The New York Times licked its chops on Wednesday, gleefully relating how five individuals who run companies that “primarily serve the Orthodox Jewish community” were indicted for daycare fraud. But instead of just reporting the allegations, the self-congratulatory tone of the article reflected the Times’ apparent conviction that the indictments vindicate the paper’s recent onslaught of vilifications of the Orthodox Jewish community.
What the article’s references to those earlier pieces in fact indicate is something else entirely: the Times’ desire to, at every turn, portray the Orthodox community as unsavory or worse.
Agudath Israel knows nothing about the indicted individuals. It goes without saying that if the allegations are true, fraud is always and unequivocally wrong.
The larger problem here is that the Times chooses to weaponize the indictments of these individuals to justify its many allegations made about the larger Orthodox Jewish community.
Extrapolating the act of an individual to smear his entire ethnic or religious group would be greeted – and properly so – with howls of protest in any other context. It is equally howl-worthy when applied to Orthodox Jews. Indeed, the Times correctly decries racial profiling in other contexts, but glibly purveys it when it comes to Orthodox Jews.
In another article that same day, a New York Times headline read, Was Yeshiva University Entitled to $230 Million in Public Funds? The obviously negative implication of the headline, and the inclusion of the tallying of funds therein, were clearly meant to inflame rather than report.
The message from the Times is consistent. Orthodox Jewish students – Hasidic or Modern Orthodox – don’t deserve public funds or assistance like everyone else, either because they are all corrupt, or because they have the audacity to practice their religion. They should be treated as pariahs.
Agudath Israel views the publication of such sentiments by one of the most powerful newspapers in the world as deeply dangerous. With each passing day, each passing article, and each passing assault on an Orthodox Jew, our KnowUs initiative is, unfortunately, needed more than ever.
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15 Responses
The New York Slimes is an antisemitic rag. And has been at least since the onset of World War II, when they consciously and knowingly chose to bury the stories of that Nazi annihilation of European Jewry, as it was occuring.
give me a break, is the new yok times a problem yes, but our concern should be about the fraud
Agudah comments even with good intentions just give the story more bad publicity…and ywn publishing just hurts all the innocent frumme who don’t even know about the arrests..there is no need for public comment…bh there is so much news in the world that these stories blow over very quickly
Really, the outrage is misplaced. This happens to be a new indictment and it is disgusting if these prove to be true. Frum people should not act in a criminal way and when they get caught, the seriousness of their crime should not be deflected by complaining that media are picking on frum Jews. Sadly. too many frum Jews seem to think it is OK to do these things otherwise they wouldn’t.
Yes, very unethical for NYT to point to evidence that seems to document other findings they’ve published.
Outrageous.
Next thing you know, they’ll be saying that classified material found in the homes of former presidents and Vice Presidents further documents previous reports on same.
What is this obsession with NYT?! It seems like a mutual two way obsession with each other. Yidden shouldn’t care about goyish news outlets!
The billboards didn’t stop this?!?
I’d willingly place money on a wager that the NYT take government funds allotted for a specific purpose, into their own pockets…As do the majority of organizations in the USA and around the world over.
In fact, there’s a letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to someone who discussed the issue of the Watergate Scandal with him. The Rebbe wrote that in truth, it’s obvious that scrutiny into any president will reveal similar “scandals”. The question is only if someone wants to look into it or not…
Shlomo2 you oisvorf, are you also dumb? did you not read the aguda response above or are you just playing dumb! didn’t it state above that the times piece implies that their smear of a whole community is now justified because of the actions of a few or am I the idiot
Would NYT also specify, if the accused were black?
There are few organizations that are as foolish as Agudah. Publishing long essays to debunk something doesn’t work. No one is reading those long rebuttals. We live in a day and age where two liners carry the headlines.
This guy didn’t do any more fraud than anyone else taking money from a social program.
IT’S ALL FRAUD AND ITS STEALING!!!!!
Government programs are, by definition, fraud and stealing from innocent victim taxpayers!
No reason why his guy should be treated differently.
THE FRAUD IS THE PROGRAM ITSELF!
STEALING MONEY FROM HARD WORKING AMERICANS
The evil of NYT will not stop until the NYT is stopped. Their stripes won’t change. All we can do is to identify their biggest advertisers, and launch campaigns to boycott them until they stop pushing their wares throiugh this schmatte. Hit NYT in the pocketbook. Arguing morality or fairness is futile. Arguing honesty has never worked with anyone iin mainstream media. Boycotts.
lbj: Thanks for your insightful comment, written in such elegant language.
I see your point, presented with such clear logic.
Yes, I now realize that I am in fact both an oisvorf and dumb.
Otherwise, how could I possibly not bow in awe to that which comes from the Agudah PR Machine?
How could I possibly dare to have my own opinion and my own logic?
The pushback on the NYT is important and must continue.
However.
We live amongst the gentiles. Chazal tell us that, no matter what, עשו שונא ליעקב. No matter how much we can push back and complain, that is the reality and any Jew who does something improper WILL be used by the gentiles to vilify the entire community.
Therefore, any Jew who chooses to engage in illegal practices, especially embezzlement and fraud, should be aware that if he is caught he will be bringing scorn and shame not only on himself but on EVERYONE ELSE IN THE COMMUNITY. Doing so is causing plain and simple Chilul HaShem, and anyone who is engaged in such activity must be willing to accept the consequences of being the cause of public Chilul Hashem.
The fact that the Frum news agencies choose to hide this story shows in itself how shameful it is to all of us. It’s time we start clearly speaking out against these kind of actions, and publicly shunning those who we know are actively engaging in such actions – no matter how much they donate for Tzedakah. No amount of Tzedakah can atone for blatant Chilul Hashem!