Once again the chareidi tzibur is in the Israeli media, but this time, it is not the local population but chareidim in North America.
When over 60,000 Jews gather in a stadium to listen to the words of rabbis, this makes news, especially in Israel where the mainstream assimilated non-jewish media is limited in its ability and/or desire to understand Torah concepts. The reports on the CitiField Asifa appear in most newspapers and electronic media, but they do not speak about the value of rabbonim shlita and parents seeking to protect the next generation from the dangers by using filtered internet, but the reports inaccurately speak of the “chareidim against the internet”.
Not too many years ago, non-Jews would also have come out against the free and inhibited access to anything and everything that the internet offers, but rather than commending the community for seeking to set a filter in place, permitting one to benefit from the wealth of good while protecting against the unwanted dangerous content, the story bylines prefer to portray the chareidim as a primitive backwards tzibur. In short, if the chareidim are in favor of something, the Israeli media by its very nature is opposed.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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16 Responses
Thats because no one from “Yeshiva world” took the acraiis to report on it in an accurate way. So is it their fault?
They aren’t wrong, the asifa had precious little to do with “the dangers of unfiltered internet”, just angry vitriol being spoken about the internet in general.
Honestly? It’s a chillul Hashem that this situation was allowed to occur and once again portray the tzibur in a negative light.
A couple of years ago I was at a shiur from HaRov Shlomo Brevda in which he characterized the newsmedia as “the most evil people on earth.” I think we can all fully subscribe to that statement.
Would anyone be willing and able to post a transcript of the speeches given at the asifa (with translation) to refute these claims?
I’m not one to defend zionists, but based on the asifa, the charedi gedolim are against the internet completely and are not pro-filtering at all. Not that they’re wrong about their opinion, but let’s not skew their words to gain some points against the seculars.
Sixty thousand? Where? CitiField holds 41 & Ashe was mostly empty.
How about this headline? “YWN Grabs Opportunity to Accurately Bash Israel Secular Media and create more Sinah in the Jewish World”
Why is this obvious editorial opinion passed off as “news?”
There is a button to flag a post as being inappropriate and/or abusive.
I’m wondering if there is a similiar button to flag an article?
Shameful YWN, shameful. Your media is no less venemous and one-sided than theirs.
GeshmakMan:
You nailed it on the head buddy. Bravo.
Yes, who spoke and what did they say? I have seen much photos but no speeches.
The sales pitch eas “Internet: We can’t live with it, we can’t live without it” Internet al pi torah. The Torah has Mitzvas Asay and Mitzvas Lo sa’asay. Saying no to everything is an easy way out.
Seems that their report was completely accurate.
The asifa was advertised as ‘Overcoming The Challenges Of Technology’ – by what? not using it?
We need to get out our daled amos sometimes to comprehend how we look to even intelligent and sensitive people “out there” – And one should do so, and think about the issue, when dafka making an event public.
This entire thing looked so incredibly stupid and backwards to most…Rabbi Mannis Friedman’s approach made sense to the people who asked me what are my thoughts on the matter…but not the angry spectacle of the asifa…B”H a lot of it was in Yiddish!
as if they’re not just repeating what local secular media reported
Manishma:
The sales pitch WAS “Internet: We can’t live with it, we can’t live without it” Internet al pi torah.
there, I Corrected that for you.
They dumped that pitch two weeks before the asifa because they felt it was more important to fill the stadium with bodies then to fill our minds with useful information as to how to actually deal with the internet.