Tel-Chai Nation

This is a vomit-inducing outrage. A principle at a girls school, apparently a Haredi, subjected a non-Haredi student to shocking demonization because she supports national service:

The principal of a prestigious religious seminary for girls in Ramat Gan was caught on camera by Channel 10 comparing religious Zionism to Nazism in the wake of a public outcry against the suspension of a student who had voiced support for performing national service.

“There are girls in this school who think that being a religious nationalist is okay,” the principal, Binyamin Metzger, is quoted as saying. “Today, we all know the truth, and that it is nothing more than paganism.”

“A person who likes his religion together with nationalism is like Hitler who also liked it, even worse,” he said.

The controversy initially erupted four months ago, when a student enrolled at the school – which has a mixed student population of ultra-Orthodox and traditional (masorti) Jewish girls - was suspended for expressing her support for national service. According to Channel 10, the girl has been at home for the past four months while subject to ostracism orchestrated by the school’s administration.

In a news feature which aired on Monday’s primetime nightly broadcast, Channel 10 showed footage of Metzger calling the young girl who was sent home “human filth.”

According to the report, not only did Metzger expel the student in question, but he also initiated a campaign of incitement against her while using classroom time to appear before students and reinforce his virulent opposition to national service.

“I want to hint to a few girls here in the class not to be like that little loser, that complete zero,” the principle is reported to have told his students. “Try not to go near her.”

The Education Ministry told Channel 10 in response that the student was not expelled from the school, but rather that the student’s father pulled her out of the school. Nonetheless, the ministry plans to summon the principal for a hearing to allow him to clarify his remarks.

The parents were right to remove their child from the girls school, if they did. One that apparently is run by a MALE principle, something to raise eyebrows, IMO. This vile man, who's clearly too scared to look at himself in the mirror, committed a form of psychological child abuse, inciting against a youngster over a thoughtcrime while openly admitting he's a traitor to his country.

Harry Maryles, while he has some questionable takes on "right", does say something worth close attention:

Of course many people will say that this fellow is not mainstream. And that we shouldn’t judge all Charedim by the machinations of an extremist. But I have heard this claim made far too often in far too many cases. If there are so many instances of this kind of rhetoric – and worse actions based on it them - it isn’t the exception. It is one of their norms. Some people keep these views to themselves. And some people may oppose such rhetoric. But some may think they are right… even if the rhetoric is a bit strong.

I keep saying that the vast majority of Charedim are not like this. That most Charedim would never say that religious Zionism is akin to Nazism. And that anyone who says so is not only outside the mainstream but is practically insane - even if they oppose it. I’m sure that’s still true. But there seems to be a core part of that mainstream who believe exactly the same thing this principal does.

Apart from his vile rhetoric this fellow has vilified one of his students in public. The Gemarah compares that to murder. So I don’t care what his Hashkfos are, he ought get fired immediately for that. It is intolerable and unacceptable. How anyone like this can be hired to lead a school is beyond me. Unless he owns the place. Which begs the question, how can any parent send their daughter to a school like this? And yet, they do.

If this guy represents any part of the Charedi mainstream, how can any religious Zionist make peace with people who think they are Nazi-like? How can there ever be a reconciliation between these two religious camps?

While it shouldn't be surprising some Haredis could be so pathetic to send their children to learn under such a vulgarian, it's stupefying how any non-Haredis could be that idiotic. Again, the principle is committing child abuse, and should be charged with a criminal offense plus a lawsuit for defamation. Any self-respecting parent who stands for this revolting man - who no doubt used intimidation and groupthink to silence the students - indoctrinating their children with his trash is risking a serious problem. It is he who should be shunned and he who's committed paganism. In fact, there are times I notice insular Haredis talking about the Torah in a way that doesn't clearly mention God. That's the frightening thing about their MO, that they're abusing the Torah by turning it into something like a bizarre form of paganism, if you can believe that, all without thanking the entity who created its precursors in the 10 Commandments, nor any of the ancient figures in history who put together the Torah to honor God.

Update: The Jerusalem Post also got a letter from an official at a neighboring institution condemning the incident:

The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) – Lev Academic Center wishes to completely distance itself from the remarks made by Rabbi Binyamin Metzger, head of the Lustig Seminary High School, who, according to the online edition of The Jerusalem Post (March 25), was recently shown on television “comparing religious Zionism to Nazism in the wake of a public outcry against the suspension of a student who had voiced support for performing national service.”

Although Campus Lustig, JCT’s affiliate in Ramat Gan, shares the same building and the “Lustig” name, the two institutions are separate entities, ours being an academic institution where haredi and religious-Zionist women study side by side.

A very high percentage of our students participate in national service and we are very proud of them.

Be that as it may, the student in question was still apparently part of the so-called rabbi's seminary, and he should be defrocked for his offensive incitement.

Labels: anti-semitism, haredi corruption, Israel, misogyny, Moonbattery