What happened to Choshem Mishpat?!

Sometimes I wonder whether some religious Jews (obviously not the majority) consider mitzvot bein adam lechavero to be helpful suggestions rather than commandments. Such people make me shake my head in wonder at how one could learn Torah, and forget basics like "Lo Tignov" and "Lo Tonu Ish et Re'ehu".

Allow me to start from the beginning: My Obiter Dicta posted about a tefilin store in Meah Shearim that sells "cheap" tefilin in more ways than one - including barely kosher parshiyot. This story itself was bad enough, but it turns out it was only the warm-up for the clincher. In the comments on this post, Rabbi Mordechai Scher of Santa Fe described a reality of endemic fraud among many of the stores in that area.

Apparently, at one of the places, they had no problem directing fluent Hebrew and Yiddish speakers to average mezuzot. "Tourists" on the other hand (i.e. people who don't speak Hebrew/or Yiddish fluently), were shown barely kosher mezuzot at the same or higher prices?! To add insult to injury, apparently there is a phenomenon of people stealing other people's tefillin and re-selling them!!!!!!! God only knows what else goes on?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!!?!?!

We're not talking about a case of the rule of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware and check). This isn't even an issue of the attitude towards medinat yisra'el (i.e. paying taxes). These are clear cut, unequivocal examples of theft and fraud. The fact that Rabbi Scher was told that he would be risking his life if he publicized the issue is simply jaw-dropping. Imagine, a frum God-fearing Jew publicizing about Torah violations risks being killed by other God-fearing Jews for publicizing the fact.

Forgive my french, but....WTF?!

Houston, we have a BIG problem (Racism against Arabs)

I'm sure by now you've all heard of the scumbag known as Yaacov Teitel on the news. He who murdered two Arabs and attempted murder on several occassions has been caught. Good riddance, you SOB, I hope you rot. Many a representative of the DL community has rightly disavowed this guy, though some haven't.

In any event, it is not of him I wish to speak. There is an elephant in the room in our community which we have been ignoring for far too long: racism, more specifically racism against Arabs. Now, before you all gang up on me, I am in NO WAY saying we created this guy. Every society has its fringes - the Charedim have their Neturei Karta, the secular their anarchists and so on. We do not possess, nor do we wish to posess, the kind of social policing capabilites that would allow us to "handle" such things in house. We are a big tent group, and that tent unfortunately has its share of uninvited guests who won't leave.

So why do I bring this up? Because for too long we have allowed covertly and overtly racist ideas about Arabs to infiltrate much of our society. The line between considering one to be an enemy and considering that enemy to be subhuman is a fine one, and far too many in our circles have crossed it. Terms like "Arabush", "Aravim Masrichim (dirty Arabs)" are far too common in daily discourse. I was horrified when my younger siblings told me of open Arab hatred and racist attitudes in their schools (outside of the classroom, mind you).

Now, I am not and probably never will be a member of the "let's all just be friends" humanist lovy-dovey croud. I know full well that the overwhelming majority of Arabs wish the state of Israel would cease to exist. So I am not one to advocate parents teaching kids with fatuous, naive rhetoric about "Kavod ha'adam" and the importance of unconditionally loving the Other. Such teachings will only convince the convinced and will not be taken seriously by those of us who live on Planet Earth. I would like to suggest, instead, that we learn that Arabs are just regular people with whom we have a serious fight. They too have to pay the bills and raise families. Just because we are enemies doesn't mean we can't have mutual respect.

Ah, but how can one do that with those who send suicide bombers and spew the most hateful rhetoric about us? To this I reply, I'm not asking that you love them, just act correctly and politely. Say Hi when you pass them on the street. Don't jeer at or assault them. Maybe wish them the appropriate Chag Sameach when Ramadan or Eid El-Pitr comes round. Maybe, especially in the case of Israeli Arabs, hire some for a job you need. Show that you're capable of not stooping to the level of base hatred shown on Palestinian TV.

Small gestures like this can help calm tensions and let adults and children learn to treat Arabs as something other than "Arabushim" you pass on the highway. Best of all, they don't require selling the proverbial store. There is no need to give up your belief in the rightness of our cause, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum.

The tolerance of racist attitudes in our community has got to stop - NOW. No ifs, no ands and no buts. No more turning a blind eye to this stuff. Racism needs to become a complete, unbreakable taboo at least on the level of Chilul Shabbat. For our own sake if nothing else, we need to be mekayem the Mitzva of Ubiarta Hara Mikirbecha (roughly: and you shall remove the Evil form your midst).

Musings of a Principled Centrist

• The true centrist learns from, and fights with, both the Right and the Left in equal measure.
• The true centrist does not see his position as a wimpy cop-out compromise, but a principled merging of the good of all positions, plus a heavy dose of reality.
• The true centrist is a lousy debater, because he can not talk in easy-to-understand sound bites.
• The true centrist will be genuinely conflicted when faced with dillemas. He will recognize that often the "right" choice is really just the lesser of two evils.
• The true centrist is a puzzle to idealogues of all stripes. He wouldn't have it any other way.