The following letter was released by R’ Tzvi Gross, a delegate for Eretz HaKodesh:
26 Adar 5785
March 26, 2025
An Open Letter to all Torah Observant Jews,
My name is Tzvi Gross and I registered as a Delegate for Eretz HaKodesh (under my legal name Zachary Gross) for the current World Zionist Organization election.
In light of the below Kol Koreh released by the American Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, I have withdrawn my candidacy as a delegate for Eretz HaKodesh. I have not yet voted in the election, and I do not intend to participate in it at this time. Obviously, if circumstances change, the question and response from our Gedolim may change.
I joined as a delegate under the impression that the controversy of the last WZO election 5 years ago was resolved and the Gedolim that were in opposition then, have since been given background by EHK leadership of the issues facing Torah Observance in Eretz Yisrael.
When I saw that the opposition of prominent Gedolim had not abated, I was surprised. I began a fact-finding mission to understand what the objection is today. It is not my place to opine on the issue, but it seems to me that the disagreement was on the Metzityus and whether Torah Observance was under attack or just Jewish lifestyle conveniences, such as Reform attacks on gender segregated bus routes, an Orthodox managed Kotel, Yeshivos maintaining control over curriculum without strings attached to their Government funding, and the ability to block Kosher phones from dialing LGBT hotlines, etc. Over the last week, I engaged EHK leadership to ask if there were any examples of actual Torah Observance being blocked, but there weren’t any, just the many important lifestyle conveniences listed above. I do believe that evidence of an actual threat on Torah Observance would merit a new question to the Gedolim and if the concept of “V’Chai Bahem”– “do the mitzvos to live by them” (Vayikra 18:5) might apply and allow future participation in the WZO.
Regardless of my research, I listened to a recent shiur by R’ Elya Brudny Shlit”a, who gave a perspective on how a Ben Torah is to view this Sugya. Our Mesorah is clear based on Rashi (Devarim 17:9) אין לך אלא שופט שבימיך, “we follow the Gadol of our times” even if he is not as prominent as the Gadol of prior generations. The Gadol Hador of the last decade was R’ Chaim Kanievsky Zt”l, and when he said to vote, I did. Today’s Gadol Hador has been identified by the American Moetzes as R’ Dov Landau Shlit”a and he has said in a letter printed in the Israeli Yated not to participate this time. The majority of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America now concur and who am I to do if I do otherwise?
I appreciate the financial benefit from Torah guided WZO funds and applaud those Tzadikim that wish to protect Observant Jewish life, but in the absence of extenuating circumstances as defined by our Gedolim, I cannot participate in this endeavor in this way.
I want to take a moment here to denounce in the strongest terms the domestic terrorism committed by people who harass those that take either position on this matter. Every page of the Gemara has Machlokes, but our Amoraim strove to resolve them peacefully and respectfully. It is abhorrent that publications claiming to service the Torah Community do not denounce this behavior and instead run cowardly anonymous letters that insult anyone and especially Gedolim for having an opinion.
I encourage other delegates to seek, and fact-find for themselves and be guided by their Emunas Chachamim, logic, and conscience. May this Machlokes remain L’shem Shamayim and bring us closer to the Torah and the Geula.
Respectfully,
Tzvi Gross
Clifton, NJ
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30 Responses
Wow!
That takes guts! אשריך!
Personally I asked a well known Rav in my community and he told me it’s a matter of hashkafa and he has benefited personally from eretz hakodesh so I voted
If only everything I read was as respectful and forward as this. Instead of all the slamming and spitting that you see today by the ywn “chachamim” who never finished 1 mishna but knows “better” than rav landau
domestic terrorism
?? you had me until there.
You self analysis of the situation flies in the face of your stated subordination to Daas Torah. Your assessment of the Reform’s activities as simply being a disruption of Jewish lifestyle conveniences as opposed to an attack on Torah Observance is arbitrary.
Such a conclusion is itself a psak, or rather, THE PSAK that was weighed by the gedolim on each side.
You are welcome to withdraw but publishing your opinion on which gedolim to side with is simply, daas bal habatim.
What if an ordinary lay-person read the article by a respected gadol who called on us to vote in the elections for EHK before the psak of the moetzes and others was published. Is there a way to rescind our vote?
@coffeeaddict ty for the kind words.
@rebEmes ty for the kind words.
@mapquest what would u call physical and verbal harassment of someone simply for having an opposing opinion?
@HR
1 You may have missed the part of the letter that says “Over the last week, I engaged EHK leadership to ask…” So the assessment of Reform activities come from EHK, not me.
2 Reread the paragraph, “Regardless of my research…” and you may find that I agree with you. My “opinion” doesn’t matter when the majority of the Moetzes and Gadol Hador have issued a Psak. My withdrawal is solely based on that.
Hope these address your concerns. Thanks for engaging.
coffee addict:
Your rabbi claims that violating hischabrus im reshaim and modeh baA”Z, among other problems, is “only” a matter of “hashkafa”? Did you care to ask him how that could possibly be true? Is eating matza on Pesach also a matter of hashkafa? Did you also ask him why a matter of “hashkafa” is something that is a free-for-all? Did not the Rambam write Hilchos deios? Why would he bother doing so, then, if hashkafa were irrelevant? But this is, of course, not “merely” hashkafa.
I think he meant stochastic terrorism
He knew the metzius going in. It’s just that now he’s afraid of being marked as being on the wrong side. Like his kids would only be able to go to ponovezh instead of bmg or nirc
@zaltzvasser 100% ty!
@Rebbe Yid not sure if ur referring to me. My daughters couldn’t get into Ponovezh or BMG in any event, so no fear detected. Thanks for engaging!
It’s not actually that hard to buck to the establishment that says our bubble is strong and we don’t need any newcomers. Toe the line or else. s.
R’ Tzvi,
Many years ago I personally heard from HaRav Kalman Krohn ZT”L a powerful statement.
“Any person who does not have the courage to sign his name on the bottom of a letter, is not worth the paper it is written on, and you should not waste your time even reading it. If that person cannot bring himself to sign off, he does not fully believe he is doing the right thing!”
Avraham Avinu testifies to this resolve, that every Yid has to be an “Ivri” and be proud that he is on the right side of history even if the “whole world is against you”.
Your self reflection, humility, courage, and most importantly, your respectful articulation is breathtaking. Hashem should reward you for rescinding and for stating your coherent reasoning in a public format.
As someone who holds a public position, I can tell you that I fully understand what you did was not easy, and appreciate your willingness to pen such a letter.
As a Rav and Dayan recently told me, “There can be Chilukei Deios- just don’t make it into a Machlokes!” The difference is, the former is a respectful disagreement and the latter is mud slinging and debased behavior not fitting for any respectable Ben Torah.
We should continue to heed what our Gedolim tell us and understand that “Al She’Yamin Smoel U’Smol Yamin” means we are Mevatel our Daas to the Einei Ha’Eidah who see things a lot more clearly than we do.
HaKoisev V’Chosem L’Chvod HaTorah V’Talmide’hah,
Rabbi Yehoshua Sova
Did you step down due to peer pressure or because you were instructed to? When you first joined as a delegate, did you seek out Daas Torah then? What did they tell you before joining?
As far as women of the wall who come every rosh chodesh to the kosel it does not effect satmar or those type Chareidim as they don’t go to the kosel. As far as reform outreach it too does not effect chassidim who are in hemisha crowd because no Chareidim are becoming reform. The reform can’t hold on to their youth or future. No one really cares what secular Jews say. As far as Chareidim or chassidim are concerned they are Jewish in name only. Yes if they want to become orthodox that’s fine but we have nothing to do with them. They are considered crippled Jews and you don’t need to fight with crippled people.
Hakatan,
1) I never said he was my Rav
2) not everyone is NK like you, learn to grow up (unless you emotionally can’t, if so then im sorry for you)
Zachary Gross is a Self Hating Jew, totally devoid of all scruples.
I surmize that he would prohibit all Kiruv work, since that line of work entails extensive interaction with [so far] non religious people & parents thereof.
@147 I thought people should “follow their gedolim”?
Ahhhh you only follow the gedolim that you like…
Got it now.
Heimish but some chasidim and Charedim do leave the community. What then?
Coffee addict not everyone is nk but most Gedolim and Bnei yeshiva have the opinion of satmar in regard to the evil of Zionism
coffee addict:
NK has zero to do with any of this. That’s a pathetic meme.
So, you write that you never claimed he was “your” rav, yet you followed his ruling to violate severe prohibitions by voting. That is your response to the logical questions on that. I don’t need to ask him questions because he’s not my Rav, but I’ll follow whatever he says anyways. Wow.
@147 not sure how you came to that conclusion. I surmise that he would defer to the Einei Ha’Eidah for that as well
Rabbi Sova is 100% correct.
“Any person who does not have the courage to sign his name on the bottom of a letter, is not worth the paper it is written on, and you should not waste your time even reading it. If that person cannot bring himself to sign off, he does not fully believe he is doing the right thing!”
The Kol Korei from the Moetzes was signed by……
I am just genuinely confused as to why it would then be permitted to vote in Israeli elections. They are participating in the zionist entity. They are sitting in the same government with people who are opposed to Yiddishkiet. But they are there bec we have an obligation to fight back.
I just truly don’t understand the difference.
@sarahdc We follow the Einei Ha’Eidah even when we’re genuinely confused as well and we truly don’t understand. We can try to understand but our following their guidance is not dependent on whether or not we do understand
@ha-deah ve-hadibur – צדיקים ילכו בם ופושעים יכשלו בם you can take anything and twist it.
What you said about 100% correct, correctly includes you.
“I don’t need to ask him questions because he’s not my Rav, but I’ll follow whatever he says anyways.“
I see you don’t understand how things work
He is a well known person in my community that people look up to that is the head of an organization of rabbanim im not going to go any further with details because I asked him my own personal shaylah and that was what he told me
I think this whole topic was rediculously overblown to begin with, whether voting or not. Israelis go to the booth to vote every couple years with about 100,000 times the amount on the line, from financial budgeting to security to policy. I think American Jewry needs to take a deep breath and focus on what’s important, because it’s not this
HaKatan, eilu ve’eilu is as prevalent in hashkafah as in halakha, if not more so; any bar hochi knows that. your reference to matzah seems to indicate that you do not know the difference between halakha and hashkafa!
@YehoshuaSova ty for the kind words.
@WiseSage58 Zero pressure by anyone. Nobody is forcing anyone to listen to the Moetzes Kol Koreh, you do what your conscience says and hopefully you can live with yourself and those decisions.
I did consult my Rav who said there didn’t seem to be any issues this time around, but then R’ Feldman’s video came out that the issue wasn’t settled.
@Heimisha guy I would be inconvenienced as well if the Kotel became unavailable to Daven at, but that is not enough of a reason to accept heretical beliefs.
@147 I’m sorry you feel that way, you may not be aware that there IS a distinction between doing Kiruv work that does not require one to sign on to heretical beliefs and joining the WZO that does. (This is also why it’s okay to participate in the Knesset)
@ha-deah ve-hadibur An unsigned Kol Koreh indicates a majority of the Moetzes voted to release it. The 13 current member names are public, and each can be approached individually to ask their opinion.
@sarahdc Great question! I had the same. The 2 answers I received are that nothing in the Israeli Knesset or government requires a Torah Jew to accept heretical beliefs. It is a secular State that models the USA in separation of church and state. Additionally, the Gedolim at the time decided it was a true Pikuach Nefesh situation and allowed the Torah Parties to join the Govt and one assumes that situation continues. It’s very clear the Torah Parties consult publicly with named Gedolim on every move they make.
@izzy There’s nothing embarrassing about asking “Einei Ha’Eidah” for clarification and to explain their rationale to you. Our religion isn’t about blind obedience.
Even when they say “right is left” and the Torah says you must follow it, you still can ask and receive clarity on both the right and left positions. You may not agree with the rationale, but you do have the right to ask and understand.
To vote or not to vote in the WZO is above my pay grade and we will leave that to the Gedolei Hador and everyone should listen to their Rav.
IMHO: to trust people who don’t pay Yiden they hire to do work, to vote in your and our Torahs best interests.
Seems like a stretch.
Morality is not a lose concept