Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., May 12, 2008 Iyyar 7, 5768 | | Israel Time: 12:31 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Last update - 02:32 03/10/2007 Rabbi laments American Jews' preoccupation with liberalism By Shmuel Rosner ,Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Yale, New Haven, U.S. Jews  Rabbi Daniel Greer's white beard moves slightly as he shakes his head, pondering why he is always surrounded by a self-created state of disquiet. "My tendency is to do what needs doing," Greer says. The rabbi, so it seems, always thinks "something is to be done" and is therefore constantly endeavoring, sometimes stirring up controversy. Greer is a man of contradictions, living on the border between withdrawal and involvement, between enlightenment and separatism, between assimilation and tribalism. It is a very American model - even if extreme - of orthodoxy: assertive, assured, even arrogant. "In the battle over the soul of American Jewry" writes Samuel Freedman in his book Jew Vs. Jew, in which he devoted a lengthy chapter to Greer: "The Orthodox model is that which won." Greer would certainly agree. Advertisement "There is no other country in the world that makes Jewish life possible like the United States," he says. Some of its institutions he will fight against for the right to be different - occasionally angering the surrounding society - but his main strength lies in angering other Jews, whose community organizations and institutions he dismisses with a facial expression of revulsion. "They kept silent when Jews were murdered in Germany," "the Jewish organizations are no longer Jewish. All the Jewish Federation people married non-Jews,and if they didn't, then their children did." Neighborhood. Involvement We need the guns "so they'll understand that we're serious," Eliezer Greer, one of Rabbi Greer's sons, says. He is dressed in a black T-shirt with a white square in the middle emblazoned with the slogan: Edgewood Park Defense Patrol. Twice a week he dons it over his ritual fringes and white dress shirt and takes to the streets of this New Haven neighborhood, for a three- to four-hour shift. Local police concede that crime is down in the neighborhood, but that's not enough for Eliezer. He wants the police chief, Francisco Ortiz, gone. He's certain the mayor will get rid of him, because he simply won't have a choice. "I am part of the community, part of the neighborhood," the rabbi says. This neighborhood - a mixture of Jews and Christians, whites and blacks, educated and ignorant, workers and unemployed - is now his project. As harassment and crime increased - and after his son, Dov, returned home one day bruised from an encounter with street thugs - the rabbi acted at once: The civil defense guard he formed works to prevent crime and the campaign he launched is aimed at ousting the police chief, whom they term "lazy." The brief public furor over the neighborhood patrol had two focal points: Black leaders were worried about harassment of blacks, and civil rights advocates objected to the patrol's bearing firearms. Greer appeased the first group and persuaded them he had the neighborhood's interest at heart. The others he ignored - what's he got to do with those liberals? He does not neglect to mention that many of them are Jews, like David Warren of the Anti-Defamation League in Connecticut, who took issue with the group "that is trying to enforce the law itself." Greer always spots the Jews among those standing in his way. The rabbi's involvement in this neighborhood neither begins nor ends with the civil patrol. A non-profit organization he established buys run-down houses, renovates and rents them to suitable tenants - not necessarily Jews. The homes are painted a uniform color, trees are planted, new kitchens installed. In the yard of one such house an old well pump was restored to working order. There are already dozens of houses like this located within walking distance from the yeshiva. The neighborhood face-lift is changing things for the better. It's hard not to appreciate this enterprise, even in view of the controversial personality behind it. But let no one dare call it "tikkun olam," Greer says, using the Talmudic term for repairing or perfecting the world, a phrase that has become the mantra of the more liberal Jewish movements in American. "It's an Orwellian term, 'New Speak,'" he seethes, offended, or pretending to be so. "Tikkun olam is the way of people who call themselves Jews to conceal the fact that they have no Jewish content left." University. Separatism Ten years have passed since the so-called Yale Five incident. A real classic case, reflects attorney Nathan Lewin out loud in his Washington office. Jews against Jews. On one side, Greer's Jews: His daughter Bat-Sheva and four of her friends, students New Haven's prestigious Yale University, who demanded the institution exempt them from living in the dorms. On the other, Yale Jews and their supporters: Dean of Student Affairs Betty Trachtenberg and the heads of most Jewish groups in the U.S. Requiring Ultra-Orthodox Jewish students live in mixed dorms infringed one's religious rights upheld by the constitution, Lewin argued in court. The story of the five received lots of publicity, but within the Jewish community aroused ill feeling. "It's a gross error," said the head of a Ultra-Orthodox group. Observant Jews who lived in the dorms were petrified by the lawsuit's implications on them. "It's not always easy to live here and maintain a modest lifestyle," they said: "but that's the price of living in the modern world." Grir lives on this borderline, between the "modern world" and the Jewish camp. He too went to Princeton, and opened the first kosher kitchen at the university. Even then, he was someone who "did what he had to do." They were different times: less Jews studied at the university, and there was less understanding of their needs. Nevertheless, Greer believes it was easier then. Today's generation's permissiveness makes life as an observant Jew in their midst even more unbearable, he believes. "Parents don't understand what goes on in the dorms," he states and hopes his story aroused awareness and caused some to shun universities that do not offer alternative housing arrangements. The lawsuit was thrown out of court. As a private university, Yale is allowed to impose such requirements, a judge ruled. Those unhappy with the arrangement shouldn't enroll. After having four children graduate from Yale, Greer's fifth son went to Brown University. Community. Aggression Here is a question whose answer is the key to understanding the five's lawsuit: Is the demand that a student live in mixed dorms akin to having to take an exam on the Sabbath? Greer answers in the affirmative without hesitating; it shall not pass. Thus, the private university argument seems to him as absurd today as it did at the time. Can they also keep black students out because they are a private university? His lawyer, Lewin, opted for a more cautious description, attributing the equation to others: "some students felt it was like asking them to take an exam on the Sabbath." That is to say, he himself is less certain, even if he believes the students deserved to be exempt. "There are many ultra-Orthodox Jews who studied at Yale, and they were no less observant than Greer," said one student. The black and white world of Greer is sometimes hard to swallow even for those supposedly on his side. There are rabbis and Orthodox leaders who believe to this day that a compromise could have been reached, but that Greer did not seek it. But he disagrees. At too many institutions "freedom of speech is a flag waved only when it suits their position," he concludes. For this reason, Greer is no fan of elite universities, and even less so of the Jewish community's institutions. In the U.S. of all countries, where one can be Jewish and proud, they chose not to be "too Jewish," he says. In any event, Greer says, "the U.S. has two Jewish communities." One is "dwindling," until it disappears. "Liberals," he calls them, and coming from him it isn't praise. He says they "aren't serious" and are therefore "assimilated." Greer is acerbic, an extreme example of this mindset, but not the only one among the Orthodox to view with a degree of scorn and arrogance the direction in which the other streams of Judaism are headed. In opposition to them he places the model of the Orthodox community, varied and splintered though it be, which shares a "common interest," he believes. Greer thinks this is all that will remain of the huge American-Jewish community. "They're trembling," Greer says of the other streams, "frightened by the start-up gang that's grabbing a more central place." Besides, he adds, "their grandchildren won't care if they marry a Catholic or a Navajo," so there's no call to take their sensibilities or opinions into account. Are the Orthodox in the U.S. winning? In the 1970s, the Modern-Orthodox Jews of America began to stand out. They became more assertive, more sure of themselves and their identity. The most prominent symbol of American modern orthodoxy, Senator Joseph Lieberman, regularly attends services at a synagogue several blocks from Greer's yeshiva. Lieberman was nearly elected U.S. vice president in 2000. U.S. President George W. Bush recently nominated an Orthodox Jew to serve as the next U.S. Attorney General. Here is proof that there are no longer any obstacles barring Jews from getting to the top, even if they are relatively observant. In every parameter, the Orthodox are the Jews whose Judaism is more important to them; they are those that succeed in preventing intermarriage almost completely; they are those whose education system ensures "continuity" and "involvement". A recent study examined young Jews' receding emotional ties to Israel. The study did not include the Orthodox Jews, for they obviously identify with Israel a lot more, to a point where it becomes a real problem - the brightest minds desert the community when they immigrate to Israel. Anyone who attended the demonstrations in New York against the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad encountered a high concentration of religious Jews. It may be impolite to say this, but maybe they really do care more. "The orthodoxy stood out as the greatest success story of American Jewry in the second half of the twentieth century," historian Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University said in an interview with "Sh'ma" magazine. This sort of success is accompanied by a certain amount of arrogance - the kind that is embodied, in an extreme way, by Daniel Greer. But Sarna stresses that "history warns us against earlier claims to this kind of victory." In the previous chapter, the increase in the number of Jews in Boston was recorded perhaps as a direct result of intermarriage. Last year, America's Jews were astounded to find that there were many more of them than they had previously thought - up to seven million, according to the most generous estimates - with the highest increase manifesting itself among Liberal Jews. These kinds of surprises, and probably other kinds as well, will leave the question of an "orthodox victory" unanswered for the time being. More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   A top priority Barack Obama: We will keep Israel's security a priority. Tale of a key Cartoon film on Nakba describes Jews as 'enemies of homeland'.   1.   Aliyah Solution and The Smugness Of Rabbi Greer 20:46  |  Yoram 26/09/07   2.   He Laments and Others Do Not? 21:01  |  ARTH 26/09/07   3.   Rosner: at least get your spelling right 21:39  |  bob 26/09/07   4.   yasher koach Rabbi 21:52  |  Lanthis 26/09/07   5.   Hebrew language is an obstacle 22:28  |  Hirsh Ostropoler 26/09/07   6.   liberalism 22:30  |  Shmuelshachor 26/09/07   7.   scary - but natural extension of zionism 22:40  |  Kevin 26/09/07   8.   Rabbi laments American Jews 23:17  |  Sol 26/09/07   9.   This is nothing new or exciting 23:20  |  SA 26/09/07   10.   left leaning Jews are not tolerant 23:45  |  Zody 26/09/07   11.   language 23:48  |  Shmuelshachor 26/09/07   12.   #7 Kevin 23:53  |  * BEN JABO 26/09/07   13.   re: Kevin 00:08  |  Efox 27/09/07   14.   Jewish Conservatives 01:11  |  natan 27/09/07   15.   re 13 about the wasteland.... 01:26  |  jules 27/09/07   16.   When is judaism going to wake up to the 20th century 01:54  |  Tim 27/09/07   17.   Liberal Jews should ditch Greer 01:55  |  Liberal Jew 27/09/07   18.   Liberalism is a Mental Disorder. And most Americans Jews have it. 02:44  |  Gary A, MD. 27/09/07   19.   The Past Is A Foreign Country 03:03  |  Daniel Abrams 27/09/07   20.   Conservatism is a Mental Disorder. 03:35  |  George S, MD 27/09/07   21.   Why does being a nut make you newsworthy? 04:07  |  MC 27/09/07   22.   To #20 Prescribe yourself some pills - LGF is the cure! 04:11  |  Roni 27/09/07   23.   Exclusion 04:24  |  Jim 27/09/07   24.   American Jews` Preoccupation wtih Liberalism 04:25  |  Chana W 27/09/07   25.   3 cheers for Jewish racism! 05:04  |  peacelover 27/09/07   26.   Amen Rabbi,inter marriage is killing us. Judaisim 05:08  |  Steve-NYC 27/09/07   27.   The Wages of Liberalism 05:10  |  Frank Arouet 27/09/07   28.   Liberals lament Rabbi`s preoccupation with racism 05:14  |  LaCryma Mundi 27/09/07   29.   # 24 Chana W 05:15  |  Jim 27/09/07   30.   Tim we Jews are the worlds most successful minority. 05:15  |  Steve-NYC 27/09/07   31.   He is just a fascist capitalist. He has nothing 05:47  |  L A 27/09/07   32.   steve-nyc.... 06:10  |  maria 27/09/07   33.   Mayor Destefano should be in JAIL 06:29  |  Jonathan 27/09/07   34.   Rabbi laments 06:39  |  Carolyn 27/09/07   35.   It`s maternal 07:27  |  Jake Barker 27/09/07   36.   #1 Yoram is right 07:51  |  Choni Davidowitz 27/09/07   37.   Rabbi outrage 07:55  |  Daniel Donaly 27/09/07   38.   I`m confused 07:58  |  Jeff Levine 27/09/07   39.   gun toting rabbis, what would yeshua say? 08:53  |  sean 27/09/07   40.   Why is he so insistent on sending his kid to Yale? 10:13  |  Abner Shnuzel 27/09/07   41.   from the perspective of a former New Havenite 10:59  |  yorkles 27/09/07   42.   TO SURVIVE,OR NOT.....THAT`S THE QUESTION. 11:07  |  H.Brauner 27/09/07   43.   re #20 George S, MD `Conservatism is a mental disorder` 11:30  |  Colin Wright 27/09/07   44.   I dont agree 11:53  |  Peter 27/09/07   45.   Holding Jews Back 12:59  |  JKR 27/09/07   46.   The American Schism 13:23  |  Mark Lincoln 27/09/07   47.   Do they not yet see...The judgment they use is used upon them? 13:58  |  Equal Measure 27/09/07   48.   Be Liberal if you wish, but know you won`t be Jewish long 14:13  |  ZISD 27/09/07   49.   The rabbi is right 14:54  |  dan 27/09/07   50.   ZISD, you`re just upset because SOME of your brothers understand. 15:22  |  SearchThyself 27/09/07   51.   Repent; Surrender "Religious Authority" to God Himself. 15:38  |  Be an example 27/09/07   52.   The choice is Orthodoxy or aliyah 15:45  |  Yonatan 27/09/07   53.   Yale Housing 16:03  |  Mark 27/09/07   54.   #30 Successful Tim 16:18  |  Advocate4Liberty 27/09/07   55.   Don`t be afraid to post my prior post-All have been found guilty 17:43  |  Search Thyself 27/09/07   56.   Yes, Maria and Salk, Einstein, Freud, Oppeheimer ,Marcel Marceau 17:55  |  Steve-NYC 27/09/07   57.   Liberals=so open minded the brains fell out 19:49  |  Josephine 27/09/07   58.   Tim#16 and ninteenth century jargon 19:52  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   59.   Liberal jew; you are a dying breed. 19:54  |  Alexa 27/09/07   60.   Daniel And the past: you do not know your own 19:58  |  Another Jew 27/09/07   61.   Daniel Facts and the past. 20:01  |  Just A jew 27/09/07   62.   Dr George and Open Brain Syndrome 20:04  |  Joe Jew 27/09/07   63.   Chana W is the proof 20:11  |  Alexa 27/09/07   64.   LA thinking of yerida? 20:13  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   65.   Jake Barker dont bark up wrong tree 20:15  |  burning jew 27/09/07   66.   Choni Davidowitz, Talk to Rav T`s own family 20:19  |  Another hareidiJew 27/09/07   67.   DDonaly and missing the point. 20:21  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   68.   Jeff the confused: you are 20:22  |  A jew 27/09/07   69.   Sean is . who is talking about a G-d nailed to the wall? 20:23  |  Alexa 27/09/07   70.   Abner SH..... 20:25  |  Joanna 27/09/07   71.   JKR and recycled propaganda from 200 years ago 20:29  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   72.   Mark Lincoln - represents the insane 20:31  |  Another Jew 27/09/07   73.   Serch thyself, you have been searched! 20:35  |  Just A jew 27/09/07   74.   Yonatan , both are the reality, not just one. 20:39  |  Another Jew 27/09/07   75.   Mark , you prove what you intend to disprove 20:42  |  A jew 27/09/07   76.   Mark from New Canaan 20:45  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   77.   Shmuel Shachor and brainwashing 20:49  |  Alex. 27/09/07   78.   Sol sorry but liberalism is costing us anothe 6 million 20:52  |  Jewboy 27/09/07   79.   #11 lIndo-European anguage and Hebrew 02:31  |  hala 29/09/07   80.   linguistics and biases 10:01  |  Jewboy 30/09/07   81.   ANOTHER JDL? 21:59  |  Arik Silverman 30/09/07   82.   Arik and the JDL: only on the pages of the press. 11:24  |  Alex Levy 01/10/07   83.   What`s the point of being Jewish if you`re Republican? 20:43  |  Amir Flesher 01/02/08   84.   Divisiveness and Ill-Will 11:09  |  Proverbs 12/05/08

Read & React Israel on alert despite downplaying fears of war with Hezbollah Responses: 43 Olmert probe focuses on his time as trade minister Responses: 14 Akiva Eldar: If Bush was really Israel's friend, he'd stay home Responses: 14 Haaretz TV: Religious homosexuals contend with self-hatred and Haredi condemnation Responses: 10 Rosner's Domain What Does It Mean To Be "Pro-Israel"? Malley will not advise Obama (WTR) Poll: What happend in Lebanon? Obama and the Jews: is 61% enough? Who's pushing the US to war with Iran? (WTR) More Headlines 12:24 Egypt intel chief has 'high expectations' for Gaza truce 10:42 Olmert probe focuses on his time as trade minister 09:20 In Talansky case, Olmert's bonds with cronies beginning to crack 11:25 ANALYSIS / Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanon Army 02:50 Lieberman: I'd join Netanyahu gov't if I received defense post 12:29 13 heads of state, 3,500 guests - and one Shimon Peres 11:38 Irena Sendler, who saved 2,500 Jews from Holocaust, dies at 98 10:53 J'lem writers conference offers breather from political turmoil 09:46 Qassam hits Ashkelon school zone just before children arrive 10:45 Palestinian phone calls to Saudi Arabia ­via Israel and Jordan 07:12 Avram Grant's plan: Settling the score in Russia 10:56 Despite construction freeze, winery rises near W. Bank outpost Previous Editions Select Day 11 may 09 may 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may 04 may 02 may 01 may 30 apr 29 apr 28 apr

Special Offers Advertisement Dead Sea Products Buy Dead Sea mineral skin care and beauty products. Coupon code Haaretz for 10% off. Together Celebrating Israel's 60th The Jewish Agency and You - together making history Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ FAREWELL ISRAEL New Film The Coming War for Islamic Revival - View Movie Trailer The interest rates haven't changed But your profits will! Learn Hebrew online with Israel's best teachers Sign up for a trial lesson today Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved