Israel Matzav

Neturei Karta creep forces girls' school to admit his sons

Remember this creep?

Well, let me update you on the last six years with Moshe Aryeh Friedman. It turns out that the claim that his wife filed for divorce was false. 

It's also been claimed that he denounced Neturei Karta. Let's just say I have my doubts.

He eventually moved to Antwerp where (assuming that the news reports are correct) he has done something that ought to turn him into a moser (link in Hebrew) in the eyes of the Jewish community (leaving aside for a minute that he defied the ban contained in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 26 against availing oneself of the secular courts against fellow Jews). Moshe Aryeh Friedman filed and won a lawsuit against a private Jewish girls' school in Antwerp forcing them to admit his sons to study there. The school is now facing fines of $2,600 per child per day if it does not comply (Hat Tip: Mrs. Carl).

At the end of 2011, Friedman relocated his wife and seven children from New York to Antwerp, but because of what Friedman calls “revenge” on the part of the Jewish community for his “opinion and good contacts with world leaders”, he has been unable to find a yeshiva which will admit his children. As such, Friedman said he had no choice but to apply for admission for his sons, ages 8 and 11, to the all-girls, Orthodox Jewish Benoth Jerusalem School in Antwerp.

According to a report in the local Belgian paper, Gazet van Anwerpen (http://bit.ly/VblYff), when Benoth Jerusalem denied admission to his sons, Friedman sued citing a recent decision from the Commission on Students’ Rights which held that a child cannot be denied admission to a school on the basis of their gender.

A Belgian judge ruled that because yeshivas are subsidized by the Flemish community, Benoth Jerusalem must admit the boys or face a $2,600 penalty per child for each day the boys are not permitted to attend.

The school board argued that Orthodox Judaism requires the separation of the sexes for educational instruction. Moreover, the board said it is not equipped to educate male students as it does not have male teachers on staff and lacks basic infrastructure such as separate restrooms.

The school board has until next week to appeal the judge’s ruling.

If this story is true, Friedman has assured his and his family's ostracism from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community for life (at least unless and until his children are old enough to denounce him).

For generations, Orthodox Jews have hired private teachers to educate their children at home if they could not find an appropriate school.  That's what Friedman should have done if no school would accept his children. And if he could not find anyone to teach them (because he is probably in cherem - excommunicated - so no one will deal with him) he should teach them himself. If he has to send them to a school, let him either recant and have the cherem released, or let him send them to public schools until he does so.

Second, I mentioned the prohibition in Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 26 against turning to secular courts against fellow Jews (link in Hebrew).

Third, for anyone who believes that all ultra-Orthodox Jews support Neturei Karta, this should convince you otherwise. As I understand it, both the school in Vienna that expelled his children six years ago, and the school in Antwerp are operated by mainstream ultra-Orthodox communities.

And fourth, Friedman should have thought about this before embracing a Jew-hater like Ahmadinejad. Actions have consequences. No, I have zero sympathy for this guy. Look at the picture at the top to see why.

Labels: Haredim, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Neturei Karta

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:47 PM