Bsd
אל המקום אשר...
This is a letter to Rabbi Abba Cohen, also intended for major mainstream religious Jewish Organizations, in response to his plea asking all Yeshiva parents to reach out to Senators and House Representatives demanding fair and equitable treatment to provide funding for private schools and for such allocation be embedded in the Covid-19 relief packages..
My comments:
Dear Rabbi Abba Cohen, shlita
Calling our Senators in NY, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer is a ברכה לבטלה, basically useless.
We voted them in knowing their platform and agenda.
We knew their position or rather lack of leadership, in the case of Schumer with the Iran Deal.
Schumer was busy with an "Education package" in the Summer of 2015, too busy to focus on the Iran Deal.
We were collectively silent and didn't protest the Iran Deal, while Neturei Karta protested in favor of freeing up a hundred and fifty billion dollars for Iran. They arrived, bussed in, transportation paid for, in very large numbers, to Capitol Hill.
This rogue "Jewish Chareidi group" is well funded, technically sophisticated and created a huge internet presence whereby they deceitfully suggest that they represent the Torah position. (Unfortunately, there is nothing online from the mainstream Jewish Organizations, Agudah nor the OU to dispute this false narrative).
Soon thereafter, Fall 2015, our Yeshivas received tens of millions of dollars.
Quid pro quo for silence re: the Iran deal?
In 2016, When a Republican candidate by the name of Chele Farley ran for Senate, a pro Israel, Conservative voice, Agudah didn't want to get involved. The excuse? We are not a "political" organization and can't endorse candidates.
Honestly, Is supporting a candidate that reflects our Torah values, a political endorsement or a religious statement?
So now we reap what we sow.
Time to reverse course to discredit this unG-dly party!
The Democratic party especially in NY, the City Council and State Assembly, have an unG-dly majority. They are treasonous, unAmerican. They legislate criminality and immorality into law reminiscent of the generation of the Flood and of Sodom and Gemorra.
If we call upon Schumer or Gillibrand it's like calling the wolves to protect the sheep.
Let's not waste our precious time.
We voted them in. We encouraged our community to register as Democrats knowing fully well their "values" and interests are contrary to our own.
The strategy must change.
We must fight this unG-dly party for our very lives.
Only discrediting, leaving, disassociating and calling for and implementing the total elimination of a party whose DNA has been hijacked can be effective.
It's them or us and it is they who have set the stage and have written the ground rules. This battle is of their own making.
We must expose the fact that they, the Democrats under their current leadership have been infiltrated and influenced by evil forces. They are treasonous, supporters of anarchy, marxism, terror groups, antiSemites, immorality, and openly support those who advocate cancel culture, erasing American history and culture. They advocate unvetted immigration thereby allowing criminals and terrorists into our country.
This hijacked "party" has legislated laws to protect criminals rather than American citizens. These laws encourage crime rather than deter crime. Statistics show homicides and crime statistics have risen significantly in Democrat governed states and cities across the country. Lives of all American citizens are in danger and Heaven forbid this will only increase unless it is dramatically and effectively challenged and stopped.
Who is "law abiding" nowadays in NY in this topsy turvy world?
After all, our elected officials have sworn to protect the law and the law abiding citizens of this great Nation.
In NY, under Democratic leadership, looters and violent protesters are protected, and family oriented citizens like us, are the ones "breaking the law".
Time for Agudah to take a stand for G-d and rectify the sin of allowing such an evil government to come into power. As a Mamlechet Kohanim, a Nation of Priests and a Holy Nation, we are instructed to teach the world about Universal morality, namely the 7 Noahide Laws. Remaining passive is a sin whereby the consequences of being silent is that we reap what these G-dless politicians have sown.
The time has come to step up to the plate and address the underlying root cause of the situation we find ourselves.
The Democrats ideologically, do not, and will never support school choice. They want to indoctrinate all children with their "distorted values", unG-dly values and cancel culture.
True, they were willing to pay for security and stem for private schools. It was a bone they threw us to keep them in power. We fell for it.
What good is that right now when their ultimate agenda is to steal the Nation's soul, the America we love, "One Nation, Under G-d, With Liberty and Justice For All"?
We have no chance of winning this fight unless we battle them at the very root and eliminate the cancer. We must lead the fight to challenge their "values" and agenda and disregard juicy bones they send our way. Again, they, in their current form need to be discredited and eliminated as a legitimate party. There is no compromising at this point since they have crossed a red line.
We can change things around BeH!
Tehillim - Psalms - Chapter 20
ג יִשְׁלַ֣ח עֶזְרְךָ֣ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וּ֜מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךּ
Tehillim - Psalms - Chapter 130
א שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּֽעֲל֑וֹת מִמַּֽעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְ-הֹ-וָֽ-ה:
7 Israel, hope to the Lord, for kindness is with the Lord and much redemption is with Him. ז יַחֵ֥ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶל־יְהֹ֫וָה כִּֽי־עִם־יְ-הֹ-וָ֥-ה הַחֶ֑סֶד וְהַרְבֵּ֖ה עִמּ֣וֹ פְדֽוּת:
8 And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities. ח וְהוּא יִפְדֶּ֣ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִ֜כֹּ֗ל עֲוֹֽנוֹתָֽיו:
From Rabbi Abba Cohen
Dear Friends:
Yes, our yeshivos, Bais Yaakovs and Jewish day schools have been devastated by the effects of the novel coronavirus and, even with our most valiant efforts, our children's education has taken a terrible hit. It is a blow experienced by many private and religious schools, with the possibility of hundreds of these schools closing their doors.
Equally devastating is the effect the economic downturn is having on our families. Loss of jobs. Loss of income. Families facing extreme hardship as they struggle to provide even the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing and shelter. And, of course, the further hardship of not being able to afford the basics of Jewish life, such as tuition payments and charitable contributions to our schools.
But there is good news!
As early as next week, in the next COVID-19 relief package, Congress will be considering two Trump Administration-supported measures that could go far in alleviating this plight:
1. Providing direct emergency aid to parents to cover education-related expenses, which would include tuition. This could be accomplished through a federal appropriation to the governors of all 50 states, who would then distribute scholarship grants to families choosing private schools; and
2. Providing an emergency federal education tax credit – the Education Freedom Scholarship – for corporate and individual contributions to scholarship granting organizations. These scholarships could be used for a wide array of educational expenses, including private school tuition, special needs services, and tutoring.
It is essential that we contact our Senators and Representatives to support these vital initiatives to help our schools and families. Time is of the essence. They will be considered next week and the expectation is that the legislation will move quickly.
But I will be honest. This will not be easy. Some proposals are being circulated on Capitol Hill that would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for education in the next round, but completely cut out private schools and private school families!
All we are asking for is to be treated fairly and equitably in this time of crisis and emergency.
Please contact your Senators and Representatives today!
Hatzlacha,
Rabbi Abba Cohen
Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director
Agudath Israel of America
To contact your elected officials.
Thanks very much