A Letter from Rabbi Aharon Feldman shlita Rosh Yeshiva Of Yeshivas Ner Yisrael Baltimore Dated February 16, 2020
In reply to your question regarding voting in the World Zionist Organization election:
My opinion is that a jew is forbidden to declare that he is a member, or ascribes to a program, of an organization whose platform fails to recognize that the Jewish nation is a nation which received the Torah at mount Sinai. Such a deceleration is a chilul Hashem and may not be made no matter what material or spiritual benefits will thereby accrue.
With deep respect
Aharon Feldman
Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky says you could vote
ReplyDeletePlease procure a letter from R' Shmuel to that effect. Until then we don't have to believe it. Also possible that he told one individual for himdelf something to that effect and it is not applicable to most people. These things happen all the time, where people blow things out of porpotion and base things on hersay.
DeleteShas is a member of the WZO. Rav Ovadya, at least, didn't think it was a chillul hashem.
ReplyDeletehttps://vosizneias.com/2020/02/29/bombshell-rabbi-shmuel-kamenetsky-releases-video-to-vote-in-wzo-rabbi-feldman-blasts-rabbi-brudny/
DeleteThe gedolei hador from previous generations all ruled you are not allowed to join the wzo it was founded by Theodore Herzl
ReplyDeleteזצ״ל
DeleteAs someone who already voted I don't get this psak
ReplyDeleteVoting doesn't require any declaration of anything other than being Jewish and a non-citizen of Israel. There is nothing about joining the WZO .
I also greatly doubt that the WZO takes an official position that fails to recognize that the Jewish nation is a nation which received the Torah at mount Sinai.
They probably claim to have no position on religion at all
When you signed up for it you affirmed to the mission
DeleteNo, you affirm to the centrality of Israel to your ideals.
DeleteAll (maybe even Bernie) subscribe to that.
it has the word "Zionism" in its name
DeleteWith all due respect, why is Hagaon R Feldman’s psak pertinent to anyone other than his constituents
ReplyDeleteHarav Feldman is keeping with the time accepted psak of millennia not to join. There is no psak on the contrary from any moetzes or bais din those who allowed the vote did so as yechidim.
DeleteHow could there possibly be a accepted psak of millennia about an organization that is less than 125 years old?
DeleteWhich moetzes or bais din issued this time accepted psak to begin with?
That is incorrect. Rav Feldman holds, as does Peleg, that voting is permitted an in fact encouraged. They run their own ticket.
DeleteRav Shmuel did in fact say to vote in the WZO. This is a link to the recording where he says so:
https://vosizneias.com/2020/02/26/drama-rabbi-aharon-feldman-and-rabbi-malkiel-kotler-threaten-to-quit-moetzes-over-wzo-controversy/
R Feldman Holds all israeli elections are assur contrary to the psak of Gedolim
ReplyDeleteno he doesn't.
DeleteSince when are Bnie Torah interested in the psak of a Rabbi from a college yeshiva?
ReplyDeleteSince when in Lakewood do we care about the opinion of a Rabbi from a college yeshiva??!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who grew up in very anti Zionist circles that preached how we have to publicly make the point that "they" don't represent us etc. whenever possible let me point out the following.
ReplyDeleteIf the frum community does not vote you can be sure that the Reform and Conservative winners in this election will be saying "You see how we really represent all American Jews. Look at the election no one voted for the orthodox parties. we alone represent American Jews"
You don't have to take my word for it. The reform and conservative parties openly say that they are running for the sake of fighting Torah in Eretz Yisreol.
By not voting you are giving them a very solid opportunity to claim that yes they do "represent" us R'L
When it comes to these types of things you need to reassess the same way initially the old yishuv only spoke Yiddish and now the majority of the oilam hatorah speaks Hebrew. Many gedolim here and in Israel revisited the isssue and felt the original psak does not apply for many obvious reasons but some gedolim feel it still should. It’s really not such a big deal.
ReplyDeletewho reassessed it? do you think the Gedolim of yesteryear did not see this? the biggest giants ruled against joining the wzo the Chazon Ish the Brisker Rav Rav Aharon Kotler and gedolim in Europe.
Deletesee bayos hazman from reb reuven grozovksy where in the tshuva which he's matir voting in the knesset he assers WZO. BTW he was the only one to write atshuva about the knesset. The video of r' shmuel is reffering to knesset elections as was confirmed by members of the moetzes.
ReplyDeleteso far there has been no tshuva by anyone explaining why now is different
BTW rw ahron feldman never retracted vosisneis gave wrong info