"Hiding behind the 501(c) status... is as insulting as it is embarrassing." A congregant walks away, accusing clergy of treating antisemitism as a partisan talking point.
I used to love streaming the services from Central Synagogue, until right before October 7, the junior rabbi gave a sermon that the greatest threat to the Jewish People was Chabad. I guess he never heard of sinat chinam. And then during the war, Rabbi Angela gave a sermon apologizing for keeping an Israeli flag on the beemah. While I was not a member I did send in a donation after watching High Holiday services. That was the last time i streamed anything from them.
I stream from the Stephen Wise free Synagogue. At least those rabbis are not afraid to hold their congregation to account for not standing up enough for Israel and the Jewish People. They also make political statements and not just about Trump.
Honestly, I left my own reform synagogue decades prior when my rabbi, the only rabbi in my area that would bar mitzvah my autistic sons, wrote a letter to the congregation telling us all what a wonderful job Hamas was doing ruling Gaza because he saw women without hijabs when he went on a UN sponsored trip. At the time Gilad Shalit was still a prisoner. The letter that I sent was very similar in tone. I thanked the rabbi for bringing my children into the adult Jewish world, but in good conscience I could not send them to him for any advice on any subject. I found his judgement terribly lacking. (of course he wrote me back defending his views. I threw the letter in the garbage.)
I think we all have to note that Jacobs who is the head of the reform Movement was one of the original signatories on the JStreet rabbi committee. He is still a prominent member of JStreet even after speakers called those of us who support AIPAC unAmerican. He appeared at their last convention.
Most of the reform movement is made up of Jews with trembling knees. Their cowardice and inability to hold the DNC to account for their embrace of Jew-hatred is repugnant. Schumer is a shanda as are Shapiro (apparently he blamed Bibi for the Iran war, parrotting antisemites like Tucker), Emanuel, Slotkin, Pritzker and every other Jewish democrat who attacks AIPAC, Israel and aligns against the Jewish people.
How sad. Good for you! כל הכבוד! So many Rabbis in the Reform world have let their " progressiveness" come way before their Judaism and the desire to protect Jews.
I've also streamed the Friday night services which are more like a concert with a Jewish theme the an actual service especially during COVID. I remember being amused by the fellow playing the clarinet through his mask. You can't be too careful!!! Then when the rabbis gave their sermons, I was turned off.
Honestly, I used to really like Rabbi Angela's sermons, until the one where she apologized for having an Israeli flag on the beemah. Rabbi Ari though I could do without.
I wrote this in response to something ridiculous he said years before October 7
Buchdahl signs J Street letters about settler violence, puts her rabbinic title on it and everything, but a guy running for mayor who won't condemn globalizing the intifada, that's where the pulpit goes quiet. Mael the congregant is being polite about it though. The 501(c)(3) thing was never real, the IRS told a federal court in July 2025 they wouldn't enforce the Johnson Amendment against churches talking to their own congregations. Park Avenue said Cuomo out loud and survived fine. I think the letter calls it fear but it's not fear, it's curation, she picks which politics count as moral and which count as political and the line always falls the same way.
The prayer rewrite sticks with me, "leaders of the region" doing a lot of lifting for a sentence that used to say Israel.
I agree that Reform is mostly failing Am Y’Israel, but as one who grew up in a Reform synagogue in the 70s and 80s, I can attest it wasn’t always this way.
If I could have it to do over, I wish my parents would have chosen Conservative or a modern Orthodox, but my mom was more of the German Jew type.
Rabbi Ami Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is closer to the rabbis we had at Temple Emanu-el, where I went.
I actually think American Judaism should drop the classifications and just go with Judaism. The fewer opportunities to divide us, the better.
For the record, I’m now attending a Sephardic Chabad. My brother also attends Chabad. So Reform didn’t used to be the gateway out of Judaism - for some it was the gateway that made us want the next level.
Agreed. My family also went to Reform and later Conservative (sort of like Reform+) during the same time, and it was NEVER like how it is now. There was always a love and reverence toward Israel.
You are so right about Reform being a gateway for some of us. I never thought about it that way. As an adult, I headed toward Modern Orthodox.
Yes, exactly. We sent our tzedakah to plant trees in Israel. We did Israel folk dancing, we sang the songs, and we also studied Judaism, When I was 16, my Sunday School class and all the other Bay Area Reform kids my age, spent the entire summer in Israel.
I can see now that Reform kind of punches a hole out of Judaism, but less so then.
I really think reunification of American Judaism would help, for the future.
Buchdahl was committed to promoting her new book and herself during that time and now. She’s a shameless, self-serving exploiter of everyone and everything she claims to champion and, tragically and unfortunately, represents Reform Judaism in America and even in Israel.
She’s the embodiment of liberal, Democratic hypocrisy disguised as empathy for the stranger she still trumpets herself as representing.
Beneath this I recognize nothing more prominent about her than how long she’s concealed her thinly veiled contempt for both Jews and Israel, exploiting both for personal gain.
Her staff also reflects these characteristics and she surrounds herself with sycophants.
Thank you for sharing the truth! I just wish I knew who you were! Please join us at AZIAS NY (Antizionism is Antisemitism) on FB. We are over 4k like minded individuals fighting Antisemitism in NYC.
What a terrible and pompous letter. (And so loooonnng!) Full of mis truths. Rabbi Angela returned from her sabbatical and gave a sermon about Mamdanii. This following Rabbi Cosgrove’s fear mongering sermon from his wealthy bubble on the Upper East Side, further dividing the Jewish Community, particularly those in their late 20s and 30s - not a Rabbi’s job… oh, and George Floyd was murdered. He didn’t just die. And the author of this letter stated that Floyd was a worthless human being while sermonizing about how good of a jew he himself is. Hmmm. Central has a very long waiting list. They will be just fine without this violent extremist .
The Jewish community has been divided by the reform synagogues that tell their congregations that they don't need to go to synagogue and they don't need to follow any of the Jewish laws. The Jews in their late 20s and 30s you are referring to are not going to pay the thousands in yearly dues to join central because they've been told their whole lives that they don't need to. Im a 20 year old that spent my entire life at Central. 8 years at the LCLJ Hebrew school and nursery school before that. Was bar Mitzvahed in the main sanctuary. My fellow classmates don't know anything about their religion or their culture. Central Synagogue completely s*** the bed on educating the next generations of jews, and now they are catering to the desires of their live stream community rather than their own dues-paying congregation. Im sorry that this article was too long for you to read (I mean are you child, seriously?) but I can attest to the fact that countless Central members agree with him and at this point the entire congregation is made up of people who either loathe the clergy or haven't even stepped foot in the main sanctuary since before the pandemic.
I read the entire letter (not an article) twice. It is a very long, pompous lecture. I am 59 and raised 2 children in a reform synagogue. Each know a lot about Judaism and each has been to Israel for various reasons 3 and 4 times. My in laws were holocaust victims from Nazi Germany who survived. We know a lot. I began watching Central a few years ago with my 90 yo Father in Law who couldn’t leave the house due to his age. Central is where he met his wife so long ago and he was so grateful for the streamed services. The sanctuary is PACKED every single week so whoever they are telling not to go to services isn’t listening. I know many members who are very happy at Central. It seems you think you are better at being Jewish than your peers but your sanctimonious approach only causes more division. Those who loathe the clergy should leave.
ps - my kids 28 and 30 - pay dues at synagogue. So do their friends.
I'm very happy for you and your family. It is impressive that you were able to raise devoted Jews in a reform congregation. Words cannot describe by respect for holocaust survivors such as your in-laws. One of the most formative moments of my Jewish experience was hearing the story of a holocaust survivor (and grandmother of one of my LCLJ classmates) in the Beir Chapel at Central, a sanctuary space that has probably never made it on a live stream.
However, when it comes to the inner-dynamics of Central, you are misguided. You don't recognize that Central's membership is about triple the capacity of the main sanctuary. You don't recognize that the shabbat services have an open door policy and that a large portion of attendees are not congregation members. I have plenty of friends that are happy at Central too (especially in your generation), undoubtedly more than you, but so few of them go to Synagogue or engage with community programs outside of the High Holidays, which the vast majority of members attend at Lincoln Center and not the main sanctuary.
You seem to think that my reply to your comment was an attempt to boast about what you perceive are my thoughts regarding my Jewishness. Perhaps it is that self-involved mindset that caused you to frame your reply as a Me-versus-You anecdotal argument, and feel the need to point out a minor mistake in a 20 year old's diction (my apologies, in the future I will make sure to correctly identify a letter published as an article as a letter and not an article). What you don't understand is this was never about me. It was about explaining my experience growing up in the synagogue that is the subject of the LETTER that we are currently in the comment section of.
What you don't understand is that I love Central with all my heart. It was the greatest pleasure to spend so much of my childhood there. However, and trust me when I say this, it is undeniable that Central failed to inspire its Gen Z members into being devoted Jews. The circumstances of your children are irrelevant to this fact. While I recognize that I may have overgeneralized my claim to include the reform movement as a whole, it is still true about Central. From now on I will stick to what I know, and I hope you do too.
Do you really believe that an appropriate response to an aggrieved group of members (a very large one at that) is to tell them all to leave? Does that genuinely seem like the best course of action? You claim my rhetoric causes more division, but then say something so ridiculous as clergy members with different opinions than you should just leave. Id love for you to explain the logic in that. Rabbi Buchdahl, on CBS Mornings a few months ago, spoke of how synagogue used to be a place for people of differing opinions to come together in harmony, and how she wants to see that return. Do you disagree? Should synagogues instead become more divided and more politicized?
Also, I can't seem to understand why you felt the need to classify Park Avenue as a "wealthy bubble on the Upper East Side" when comparing it to Central. I hope you understand that the Central congregation is just as wealthy, bubble-living, and in many cases Trump-loving, as Park Avenue.
I love your response. Respectful without being condescending. Your opinion matters and I agree with you. Starting out with a comment about a letter vs and article is very condescending and doesn't lead to more dialogue.
Yes. I believe that if congregants “loathe” their clergy (more than disagreeing) they should leave. And I am well aware of the division in All synagogues politically. That’s not what this is about. Rabbi Cosgrove’s sermon about not electing Mamdami was condescending and he said, “the affordability anxious” pointing to the young Jewish community in Brooklyn. He literally divided the community with that line alone. Wether a Rabbi is for or against Mamdami or Trump or anyone else, saying something like that from the pulpit is condescending, and far from the job of a Rabbi. So yes, he magnified his bubble and showed just how un relatable he is to the younger generation who may not be wealthy.
Explain his Hitler salute and his approval of replacement theory, which says that Jews are recruiting immigrants to come to America and replacement Christian white people. And no matter who reported it, he did it.
I suppose only those who are relatively active in Central Synagogue would know that. But I understand why Mael would choose to omit the name of a fellow traveler.
Fair point. I suppose if it were me I might be hesitant to put my children's safety at risk by making my views on these matters public so I will withhold judgement. I am sure the Rabbis and the shul leadership know who wrote it.
There are many Jews living in NYC who may agree with this letter nearly 100% but keep to themselves for fear of risking much less than the security of their kids. By comparison this women is really quite courageous.
As a former member of the Orthodox community, I found this essay profoundly misleading and unnecessarily hostile. Today, much of the Orthodox world is dominated by an uncompromising right-wing political fervor. This ideological shift, which seemed to accelerate during the 2020 pandemic, has severely eroded critical thinking—not just within religious circles, but also across the non-Orthodox streams and broader population as well. MAGA has made tremendous inroads into the minds of those seeking a strongman leader to protect them from whatever imagined boogeyman.
Since synagogues reopened in mid-2020, those who do not subscribe to this "perpetual persecution" narrative—a sentiment that has intensified a thousandfold since the tragedies of October 7—are often marginalized. Those brave enough to dissent are frequently attacked by a "persecuted majority" for refusing to conform. I have immense respect for those who continue to resist this collective loss of objectivity.
Certainly, the Orthodox movement has always been more “conservative” than the Reform movement which takes “Tikkum Olom” as its only Jewish value. Social justice has always been at the forefront of the Reform movement. While the Orthodox remains more true to the traditions and traditional rituals.
However, your assertion of a “bogeyman” (which, frankly, is racist in origin) is untrue. Clearly, the Jew hatred is not some paranoid imaginary narrative, it is now socially acceptable and mainstreamed on the left. It has always been on the right (i.e. Charlottesville) however, more fringed, yet gaining mainstream as Nick Fuentes, Candice Owens and Tucker have achieved that level of celebrity. That notwithstanding, the lefts’ social empathy with the Palestinian movement, Hamas and the “not the West” mentality has infected our education system as an indoctrination. The Teachers’ Union platform is infectious. The “Red/Green Alliance” has taken hold both in Europe, which is in significant and rapid decline because of the mass immigration of Muslims/Islamists, as well as our neighbors to the north. We, as Americans, need to be vigilant which includes pushing back against the Zohran Mamdani, Omar Ilan and Rashida Thalib. And, these are just the beginning of the Islamists who are running and gaining political power. It is only “jihad” in a different form than violence, which is not that far away. For a Jew to NOT condemn “Globalize the Intifada” is a form of self-loathing as if they are a “Good Jew” they’ll be exempt from the persecution that is not all that far away.
So, your disdain for the “Orthodox” which you have left, does not hold water. Your particular vision of a “victim mentality” amongst Jews is fading precisely because we, as a people, now have Israel as a refuge.
The left’s “virtue signaling” so as to not offend their leftist brethren is reprehensible as pointed out so eloquently in the author’s resignation letter. These Progressive Jews don’t even understand that their brethren would destroy them as much as looking at them.
I know plenty of people within the Orthodox community, Chareidi or modern, who are left-wing politically. (I include my wife.) We simply don't make a religion out of our politics.
One other thing. Our rabbis almost never mention other religions or denominations, and mostly stay clear of politics. Their speeches concentrate on how we can be better people and better Jews, and about getting along properly with our Gentile neighbors. (Just to clarify, they are Chareidi, although I suspect the Modern Orthodox rabbis here in Baltimore are the same.)
How interesting that the critique is on the left for insitutional anti semitism rather than the right.. Trump is not a lover of Jews. He was paid by Miriam Adelson to support Israel. He has a love of money.
Tucker Carlson is not a 'leftie". He is hard right and espouses anti Israel and antisemitism. People on the far right have accounts on X and other social media with millions of followers of the hard right stating that jews and Israel are the problem.
This writer has a beef with the democratic party but he is blind to the right who have accepted neo-nazi groups since Trump labeled them "good people".
This is actually provably false. In his first campaign, he was refused help from the pro-Israel donors, yet he proved to be the most pro-Jewish president since Lincoln (maybe since Washington) and the only really pro-Israel president since the founding of the State.
Trump was referring the people defending the statue of Lee, who saved America by ending the war and refusing to go insurgent, not the the anti-semites. He said as much.
We need to stop looking at things through a partisan lens and start applying principles to evaluate those who are expressing and advocating for hateful, eliminationist bigotry and anti-Americanism. These are violations of our universal, moral TABOOS, and we must shame and ostracize the egregious taboo violators out of polite society and out of our mainstream politics, as we did to defeat the KKK. If we don't, their hate will normalize and spiral into violence and anarchy.
That about which you have written is summarized by one’s perception of social justice “trumping” one’s instinct for survival. We have met the enemy and he is us. The irony is that the bigotry against which we have fought as a people now comes from those we have supported. As it is written in the New York Times masthead, “All the news that fits, we print.”.
I used to love streaming the services from Central Synagogue, until right before October 7, the junior rabbi gave a sermon that the greatest threat to the Jewish People was Chabad. I guess he never heard of sinat chinam. And then during the war, Rabbi Angela gave a sermon apologizing for keeping an Israeli flag on the beemah. While I was not a member I did send in a donation after watching High Holiday services. That was the last time i streamed anything from them.
I stream from the Stephen Wise free Synagogue. At least those rabbis are not afraid to hold their congregation to account for not standing up enough for Israel and the Jewish People. They also make political statements and not just about Trump.
Honestly, I left my own reform synagogue decades prior when my rabbi, the only rabbi in my area that would bar mitzvah my autistic sons, wrote a letter to the congregation telling us all what a wonderful job Hamas was doing ruling Gaza because he saw women without hijabs when he went on a UN sponsored trip. At the time Gilad Shalit was still a prisoner. The letter that I sent was very similar in tone. I thanked the rabbi for bringing my children into the adult Jewish world, but in good conscience I could not send them to him for any advice on any subject. I found his judgement terribly lacking. (of course he wrote me back defending his views. I threw the letter in the garbage.)
I think we all have to note that Jacobs who is the head of the reform Movement was one of the original signatories on the JStreet rabbi committee. He is still a prominent member of JStreet even after speakers called those of us who support AIPAC unAmerican. He appeared at their last convention.
Most of the reform movement is made up of Jews with trembling knees. Their cowardice and inability to hold the DNC to account for their embrace of Jew-hatred is repugnant. Schumer is a shanda as are Shapiro (apparently he blamed Bibi for the Iran war, parrotting antisemites like Tucker), Emanuel, Slotkin, Pritzker and every other Jewish democrat who attacks AIPAC, Israel and aligns against the Jewish people.
How sad. Good for you! כל הכבוד! So many Rabbis in the Reform world have let their " progressiveness" come way before their Judaism and the desire to protect Jews.
I've also streamed the Friday night services which are more like a concert with a Jewish theme the an actual service especially during COVID. I remember being amused by the fellow playing the clarinet through his mask. You can't be too careful!!! Then when the rabbis gave their sermons, I was turned off.
Honestly, I used to really like Rabbi Angela's sermons, until the one where she apologized for having an Israeli flag on the beemah. Rabbi Ari though I could do without.
I wrote this in response to something ridiculous he said years before October 7
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/would-you-like-your-20-year-old-self/
Buchdahl signs J Street letters about settler violence, puts her rabbinic title on it and everything, but a guy running for mayor who won't condemn globalizing the intifada, that's where the pulpit goes quiet. Mael the congregant is being polite about it though. The 501(c)(3) thing was never real, the IRS told a federal court in July 2025 they wouldn't enforce the Johnson Amendment against churches talking to their own congregations. Park Avenue said Cuomo out loud and survived fine. I think the letter calls it fear but it's not fear, it's curation, she picks which politics count as moral and which count as political and the line always falls the same way.
The prayer rewrite sticks with me, "leaders of the region" doing a lot of lifting for a sentence that used to say Israel.
Perfect letter by the former Central Synagogue congregant.
The Reform movement’s blind fealty to progressive politics has failed Am Yisrael.
I agree that Reform is mostly failing Am Y’Israel, but as one who grew up in a Reform synagogue in the 70s and 80s, I can attest it wasn’t always this way.
If I could have it to do over, I wish my parents would have chosen Conservative or a modern Orthodox, but my mom was more of the German Jew type.
Rabbi Ami Hirsch of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is closer to the rabbis we had at Temple Emanu-el, where I went.
I actually think American Judaism should drop the classifications and just go with Judaism. The fewer opportunities to divide us, the better.
For the record, I’m now attending a Sephardic Chabad. My brother also attends Chabad. So Reform didn’t used to be the gateway out of Judaism - for some it was the gateway that made us want the next level.
Agreed. My family also went to Reform and later Conservative (sort of like Reform+) during the same time, and it was NEVER like how it is now. There was always a love and reverence toward Israel.
You are so right about Reform being a gateway for some of us. I never thought about it that way. As an adult, I headed toward Modern Orthodox.
Yes, exactly. We sent our tzedakah to plant trees in Israel. We did Israel folk dancing, we sang the songs, and we also studied Judaism, When I was 16, my Sunday School class and all the other Bay Area Reform kids my age, spent the entire summer in Israel.
I can see now that Reform kind of punches a hole out of Judaism, but less so then.
I really think reunification of American Judaism would help, for the future.
Buchdahl was committed to promoting her new book and herself during that time and now. She’s a shameless, self-serving exploiter of everyone and everything she claims to champion and, tragically and unfortunately, represents Reform Judaism in America and even in Israel.
She’s the embodiment of liberal, Democratic hypocrisy disguised as empathy for the stranger she still trumpets herself as representing.
Beneath this I recognize nothing more prominent about her than how long she’s concealed her thinly veiled contempt for both Jews and Israel, exploiting both for personal gain.
Her staff also reflects these characteristics and she surrounds herself with sycophants.
She was on sabbatical as per her contract in order to
Promote her book just as many, many Rabbis have done. You are an angry extremist.
Buchdahl should be fired. She is incompetent. It’s really not complicated. But because she is a woman and Korean they won’t fire her. But they should.
Thank you for sharing the truth! I just wish I knew who you were! Please join us at AZIAS NY (Antizionism is Antisemitism) on FB. We are over 4k like minded individuals fighting Antisemitism in NYC.
What a terrible and pompous letter. (And so loooonnng!) Full of mis truths. Rabbi Angela returned from her sabbatical and gave a sermon about Mamdanii. This following Rabbi Cosgrove’s fear mongering sermon from his wealthy bubble on the Upper East Side, further dividing the Jewish Community, particularly those in their late 20s and 30s - not a Rabbi’s job… oh, and George Floyd was murdered. He didn’t just die. And the author of this letter stated that Floyd was a worthless human being while sermonizing about how good of a jew he himself is. Hmmm. Central has a very long waiting list. They will be just fine without this violent extremist .
The Jewish community has been divided by the reform synagogues that tell their congregations that they don't need to go to synagogue and they don't need to follow any of the Jewish laws. The Jews in their late 20s and 30s you are referring to are not going to pay the thousands in yearly dues to join central because they've been told their whole lives that they don't need to. Im a 20 year old that spent my entire life at Central. 8 years at the LCLJ Hebrew school and nursery school before that. Was bar Mitzvahed in the main sanctuary. My fellow classmates don't know anything about their religion or their culture. Central Synagogue completely s*** the bed on educating the next generations of jews, and now they are catering to the desires of their live stream community rather than their own dues-paying congregation. Im sorry that this article was too long for you to read (I mean are you child, seriously?) but I can attest to the fact that countless Central members agree with him and at this point the entire congregation is made up of people who either loathe the clergy or haven't even stepped foot in the main sanctuary since before the pandemic.
I read the entire letter (not an article) twice. It is a very long, pompous lecture. I am 59 and raised 2 children in a reform synagogue. Each know a lot about Judaism and each has been to Israel for various reasons 3 and 4 times. My in laws were holocaust victims from Nazi Germany who survived. We know a lot. I began watching Central a few years ago with my 90 yo Father in Law who couldn’t leave the house due to his age. Central is where he met his wife so long ago and he was so grateful for the streamed services. The sanctuary is PACKED every single week so whoever they are telling not to go to services isn’t listening. I know many members who are very happy at Central. It seems you think you are better at being Jewish than your peers but your sanctimonious approach only causes more division. Those who loathe the clergy should leave.
ps - my kids 28 and 30 - pay dues at synagogue. So do their friends.
I'm very happy for you and your family. It is impressive that you were able to raise devoted Jews in a reform congregation. Words cannot describe by respect for holocaust survivors such as your in-laws. One of the most formative moments of my Jewish experience was hearing the story of a holocaust survivor (and grandmother of one of my LCLJ classmates) in the Beir Chapel at Central, a sanctuary space that has probably never made it on a live stream.
However, when it comes to the inner-dynamics of Central, you are misguided. You don't recognize that Central's membership is about triple the capacity of the main sanctuary. You don't recognize that the shabbat services have an open door policy and that a large portion of attendees are not congregation members. I have plenty of friends that are happy at Central too (especially in your generation), undoubtedly more than you, but so few of them go to Synagogue or engage with community programs outside of the High Holidays, which the vast majority of members attend at Lincoln Center and not the main sanctuary.
You seem to think that my reply to your comment was an attempt to boast about what you perceive are my thoughts regarding my Jewishness. Perhaps it is that self-involved mindset that caused you to frame your reply as a Me-versus-You anecdotal argument, and feel the need to point out a minor mistake in a 20 year old's diction (my apologies, in the future I will make sure to correctly identify a letter published as an article as a letter and not an article). What you don't understand is this was never about me. It was about explaining my experience growing up in the synagogue that is the subject of the LETTER that we are currently in the comment section of.
What you don't understand is that I love Central with all my heart. It was the greatest pleasure to spend so much of my childhood there. However, and trust me when I say this, it is undeniable that Central failed to inspire its Gen Z members into being devoted Jews. The circumstances of your children are irrelevant to this fact. While I recognize that I may have overgeneralized my claim to include the reform movement as a whole, it is still true about Central. From now on I will stick to what I know, and I hope you do too.
Do you really believe that an appropriate response to an aggrieved group of members (a very large one at that) is to tell them all to leave? Does that genuinely seem like the best course of action? You claim my rhetoric causes more division, but then say something so ridiculous as clergy members with different opinions than you should just leave. Id love for you to explain the logic in that. Rabbi Buchdahl, on CBS Mornings a few months ago, spoke of how synagogue used to be a place for people of differing opinions to come together in harmony, and how she wants to see that return. Do you disagree? Should synagogues instead become more divided and more politicized?
Also, I can't seem to understand why you felt the need to classify Park Avenue as a "wealthy bubble on the Upper East Side" when comparing it to Central. I hope you understand that the Central congregation is just as wealthy, bubble-living, and in many cases Trump-loving, as Park Avenue.
I love your response. Respectful without being condescending. Your opinion matters and I agree with you. Starting out with a comment about a letter vs and article is very condescending and doesn't lead to more dialogue.
Yes. I believe that if congregants “loathe” their clergy (more than disagreeing) they should leave. And I am well aware of the division in All synagogues politically. That’s not what this is about. Rabbi Cosgrove’s sermon about not electing Mamdami was condescending and he said, “the affordability anxious” pointing to the young Jewish community in Brooklyn. He literally divided the community with that line alone. Wether a Rabbi is for or against Mamdami or Trump or anyone else, saying something like that from the pulpit is condescending, and far from the job of a Rabbi. So yes, he magnified his bubble and showed just how un relatable he is to the younger generation who may not be wealthy.
He’s explained it. I don’t need to speak for Elon Musk.
And Cosgrove continues to post on Twitter, owned by and populated by Nazis.
Elon Musk owns X (formerly Twitter) and he is not a Nazi.
Sorry you believe propaganda….the same bbc that lost their president and ceo for bias editing. Musk is a humanist. Educate yourself.
Explain his Hitler salute and his approval of replacement theory, which says that Jews are recruiting immigrants to come to America and replacement Christian white people. And no matter who reported it, he did it.
Please explain his Heil Hitler salute and his numerous antisemitic remarks. This is not a man a Rabbi should associate with.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67446800
Thank you for your articulate, factual and call to action letter. As responders here attest, you are not alone and indeed move others.
Amazing letter. Thank you for your courage, your integrity and your clarity of thought.
Good letter, too long, but courage? That would require signing the letter.
I think the writer of the letter did sign it, but Mael chose to repost it anonymously.
I suppose only those who are relatively active in Central Synagogue would know that. But I understand why Mael would choose to omit the name of a fellow traveler.
Yeah, I mean, it's not his personal info to release. I'd even wonder if he had her permission to post the letter, let alone reveal who she is.
Fair point. I suppose if it were me I might be hesitant to put my children's safety at risk by making my views on these matters public so I will withhold judgement. I am sure the Rabbis and the shul leadership know who wrote it.
There are many Jews living in NYC who may agree with this letter nearly 100% but keep to themselves for fear of risking much less than the security of their kids. By comparison this women is really quite courageous.
This is a powerful letter which speaks truth to power
As a former member of the Orthodox community, I found this essay profoundly misleading and unnecessarily hostile. Today, much of the Orthodox world is dominated by an uncompromising right-wing political fervor. This ideological shift, which seemed to accelerate during the 2020 pandemic, has severely eroded critical thinking—not just within religious circles, but also across the non-Orthodox streams and broader population as well. MAGA has made tremendous inroads into the minds of those seeking a strongman leader to protect them from whatever imagined boogeyman.
Since synagogues reopened in mid-2020, those who do not subscribe to this "perpetual persecution" narrative—a sentiment that has intensified a thousandfold since the tragedies of October 7—are often marginalized. Those brave enough to dissent are frequently attacked by a "persecuted majority" for refusing to conform. I have immense respect for those who continue to resist this collective loss of objectivity.
Nope. Not buying this.
Certainly, the Orthodox movement has always been more “conservative” than the Reform movement which takes “Tikkum Olom” as its only Jewish value. Social justice has always been at the forefront of the Reform movement. While the Orthodox remains more true to the traditions and traditional rituals.
However, your assertion of a “bogeyman” (which, frankly, is racist in origin) is untrue. Clearly, the Jew hatred is not some paranoid imaginary narrative, it is now socially acceptable and mainstreamed on the left. It has always been on the right (i.e. Charlottesville) however, more fringed, yet gaining mainstream as Nick Fuentes, Candice Owens and Tucker have achieved that level of celebrity. That notwithstanding, the lefts’ social empathy with the Palestinian movement, Hamas and the “not the West” mentality has infected our education system as an indoctrination. The Teachers’ Union platform is infectious. The “Red/Green Alliance” has taken hold both in Europe, which is in significant and rapid decline because of the mass immigration of Muslims/Islamists, as well as our neighbors to the north. We, as Americans, need to be vigilant which includes pushing back against the Zohran Mamdani, Omar Ilan and Rashida Thalib. And, these are just the beginning of the Islamists who are running and gaining political power. It is only “jihad” in a different form than violence, which is not that far away. For a Jew to NOT condemn “Globalize the Intifada” is a form of self-loathing as if they are a “Good Jew” they’ll be exempt from the persecution that is not all that far away.
So, your disdain for the “Orthodox” which you have left, does not hold water. Your particular vision of a “victim mentality” amongst Jews is fading precisely because we, as a people, now have Israel as a refuge.
The left’s “virtue signaling” so as to not offend their leftist brethren is reprehensible as pointed out so eloquently in the author’s resignation letter. These Progressive Jews don’t even understand that their brethren would destroy them as much as looking at them.
Empathetic Suicide.
Thank you. Great response to the progressive and suicidal morons posting here
I know plenty of people within the Orthodox community, Chareidi or modern, who are left-wing politically. (I include my wife.) We simply don't make a religion out of our politics.
One other thing. Our rabbis almost never mention other religions or denominations, and mostly stay clear of politics. Their speeches concentrate on how we can be better people and better Jews, and about getting along properly with our Gentile neighbors. (Just to clarify, they are Chareidi, although I suspect the Modern Orthodox rabbis here in Baltimore are the same.)
How interesting that the critique is on the left for insitutional anti semitism rather than the right.. Trump is not a lover of Jews. He was paid by Miriam Adelson to support Israel. He has a love of money.
Tucker Carlson is not a 'leftie". He is hard right and espouses anti Israel and antisemitism. People on the far right have accounts on X and other social media with millions of followers of the hard right stating that jews and Israel are the problem.
This writer has a beef with the democratic party but he is blind to the right who have accepted neo-nazi groups since Trump labeled them "good people".
This is actually provably false. In his first campaign, he was refused help from the pro-Israel donors, yet he proved to be the most pro-Jewish president since Lincoln (maybe since Washington) and the only really pro-Israel president since the founding of the State.
Trump was referring the people defending the statue of Lee, who saved America by ending the war and refusing to go insurgent, not the the anti-semites. He said as much.
Another moron heard from. How do you generate the neurons to tie your shoes??
We need to stop looking at things through a partisan lens and start applying principles to evaluate those who are expressing and advocating for hateful, eliminationist bigotry and anti-Americanism. These are violations of our universal, moral TABOOS, and we must shame and ostracize the egregious taboo violators out of polite society and out of our mainstream politics, as we did to defeat the KKK. If we don't, their hate will normalize and spiral into violence and anarchy.
I’ve heard her on a couple podcasts and her nonsense made my head spin. Suicidal empathy at its finest.
That about which you have written is summarized by one’s perception of social justice “trumping” one’s instinct for survival. We have met the enemy and he is us. The irony is that the bigotry against which we have fought as a people now comes from those we have supported. As it is written in the New York Times masthead, “All the news that fits, we print.”.
Once you start approvingly quoting Bari Weiss, you've lost the argument.