rabbincal Alliance, I often wonder if they vote on each issue that he speaks out on, or does he alone make the decision?
Does he head up a large kehilla or a yeshiva?
THREE CHEERS FOR RABBI LEVIN.
His statement, on behalf of huindred of Orthodox Rabbis, has been picked up by The Drudge Report, the main on-line news source for all the media in the United States.
In case some of you missed it, his statement was issued in the name of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, a major Orthodox group of Rabbonim.
You dummies who are criticising Rabbi Levin don’t realize that we are being successfully demonized here, in America, as an evil low-life group, supporters of every immoral, indecent legislative initiative.
This Kagan woman represents all that is sick and indecent in America, and we can’t afford to be connected with her.
Rabbi Levin, by taking this high-profile position has done us all a great service, portrayin us as decent family people, worthy of respect.
TO #16 “deepthinker”
I agree completely. Jews in this country are viewed generally as leftists and liberals. Sad to say, for the majority of Jews this is pretty much true.
I believe it was estimated that 78% of Jews voted for the Obamination.
To let “middle America” (the “silent majority” as it was called in the late ’60s) know that orthodox, traditional Jews do not stand with these leftist ideologies, is a very good thing.
As America slip-slides away morally, economically, and militarily with the leftist/socialist agenda of the current administration, let it be known that Torah Jewry does NOT stand with that ilk.
As much as this a unique way of doing things…I personally find it the right approach in the current enviroment. If one looks at Europe, the Jewish communities there are dealing with onslaught on their religious beliefs (schectita, deciding curriculum, the societal downturn around them etc) and their approach at least until maybe now is passivity. Be nice to the gov’t, hope the gov’t is nice back…which has been the plan for a Jews for a long time. It doesn’t help the eventual antisemitism, be it purposeful or agav liberal and/or nationalistic policies. In America, the society is on a downturn and even one party pretty much runs in support of such things (the Democrats). If we, as many Christians have, put our footdown to show where we stand (not as Republicans but as Torah Jews), the political process will take note (obviously not as much as with other bigger groups but somewhat nonetheless). Will this save America? Prevent antisemitism? Could be that it won’t. But anyways as things are going, America as a proud people are falling apart, its moral decency is decaying, etc. Torah Jews can either get their bags packed or try to stop it by being a representation of morality to the greater American society. Now, Moshiach is coming…but I for one would rather have him come with as little tsar as possible.
DQB
#16 and all, his message is great, it’s his lack of class in spreading his message which detracts from dissemination and interest in the message. Due to his style, despite the great ideals, he comes off somewhat like a rabble rousing Al Sharpton, unfortunately, in my opinion.
YWN,
What is your heter to allow this loshon hora & rechilus?? You now lowered your standards & are no different than other ‘frum’ sites.
Rabbi Yehuda Levin shlit”a is a tue-blue Orthodox Rabbi. He has studied in Kollel for many years and is now the distinguished Rav of Beis Medrash Mevakshei HaShem on Avenue K at East 31st Steet in Flatbush.
The picture is of him praying on the steps of a state capital building for rain in the South during a recent drought there. The tefilos worked with rain coming just a few short days thereafter.
Yes, Rabbi Levin is a serious personality that is respected throughout the halls of the government as well as amongst media agencies. He ran for Congress against incumbant Stephen Solarz and astoundingly earned more than 30% of the vote.
And yes, he plainly represents Orthodox Rabbis throughout the United States. His statements are plain and straightforward. And yes, the Rabbinical Alliance (Igud Harabonim) is proudly a “right-wing” organization and squarely supports him. If only we had more Rabbis like Rabbi Yehuda Levin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!