Mayor Bloomberg, who’s leaving office after 12 years, is being warmly received in the Jewish world, earning the first “Jewish Nobel Prize.” But to some it invited a certain amount of ridicule, at least to Seth Lipsky, editor of The New York Sun.
In an Haaretz Op-Ed, Lipsky lambasted the idea of honoring Mr. Bloomberg with a prize grounded in a commitment to Jewish values. “No doubt Bloomberg has been a solid supporter of Israel, politically and philanthropically, and has sought “the betterment of humankind.” His support for the Jews of New York, though, has been less than universal,” he writes.
Challenging the mayor on one of his latest crusade against the Jewish community, Lipsky points to the Mayor’s litigation against Agudath Israel and other fervently religious groups on Metzitzah B’peh. Under Bloomberg’s rule, he writes, “even the chief rabbis of Israel would have to get a parental waiver to conduct such a circumcision.”
“The most impassioned plea for the First Amendment the mayor ever made was to defend a plan to put up a mosque adjacent to Ground Zero. Fair enough. But the mayor has been unwilling to defend the Satmar shopkeepers of Brooklyn who seek to post in their businesses the kind of dress codes that are routinely enforced in the ritzy restaurants the mayor likes to frequent. Instead, Bloomberg’s administration is taking legal action against the modest shopkeepers, accusing them of bigotry.”
“It would be inaccurate to suggest that these two fights against religious Jews are the defining element of Bloomberg’s mayoralty. It would not be surprising to discover that he has helped religious Jews in his vast philanthropy. And he has vastly changed the shores and skylines and educational system in the city… But it would not be inaccurate to suggest that there is a sense in the city that the mayor lost his way in his third term.”
The ridicule as expressed by Lipsky may well be shared by many in the Orthodox Jewish community, who feel suppressed under the Bloomberg regime.
(Jacob Kormbluh – YWN)
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7 Responses
Totally in agreement with the OPED author.
Counting the days of Bloomberg leaving office. Will go down in history as bad to Jews and bad for NYC!
The reaction of frum rabbis and other frum Jews to Mayor Bloomberg’s disclosure requirement for Metzitzah B’peh begs many questions. The mayor’s justification – indeed, one of the few bases on which government can intervene in a religious practice – is the public health risk, which is small. But the greater question for Jews is, how do we balance the requirement for Metzitzeh B’peh with other halachic requirements to guard the health of our children. The halachic answer is not as cut and dried as the mayor’s opponents have indicated, and there are legitimate halachic objections to any religious practice that raises health risks. It is not up to the mayor to make halachic decisions, but it is up to the supporters of MBP to address the halachic issues raised by the health risk of the procedure. I have not heard or read an extensive discussion of this issue, and I think the rabbis and other supporters of MBP owe us some guidance on the halachic questions about the practice.
Blomberg also endorses gay marriages–he actually performed a gay marriage in his office while the several young girls of one of these miscreants by a previous “marriage”looked on—I never felt so ashamed or embittered or sorrow for the children who don’t know any better.
I’m not Jewish, nor very religious but I am sure this Toevia is an abomination to the Almighty–HaShem.
A goy,
Gerry Mullen
Riverside, NJ
Can someone here explain what the big deal is in signing this piece of paper? Maybe signing it is a big kiddush shem shamayim — we’re saying that we know it’s dangerous but af al pi kein we are doing it because that is our mesorah. Of course every parent that wants metzitzah bpeh done for their child will sign this so I don’t see why it’s a big deal.
To M,
It’s a big deal because since the start if the MBP ordeal the city has not been able to track down even ONE mohel when they would accuse the herpes came from the Milah!! This is the city’s “back way” of having that information to then prosecute the mohel.
To nfgo3,
Not only Rabbi’s but many doctors including non Jews have clearly explained why the city’s campaign is fraught with made up concerns and blatant lies. Just read the affidavids submitted in the lawsuit. I am an MD and the evidence does not add up. There are many published medical articles in “prestigious” medical journals that are horrible studies and should not be followed. It is understandable why a non-scientific background person would take an article at face value – however it has to be a scientifically sound study to be valid.
The MBP arguments have NEVER been proven. If what the city claims is true then in the thousands of years that we have been performing brissim we should have had many many more casualties. They have not definitively linked a SINGLE case to the mohel.
May Hashem help Doomberg be חוזר בתשובה, very soon.