Is it the Journalists? Or is it Us?

Illustration from VIN

The media delivers the news by gleefully describing the individuals involved based on their religious affiliation or in the context of their geographical location. This is unacceptable… 

(T)he Wall Street Journal informed us in its very first sentence that the Mayor is facing questions about investigations “that involve supporters in the Orthodox Jewish community.”  Scroll down another few paragraphs and again, it repeats that the investigations involve “members of the Orthodox Jewish community.” 

We are living in an age of political correctness, for better or for worse… Yet for some reason, when it comes to the Orthodox Jewish community, no one feels obligated to even pretend to play by these rules.  Instead, they are delighted to besmirch an entire community just because a lone businessman is in the headlines or is accused of an alleged misdeed.  Suddenly, he is identified by his religion. 

(W)ouldn’t it be wonderful if people could say that a business venture was absolutely proper because Orthodox Jews are running it? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the surest way to attest to the trustworthiness of a business was to say that it was operated by Orthodox Jews? 

Why (asked Rabbi Angel) do we laugh at the assumption that Orthodox Jewish sponsorship guarantees the trustworthiness and honesty of a business venture? 

Maimonides rejected the notion that Jews are ontologically different from and superior to non-Jews. The Rambam maintains the classic Jewish teachings that stress the common humanity of all people.

I think… it is fair to state that “moderate” levels of dehumanization exist within the Orthodox community. This spiritual infection enables a shomer Shabbat to engage in criminal activity against “the other,” on the assumption that “the other” does not deserve better. Who are “the others?” They might be non-observant or less-observant Jews.

If rabbis and teachers are conveying a religious worldview that posits the innate superiority of Jewish souls—and the innate superiority of religiously observant souls—then it is not a long step to feeling disdain for “the other.” And it is not a long step to coming to justify oneself for improper dealings with “the other.”

The day will hopefully arrive when the reputation of Orthodox Jewry will be so spectacularly honest, that everyone will point to Orthodox Jews as the best models of business ethics, trustworthiness and dignified behavior. But that day will not be arriving soon unless we all do some serious soul-searching about our attitudes toward ourselves and toward others.