Chaskel Bennett, an outspoken Jewish leader with roots right here in Kew Gardens Hills, wrote an outstanding article for JNS on January 24. If given some thought, the article opens the doorway to understand how thoroughly hypocritical and ridiculous the Left is. Meaningless gestures or statements are twisted to attack or for character assassination – their specialty.

Chaskel describes the all-out assault on Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire who has shown a deep care for Israel and its hostages. What was the charge? That he gave what appeared to be a Nazi-like salute at the inauguration of President Trump. If seen in part, it may appear so. And even then, the lover of Israel clearly meant nothing with that gesture. If the clip is seen in its entirety, however, it shows Musk’s arm stretching from his heart out to the crowd – purely a gesture of love. Kamala Harris, Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George W. Bush were pictured doing the same thing at different gatherings.

Chaskel makes the all-important point that those leading the charge were known Israel-bashers, such as Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Murphy (D- CT), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and of course Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – plus every Left-leaning pundit online or on TV. How ironic that these Israel- and Jew-haters feigned such outrage that Musk the Jew-lover would imply something sympathetic to Nazis in their demented minds.

In a similar vein, President Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal policies touching on gender to use biological sex to determine gender. (It’s called following science.) Two days later, the Reform Rabbinate (CCAR) called it an “attack on millions of Americans who are transgender, nonbinary, intersex or any other gender that does not conform to the enforced binary.”

“Reform Jews…are religiously obligated to recognize and respect each individual’s gender identity,” the statement concluded.

Our Coalition for Jewish Values, in its published statement, proclaimed, “It is revealing that Reform Jews are ‘religiously obligated’ to accept a person’s gender identity.”

According to the CCAR, Reform Jews are not obligated to observe the Sabbath, keep kosher, or follow particularistic Jewish law in any other area.”

In other words, the religion of the Reform is not following Judaism, but progressivism.

Hey, what about following the science that Reform Judaism demanded for years? Do they really believe that biological science bears out that there is anything but a male or female gender, determined by their organs?

But this is what has taken over the world. Until now. The killers are lauded as heroes and freedom fighters. Those who preach and commit genocide are considered victims of genocide. Those who fight off the terrorists are considered war criminals. Those who murder babies in the cruelest fashion accuse their enemy of murdering their babies. And most of the world accepts the narrative.

And now I see that a coalition of Reform Jews issued a kol korei calling upon all their members not to post on X, as it promotes lashon ha’ra. You can’t make this stuff up. Progressivism, especially as practiced by Left-wing Jews, has gone completely off the rails. But it’s nice to see them so concerned about the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim.

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Executive Vice President of the CJV, posted: “We welcome this move; we don’t know how it will address hateful content, but it will reduce misrepresentations of Judaism on X.”

How well put. I don’t know why Jews specialize in self-affliction (see Peter Beinart’s insane rant against Israel as an op-ed gladly printed by the paper of record – The New York Times).

To those of you who are still loyal to the Left (and, unfortunately, there are plenty of Orthodox in that group): You have not surrendered your fealty to whatever it is that you believe that you believe. For that, I salute you.


Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.