They will say that my condemnation of it is just more of the same. Just substitute word ‘Jew’ for ‘Chasid. I will also be accused of spreading Lashon Hara about some very fine Frum Jews with Torah true values - family men with wonderful children just like yours and mine.
For all of you ‘defenders of the faith (of these Chasidim)’ out there – save your breath. I’ve heard it all before. Their actions speak a lot louder than your words.
Once again we have the spectacle in major media of the most Orthodox looking of Jews being arrested for government fraud. From NBC:
Seven Monsey and Kiryas Joel residents - including a rabbi - were arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged $14 million dollar rip-off of a federal school technology funding program, federal prosecutors said. The FBI arrested the seven for allegedly stealing money meant to help underprivileged children.
Prosecutors said the suspects lied to claim they were serving as independent consultants and vendors to help obtain and provide telecommunication services to private religious school students across Rockland County. Federal dollars would come from the federal E-Rate program which is funded by the FCC. But investigators said the services were never provided with the seven allegedly stealing much of the money from 2010-2016.
"This indictment is important not only because fraudsters should be held to account for their crimes, but also because the next generation of students should have access to telecommunication services, internet access, and related equipment, irrespective of their means and in spite of the fact that people like the defendants seek to line their own pockets at the expense of underprivileged children,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
(Two of those arrested – one of which is a rabbi) are accused of helping to run the criminal ring. (The rabbi) who work at a religious school in Rockland allegedly used his school to try to obtain over $1 million in funds – some which was then allegedly shared among members of the ring or used for purposes not included in the E-rate program.
"The suspects in this investigation allegedly used funding from a program designed to give underprivileged schools internet access to pad their own bank accounts," said William Sweeney, FBI assistant director in charge. "To add insult to injury, school officials, who see the day-to-day struggle to even find money for pencils and paper, were allegedly involved in the scheme."
The FBI said the scam was especially brazen because the suspects requested technology funding for Hasidic religious schools where students are often banned from using the Internet, computers and any other kind of technology.
That it’s actual purpose was to provide online access to children of families could not otherwise afford it is nowhere near as important as using it for their own purposes. Even if ethics are ignored (which of course they in no way should be) it appears that no matter how many times something like this has happened it doesn’t help. The 7 men accused took no lessons from those events. They did not alter their behavior.
They apparently just figured that they would ‘outsmart the system’ when others could not. They would take that 14 million dollars under some pretext that it would be used under loosely interpreted federal guidelines – and get away with it. They rationalized that in any case the money would be put to far better use than it would be in the hands of a ‘drugged out black or Hispanic single mother that probably had her children out of wedlock from - who knows which man she slept with’. I am embarrassed to say how often I have heard this kind of comment in the past from some of their defenders. That kind of thinking suggests an inherent racism that by itself ought to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
Using a legitimate loophole in the law - which I believed was unethical but not necessarily illegal was what I had originally thought was the case when their Yeshivos were raided a couple of years ago. But now enough evidence was found for an indictment that accuses them of outright theft 14 million dollars from the government. Much of it for personal use.
If they are convicted they will be proven to just be a bunch of religious looking crooks. Once again making a huge Chilul HaShem. I hope for their sake and for ours that they are not.
I will reserve final judgement until then. But I am not holding my breath. And it has happened too many times for this to be a rare exception.
Just to be clear, I know many - perhaps even most Chasidim from these cloistered societies do not think this way. They are both honest and ethical. And just as appalled as any decent human being would be. But I have heard it too often to think it isn’t a pervasive attitude in those circles.
I have mentioned many times why I believe this community has this attitude. Briefly - I believe it stems from a negative view of all ‘Goyim’ brought over from Europe by their ancestors maintained and perpetuated by their offspring. Experiences their ancestors had that do not happen here. Their isolationist lifestyle prevents them form getting a true picture of what the vast majority of non Jews are really like. Most non Jews here are nothing like those in Europe responsible for the pogroms their ancestors experienced.
To the extent that the majority of this community has any contact at all with the outside world is only out of necessity. They might even have cordial relationships with some. But in their hearts they are taught to hate Goyim. (I actually heard a recording of a Chasidic Rebbe urging the Jewish people to hate Goyim!)
How can that not result in an attitude that we have a right to rip them off whenever we can get away with it. When they get caught, they cry ‘foul’ and ‘antisemtiesm’ which of course stems from their perception that they hate us anyway.
Besides - they ‘need’ the money to support their large families. Which is so common since their views about the permissibly for birth control are the most stringent in all of Orthodoxy. 10 children or more per family is very typical. As is the need to support them with government financial aid.
Yeah… I know. It sounds almost antisemitic. But it is no less true. A people whose values require them to be ignorant of their non Jewish neighbors. Values that devalue secular studies that would help them get the kind of jobs that would better support their families. Values that maximize family size. Values that hold that Goyim hate us anyway so it’s OK to rip them off - if you don’t get caught. And then cry foul when they do.
I would love nothing better than to extol the virtues of this community. Of which there are many. But when to comes to the massive Chilul HaShem that I believe their lifestyle choices have in most part generated, all that ‘holiness’ is lost.
I feel bad for those among these Chasidim that are honest and ethical. And are just as upset about this as I am. They do not deserve to be treated as guilty by association. That needs to be mentioned. I feel bad that because this kind of thing happens so often, they will be increasingly be painted with broad brushstrokes. But it is equally important for responsible Orthodox Jews to call out bad behavior among our own every time it happens, condemn it, and to label it the Chilul HaShem that it really is.
If someone desires to call me an anitisemite because of this, they have that right. But it is desire derived of firmly sticking their heads into a hole in the ground.