Haredi leaders urge Rivlin to help free US Jewish criminal

In rare pilgrimage to president’s official residence, rabbis seek aid in the case of fraudster Rabbi Mordechai Samet

ed note–the first ‘recorded’ case of ‘anti-Semitism’ can be found–surprise, surprise–within the very first book of the bible itself, Genesis, where Pharaoh has just discovered that Abraham lied to him in describing his wife Sarah as his ‘sister’ (and therefore a virgin) in the interest of selling her as a concubine within Pharaoh’s harem. After Pharaoh’s household comes down with some mysterious ‘illness’ (the bible doesn’t say what kind of illness, but the fact that Pharaoh ties it to Sarah leaves little doubt as to what it was) Pharaoh confronts Abraham with his trickery and then orders both him and his ‘sister’ Sarah kicked out of the country.

Generations later, after Abraham’s cousins have been allowed back into Egypt and have established themselves in the same way that they have in every other country where they have dwelt, alarm bells once again begin ringing at an official level, as recounted in the book of Exodus–

‘Then a new king came to power in Egypt and said to his people ‘Look, they (the Jews) have become far too numerous (powerful) amongst us…We must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous (powerful) and, if war breaks out, will join with our enemies and fight against us…’

And so, whether it is ancient Egypt, the Dreyfus case in France, Jonathon Pollard, Barabbas, Judas Iscariot or the calling for the release of a convicted fraudster, this theme–of Jewish criminal behavior marching hand in hand with the demand that Jewish criminals be freed of any legal constraint–has been a constant throughout history. Gentile laws, jurisprudence, justice, morals, etc mean NOTHING to a group of people whose code of ethics enjoins them to commit criminal acts in the name of their ‘god’ yahweh, and therefore why should anyone be at all surprised when they have the chutzpah to demand the release of those convicted of high crimes? 

Times of Israel

A large contingent of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community met with President Reuven Rivlin at his official home in Jerusalem Monday to request his help in securing the release of a Haredi man imprisoned in the United States for embezzling millions.

While it is not uncommon for religious leaders to meet with the president or the prime minister, a meeting at the President’s Residence or one featuring so many representatives has not taken place in recent memory.

The meeting was attended by the rebbes of the Ukrainian Hasidic dynasties of Vizhnitz and Rachmastrivka, the head of the Lithuanian Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman of the United Torah Judaism party and other ultra-Orthodox dignitaries. Plans for the meeting were kept under wraps until it was already underway, the Haredi news site Kikar Hashabat reported.

Two of the rabbis who took part in the meeting — the rebbe of Rachmastrivka and Rabbi Ben-Zion Gutfarb of Jerusalem’s Masmidim yeshiva — are affiliated with Haredi movements that do not recognize the State of Israel.

“Those present at the meeting were the most important rabbis there are, the top of the line,” Yitzhak Ravitz, the acting mayor of the Haredi Beitar Illit settlement who is married to Rivlin’s chief of staff, told Haaretz. “The meeting was cordial, and it’s clear that there was chemistry between the president and the rabbis. The president is very connected, comes from a very traditional background. His connection with the rabbis is very real, and he knows the terminology. The rabbis felt they had a partner.”

The ultra-Orthodox representatives discussed with Rivlin the general needs of the Haredi community, asking that he encourage politicians to seriously consider the community’s requests and not indiscriminately reject them, Kikar HaShabat reported. The group also discussed the president’s own family relation to the Vilna Gaon, the “saintly genius from Vilnius” who established modern Lithuanian Judaism.

The conversation then turned to the case of Rabbi Mordechai Samet. Samet, who lived in the ultra-Orthodox community of Kiryat Joel in New York State, was found guilty in 2002 of illegally obtaining $4 million through a variety of schemes and frauds, including filing false death claims and soliciting money for fictitious lotteries, and was sentenced a year later to 27 years in jail. At the time of his sentencing, US District Judge Colleen McMahon called the case “extraordinary” due of the scope of the frauds committed and “the chutzpah of the people committing them.”

“Mordechai Samet lived a life of unremitting fraud. For many years Mordechai Samet’s life has been completely dedicated to the pursuit of crime. He defines the word ‘racketeer,’” she said.

But the ultra-Orthodox leaders requested that Rivlin, who wore a yarmulke throughout their visit, make a special plea to the United States government to request leniency for Samet, who has already served nearly half of his sentence. Rivlin explained to the gathered rabbis and community heads, however, that the issue was not under his control, Haaretz reported.

But Ravitz still saw the meet-up as crucial to maintaining a relationship between the ultra-Orthodox community, which can be perceived by secular Israelis as insular and aloof, and the country’s political leadership. “The importance of the meeting is in its having taken place,” he said.