Dear Editor,
Please see the video below and decide. Did Phil Goldfeder make a Chilul Hashem?
As background, yesterday I questioned Goldfeder’s commitment to torah values and asked why some of the same people opposing David Weprin are supporting Phil Goldfeder. The response was furious. Today, I have come across this video. Simply put, at a recent debate the moderator asked the two candidates for New York State Assembly in Far Rockaway, Republican Jane Deacy and Democrat Phil Goldfeder, how they would have voted on the recently passed same-gender marriage bill in Albany.
Republican Jane Deacy’s answer is unequivocal, she says: “I would have voted no. I am a Roman Catholic and I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Did Phil match her? Did he show pride in his yeshiva upbringing? Was he equally unequivocal? Sadly, no.
This was Goldfeder’s answer to the question of whether he would support same-gender marriage: “there is a fine line that we have to walk. Things that I believe for my family are not things that I should impose on other families. So the answer to that question is: I don’t know.”
You don’t know Phil? How is it possible with your yeshiva education, velvet yarmulke on your head and support from every major askan in Far Rockaway that you “don’t know” if you would vote against same-gender marriage?
I don’t know either. Like I said yesterday, I don’t know what the difference is between David Weprin & Phil Goldfeder.
Rabbi A. Hirsh — Brooklyn, NY
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42 Responses
A Chillul Hashem, indeed. He “doesn’t know” whether Hashem meant it when he said that homosexuality is a toeiva/ abomination. Maybe Hashem was being facetious?
What an embarrassment!
The catholic has no problem stating what she believes, but he, uhhh…. well.. uhhh… I don’t know.
Very sad.
It looks like roman catholic lady before him have more confidence in her faith, she could step up with strength face and say it. ..what’s a Shame
Did all the rabbonim see this video before they backed him?
Who needs frum politicians if they can make a chillul hashem on TV?
What an embarrassment.
What he said, quite intellegently, was that he was NOT in the assembly at the time the bill was brought to the floor and that he had not read the bill (a part of the speech which you so conveniently left out, Harav, Hagaon, Rav Hirsh). He stated a fact, with complete truth, as opposed to Jane Deacy who was stating what would get the applause of the audience at this particular forum. We all know good ad well that Phil has stated that he would not have voted for bill had he been in the assembly at the time. He chose not to play into false politics, (as Jane did) and answered an irrelavent question the way he should have. To deny an entire community untold benefit because of a comment that YOU are interpreting as “pro same-gender marriage”, in your warped, convoluted little head, is nothing less than pure RISHUS. I would NOT want to be in your place after 120, good luck to you.
#5 – You disclosed yourself in your own words as someone who’s tainted by $$$. All the other insults you spit out are now forgiven. You simply are going through a hard time…
The plain fact is, it’s a Chilul Hashem, though for the sake of $$$.
Rabbi Hirsh (assuming that is your real name)-
I just do not understand what you are getting at here. What is it that you are trying to accomplish? Ok, let’s assume for a second that you are 100% correct on the facts (which you are not, but clearly getting the facts right is not an issue for you, so I’ll play along), and Phil is actually in favor of gay marriage. So what? There is no doubt whatsoever that (a) if Phil wins, it will provide a huge benefit to the frum community in FR and (b) if his opponent wins, it will prove to be an absolute disaster, as she will feel no need to pay any attention to the frum Jews in FR. Now let’s add to this the fact that the gay marriage bill has already been passed into law and has absolutely no hope of being repealed.
Put this together and it becomes clear that slamming Phil (incorrectly) for his supposed views on gay marriage will accomplish nothing but to hurt an entire community of frum Jews.
So, again, I ask you: what are you hoping to accomplish that benefits Klal Yisroel?
#7- What is accomplished is that Frum yarmulka wearing people who already represent us, or who would like to represent us will – and should be held accountable for every word that is uttered out of their mouths.
Crawl out of your cave.
His answer is pathetic, and a joke compared to a Roman Catholic woman.
We don’t need frum politicians who pander around to all sides and sell our values out for a few shekel.
I am having a hard time understanding why YWN continues to give this Rabbi Hirsh (whoever he is) a soapbox. He is clearly not adding any news – he is simply giving his opinion. Which might be fine (plenty of newspapers/websites have op-eds), but we have absolutely no idea who this man is and why/whether we should even give his opinion any deference.
I am as much in favor of the first amendment as anyone else, and this Rabbi Hirsh (and this website) are obviously free to say whatever they wish (I will leave to others more knowledgable than I as to whether halacha also grants such a right). That right, however, does not make it a good idea to do so. Frankly, I could at least understand a little if this Rabbi Hirsh lived in FR and would be directly impacted by the election. But he claims to live in Brooklyn, so his comments are that much more meaningless.
The reality is that all this site cares about is its web traffic (which boosts its ad revenue). So if it can continue to increase hits and make more money by publishing this drivel, it will do so, even if it is at the expense of an entire community of yidden.
How sad.
You really think this is all about money? Would you like to hear about the almanos, cholim and simple everyday good people that Phil has stuck his neck out for? There are hundreds of ways that Phil has, and will continue to when elected, help the kehilla. It’s quite juvenile to define my use of the word “benefit” to mean solely money. I would also ask you to learn the halachos of Chillul Hashem. Phil never said he supports same gender marriage and in no way made any chillul Hashem, as opposed to Weprin. In fact the Kiddush Hashem that will be made when Phil wins will be unprecedented. During the month of Elul, I would rethink what you are doing and stand aside.
FYI, Goldfeder doesn’t have a chance in “WINNING”.
Thanks to Turner and the GOP momentum, it will crush him tonight when the polls close.
Let’s hope I’m right.
Enough left-winged libs.
He want’s to help almanos and yesomim? Let him get a job, and give tzedakah. Stop with the chesed sob story already ENOUGH!
The people in Far Rockaway are nebach delusional. They mammish believe that if Goldfeder wins, he will show up tomorrow morning with a wheel-barrel jammed with free cash for the mosdos, and will be handing out jobs to the hundreds of people in need.
Just like the black community was saying a day before Hussein Obama won his campaign. “Gonna be fine tomorrow….we gonna get jobs…insurance…money….”
Sure.
Poverty is soaring – in fact it hit RECORD HIGHS TODAY: http://news.yahoo.com/census-us-poverty-rate-swells-nearly-1-6-142639972.html
Shnitzel (#8)-
I am not sure which video you watched, but the words that came out of his mouth were pretty clear: he could not say whether he would have voted on the bill b/c he did not read it.
Clearly you preferred Ms. Deacy’s answer b/c it “pander[ed] around to all sides.” (Frankly, if you think that she is someone who will only stand on her principals, why don’t you ask her, given that she is running on a platform to cut spending, whther she has given up her extremely generous NYPD pension yet).
Frankly, Phil’s answer to the question was the appropriate one. If you have not read the bill, how can you say whether or not you would vote for it? To give just one similar example: if you were to read the Agudath Israel of America – National Public Policy Position Paper on abortion (I would send you a copy but I am having a hard time finding a clean copy in my cave), you would see that the Agudah would not support a blanket ban on abortion, b/c without knowing what the law would contain, such a law might impinge on other religious freedoms.
This is all aside from the fact that, for those of us living in this cave, since the gay marriage law has already been passed, it is completely irrelevant what Phil’s view is on the issue. All that matters now is whether Phil or Jane Deacy will be of more help to the frum community in FR. And I don’t think I need to waste any more space giving you the answer to that one.
Dear Rabbi Hirsch:
I live in the FR area, and see a lot of advertisement for Mr. Goldfeder, and yes, askanim working for him. I don’t see an entire community behind him, nor do I see Rabbonim endorsing him. Furthermore, I see frum homes with Deacy’s signs on their front lawns. BH, not everyone is duped, and unzeren menshen are still thinking.
What is comon between a politician and a mashgiach?
Sometimes they can both loose their job for saying the truth.
#13 – “since the gay marriage law has already been passed, it is completely irrelevant what Phil’s view is on the issue”
You can repeal any law that you want for starters.
Phil worked for King Lib himself, Chuck Schumer.
Stop while your ahead.
He is a left-winged liberal, and a disgrace to true-torah jews.
Ir:
Either you are blind or don’t live in Far Rockaway. Every single Rov and Rosh Yeshiva endorsed Goldfeder. Rabbi Feiner from the White Shul and Rabbi Yechiel Perr even made phone recordings for him. I have not seen even one single Deacy sign not by the frum or anywhere else. You are not saying the truth.
#17- What a shame. Every single Rov and Rosh yeshiva was led blindly down a dangerous path.
We should be gozer a taanis for the travesty happening today. How many of those watched this video?
I’ll bet NONE.
In fact, I just called one of them who is a cousin of mine, and he said he never knew about it.
HearingLawyer (13)
I know it’s your proffesion to formulate responses in a strong and convincing way, and you sound like someone who otherwise is probebly doing a good job at it, but we all know it wasn’t a manner of “not having rad it”. It was a manner of not knowing if he could resist Silver etc. etc….
#18, that’s funny. I just called my rov who just saw it too for the first time.
Im not shocked.
Classic LIB.
I will have to agree, that Phil’s answer was straight from a political rule book. Talk a lot but say nothing. It was a Hilul Hashem indeed. Jane Deacy, clearly identified herself as Catholic, and was not embarrassed to state what she believes in, while Phil was talking about some family belief that applied only to his family and not anyone else. It sounded almost as if he has his own religion. When someone says I am Catholic, we can go and do some research to see what it means. We can ask around what that religion is all about and what do they support. When someone says my family belief, what does that mean? He didn’t even mention what he believes in.
As pertaining Yeshivas and Mosdos. What makes one think that only Frum Jews want to help our institutions. From the answer Mr. Goldfeder gave, he should have no moral right to vote on laws that require people of other faiths to spend their tax dollars on Jewish institutions. After all, it is his belief and not theirs. Where Jane Deacy, who supports religion and her faith, would probably vote for any type of voucher system or any other funding for religious institutions since she hold her belief dear to herself. She also probably is not a big friend of the UTF union, who is the biggest hater of private education. She would definitely want to help other Catholic schools as well. This is exactly what David Greenfield did with Teach NYS, where private schools of all faiths came together as one block.
I do not know Mr. Goldfeder and what he stands for, neither do I know anything about Jane Deacy, this is simply an observation based on the comment he made in this video clip.
Editor check with your reporter Eli Gefen in yeruchum phil. I urge you quashe the hirsh take his post down. I challenge anyone to find a single rov that is familiar with golfedder who has said a single word against him.
IR I just walked up and down Beach ninth, reads lane sage lanett trying to find a single frum home with a deacy sign. Not a single one, but 725 empire, 705 empire, corner empire and reads (o that’s a BIG poster) 710 almont, 1050 virginia thoise are real addresses of real frum pepole with real Goldfeder signs
“Rabbi” Hirsh, what is your name? what is your agenda?
instead of spreading motzei shem ra here why dont you pick up the phone and call Rabbi Yackov bender, Rabbi Eitan Feiner, Rav Yechiel Perr, Rav Naftoli Jeager, Rabbi Moshe Brown or any other Real Rov with a first and last name that lives in the area.
Ir – you are a lIaR – there is not ONE Deacy sign in the neighborhood.
#23- I just called 3 of those names.
They were shocked when hearing about this video.
Does anyone know what #22 is talking about?
You must be a Goldfeder supporter with your outstanding writing skills. Probably as intelligent as the rest of the people being led like blind sheep by a few lousy askonim.
Blink my apologies for the spelling I was on my blackberry walking around the area searching for the imaginary Deacy signs.
Mrs. Deacy has not done a thing to win a single one of our votes. (other then perhaps hiring “rabbi” Hirsh.
MODERATORS NOTE: Kindly resubmit your comment without the yelling, and the unnecessary foul language.
Really? Which 3, Ferd? I’m going to give them a call myself…
Amazing how people can blatantly lie. There ARE Deacy signs all over the place. And there is reportedly some video footage of the Goldfeder supporters tearing them down during the night.
Doesn’t surprise me at all.
#29 just call any three of them, and record it for us, send it to YWN to publish. That should be interesting.
I’ll bet that 3 out of 3 will refuse to do it.
moderator – yell I did – because of the terrible things being said by “rabbi” hirsh and his ilk.
but foul language?? what foul language??
Yelly, I’d like to call the 3 that were “shocked” to hear about this video. Quite amazing that he got a hold of all 3 of them in less than 15 minutes, considering every one of them is incredibly busy with REAL Harbotzas Torah during the day NOT passing time trying to hurt fellow Jews under the guise of “preventing Chillul Hashem”. What you are doing is 1000 x worse, even if Phil came right out and said he supported same-gender marriage.
To Goldfeder and anyone who supports him
Know what I think of you after watching this video?
My screename.
Take care. Hope you lose. You are a walking Chillul Hashem.
so please explain to me, a catholic who lives in a gated community that doesn’t allow Jews to live there & who made absolutely NO effort to reach out to our community will be a better representative of the Jewish community than a frum Yid, amazing!!
Just drove up and down Far Rockaway NOT ONE Deacy sign.
#30– you lie
Rockafey give me one address
can someone explain why it would be a kiddush H to vote for an oved avodah zara?
Just FYI to everyone on this forum.
Two of the MAIN rabbonim who have publicly been endorsing Phil, are now furious, in their words appalled at what they’ve seen, and will not even be voting before the polls close. They feel completely humiliated on behalf of the entire kehila.
What a shame.
35 it is not true that Jews are not allowed to live in Breezy Point, as a matter of fact the chairman of the HOA is a Jew (amazing what you can learn in two minutes of Googling). The real issue is not where Darcy lives or even how Goldfedder would have voted on gay marriage. The real issue is was Goldfedder dishonest in making the statement he made at the debate when he repeatedly told Frum people in Far Rock that he was against the bill?
#39 mr Hockercity Name them!
This discussion illustrates a VERY serious deficiency in the frum community.
Is it a Chillul Hashem to vote to allow state offices to be open on Shabbat? Or to allow those who wish (presumably outside the frum community) to do all manner of things that a member of the community would not do?
In the same way that Jews are free to practice as each individual chooses, the American system presupposes that each person doesn’t presume to impose his or her views on society at large. There are, of course, exceptions. By general consent, all of society agrees to live by the “Noachide Laws.” So if we don’t ask the general society to observe Shabbat, why is any other of “our” mitzvot more important?
But even more important, how can any Jew, frum or not, vote for a person who thinks that it’s ok to have people sleeping in Penn Station?