This week saw the announcement of a new development for UK Charedi Jews, the establishment of the Pinter Trust, dedicated, in its own words, to being a ‘point of contact for our community’s public affairs and public relations’. There is no doubt that this is an important step forward, one that has come not a…
My pet project is showing that Charedi society functions according to regular laws and patterns, and that attempts to improve Charedi society that ignore these patterns will invariably fall flat on their face. With this in mind, let us state clearly the specific factors which impede our ability to stop depraved sexual predators from turning…
A little over a week ago, Rabbi Hertz Frankel passed away after a rich and full career as one of the prominent askanim of post-war American Jewry. Rabbi Frankel’s official title was head of secular studies, or principal, at the original Beis Rochel D’Satmar in New York, the first girls’ school established in the tradition…
Two weeks ago, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick intervened to overrule Westminster Council and approve the construction of a Holocaust Memorial next to the Houses of Parliament, a project first launched by then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014. Backers of the project include some of the most influential members of the UK Jewish community, including…
Two topics I have periodically explored on this blog are, first, the need for a greater professionalism and a new leadership class within the Charedi community and, secondly, the imperative to challenge defamatory depictions of Charedi life and culture in wider society and media. My instinct was to see these issues as connected: a Charedi…
Earlier this month, a shocking piece of research was published by OFSTED on the prevalence of sexual abuse and harassment in British schools and colleges. To quote the report “nearly 90% of girls, and nearly 50% of boys, said being sent explicit pictures or videos of things they did not want to see happens a…
This Lag B’Omer the Jewish world woke up to news of the worst civilian tragedy in the history of the State of Israel, and one of the worst disasters of any kind in recent years anywhere in the developed world. What normally is a place of joy became a place where children were made orphans,…
For as long as there have been bekeshes in Stamford Hill, a feature of our communal life has been the freelance extremist who, over many decades, has refined and perfected a mode of religious activism known colloquially as ‘shouting incoherently at people like a nutter’. This advocacy comes in slightly different flavours: some are happy…
I have learned the hard way that any comment on COVID-19 that doesn’t start, continue and end with a passionate denunciation of people who don’t social distance will be met with a torrent of ‘offensive nonsense’, ‘defending the indefensible’ and ‘ignorant bluster’. I was ready for more of the same when I responded to the…
NOTE: This article is for people who appreciate the difference between an explanation and an excuse. Many people profess to being unable to understand how Charedim can ignore public health regulations during a pandemic; for those who mean it, I hope this helps. Others, for whom Charedim exist to externalise their own internal torments, are…
Eli Spitzer 