Jeffrey Goldberg, Another Walt, Obsession

Jewish History and The Clarion
by Joachim Martillo (ThorsProvoni@aol.com)

I have some reservations about Jeffrey Goldberg's Atlantic piece attacking Obsession because it obscures the nature of Aish haTorah as a returnee organization embedded both in the heart of the Jewish community and also in the centers of Jewish wealth.

I discuss the nature of Aish haTorah in a number of relevant articles listed in this blog entry while Richard Silverstein has reported some important new info in What Do Aish HaTorah, Rabbi Irwin Katsof, Rick Davis, the Ukraine and John McCain Have in Common?.

Among other things, Aish haTorah is very close to some very big players in the subprime meltdown.

The use of the name "The Clarion Fund" for Aish's front organization reminded me of Abraham Walt's (Avrom Lyesin's) 1896 poem "Der Kremer" in which the poor Jewish shopkeeper reads the Polish Hebrew newpaper Hatzefirah (The Clarion), which focused on world politics.

Nahum Sokolov, who (re-)invented the name Tel-Aviv and who was president of the World Zionist Organization during the 30s, worked for or edited Hatzefirah from 1876 until it closed in 1932. Hatsefirah was unique for its popularity among Zionists, anti-Zionists and non-Zionists.

In his poem Walt wrote "Der kremerl lezt di HaTsefira / Un zet di politike klor." ('The little storekeeper reads 'The Clarion' and fully understands politics'). Walt was being ironic, but if the Aish founders of The Clarion Fund chose the name because of the reference, they probably missed the sarcasm. I discuss "Der Kremer" in Zionizing Jewish Culture and History.

Sphere: Related Content