Managed Media Misleads on Medicine

PBS Abandons Fair and Balanced Journalism

 By Dr. Mercola

PBS’ Frontline recently did a hit piece on the supplement industry (see above video if you haven’t already), and your response to them about my Frontline article had a dramatic impact. You clearly have made a difference by pointing out their glaring bias!

PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler — whose job it is to review criticism from viewers and “ensure that PBS upholds its own standards of editorial integrity” — received dozens of emails, plus a number of phone calls.

In his words: “All of them were critical, some sharply.”

On February 5, Getler published a long, detailed review of the critique received, Frontline’s responses, and his own findings. If you have the time it would be worth reading Getler’s article as you can see how many people felt this was a shoddy piece of journalism.1

While I extend my gratitude to Getler for his common sense admission that vitamin supplements do not pose “a public health calamity” as the show unfairly insinuated, I simply must set the record straight yet again, on the issue of regulation, since he and PBS continue to portray a seriously distorted and inaccurate narrative.

Dietary Supplements Are Fully Regulated by FDA Under DSHEA

While supplements are not regulated as drugs, they are fully regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). As the name reveals, supplements have been subject to their own specific set of regulations since 1994. As stated on the FDA’s website:2

FDA regulates both finished dietary supplement products and dietary ingredients … Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA):

  • Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded.

That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

  • FDA is responsible for taking action against any adulterated or misbranded dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.”

Which part of “FDA regulates both finished dietary supplements products and dietary ingredients” is confusing enough for anyone to conclude that regulation is absent, missing, or otherwise nonexistent?

More to the point, how can any competent investigative journalist make such a blunder as to misrepresent supplements as unregulated when the law has been in force for more than two decades? Is it ignorance? Is it negligence? Or is it agenda-driven obscuration?

Pre-Marketing FDA Review of Supplements Versus Drugs

Getler reiterates a quote by the acting FDA commissioner, who during the PBS program said that the FDA “does not do any review of dietary supplements before they come onto the market.”

While this is true, appropriate context is needed. The implication is that, were supplements regulated as drugs, they would undergo FDA review prior to marketing and would, therefore, be safer.

On the face of it, that seems to make sense, but the reason why this logic is fatally flawed is that the FDA’s pre-market review for drugs simply involves reviewing the manufacturers own tests.

The FDA does not perform ANY — yes, you read that correctly, ANY — independent testing to verify the manufacturer’s results before approving a drug. They merely rely on the submissions of an industry that has consistently and repeatedly been found guilty of nefarious behavior in this area.

The classic example is Merck withholding studies they performed on Vioxx prior to its release that the drug had cardiac toxicity. They voluntarily removed the drug about five years after its FDA approval, but not before the drug killed 60,000 people.

Contrary to Popular Belief the FDA Does NOT Independently Evaluate Drugs

Contrary to what Getler and PBS would have you and the public believe — the idea that the FDA does independent objective premarket evaluations — the “FDA does not develop or test products; FDA experts review the results of laboratory, animal, and human clinical testing done by manufacturers” only.3

The lack of independent verification of drug companies’ claims is a major problem, as fudging and manipulating research has become commonplace. Investigations have shown that most of the scientific misconduct occur in the drug literature (compared to general biomedical literature).

Nearly 75 percent of retracted drug studies are attributed to scientific misconduct such as data falsification and fabrication. Imagine the potential for tragedy when a drug is based largely on pure fantasy or wishful thinking!

Vioxx and Avandia are but two examples of exceptionally dangerous drugs making it through the FDA’s review process. Between them, these two drugs are responsible for more than 143,000 deaths.

So exactly how would the FDA’s review of manufacturers’ studies make nutritional supplements any safer than they already are?

Legally Prescribed Drugs Kill Hundreds of Thousands Annually

When taken as prescribed, drugs of any category kill more than 106,000 people per year, and 2 million Americans become seriously ill every year because of toxic reactions to drugs.4

So the notion that regulating supplements as drugs would make them safer is not based in reality. Current drug regulations allow very dangerous drugs to be marketed, and action is only taken AFTER problems become apparent and severe.

Tens of thousands need to die before a drug is finally removed from the market. It should be a great comfort to everyone to know that the FDA does not drag its feet when it comes to taking dangerous supplements off the market, though.

Ephedra-containing diet pills, for example, were removed5 in 2004 after being linked to 155 deaths6 from overdosing. Avandia alone — taken as prescribed — killed 83,000 between 2001 and 2007.

The idea that supplements are harmful is not supported by the data. Quite the contrary, yet investigative journalists, like Frontline and CBC, consistently fail to mention statistics that put things into proper perspective. For example, a 2012 report7by the U.K.-based Alliance for Natural Health International showed that adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs are 62,000 times more likely to kill you than food supplements.

According to the annual report8,9 from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, there were zero deaths from vitamins, minerals, or any other dietary supplement in 2014. Meanwhile, Tylenol is linked to about 500 deaths annually. The idea that supplements should be regulated as drugs is rooted in financial interests. The supplement industry impinges on drug industry profits, and that’s the only rationale for this campaign to impose drug regulations on supplements.

Supplements Are the Safest Category of Consumable Products — Even Safer Than Food

Supplements are the most regulated food. They ARE NOT drugs. Supplements are consumed by the majority of Americans and Canadians, and statistically, it’s quite clear they are by far the safest consumable product there is, and least likely to hurt or kill you.In fact, most junk food is FORTIFIED with vitamins.  Modern agriculture has favored yield over nutrition, causing poor soil conditions, disease outbreaks, and a less nutrient-dense food supply.   If one is to avoid vitamin fortified junk foods, doesn’t it make sense to eat real food and intelligently use supplements to create a balanced diet?

Food sickens 48 million Americans each year; 128,000 of them severely enough to require hospitalization, and 3,000 die from food poisoning – and tens of thousands die from antibiotic-resistant infections that are primarily caused by our CAFO produced meats.10

Meanwhile, there were 3,249 adverse event reports for dietary supplements11 in 2012. The No.1 adverse event from supplements was choking, primarily in the elderly. Unsupervised children swallowing pills and heart palpitations due to the ingestion of too many diet pills, libido enhancing supplements, and energy drinks were also among the top problems reported. Again there were no deaths.

Choking is hardly an adverse effect warranting increased regulation, as it is a hazard that goes along with swallowing any food, drug or supplement. As for experiencing side effects from taking too many pills, let me remind you that prescription painkillers are the No. 1 cause of overdose deaths in the U.S., killing approximately 16,600 people each year.

Yes, people don’t always follow dosing instructions, but when it comes to supplements, it’s exceptionally rare to incur serious, permanent harm or death when taking too much. If any value is given to statistics, supplements set the bar for safety that all other consumable products, including drugs, should be measured by.

Supplements Are Also Regulated by the FTC

Supplements are also regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).12 This agency regulates the advertising of supplements, but it has a close working relationship with the FDA. Aspects of advertising covered by this regulation include but are not limited to:

  • Express and implied claims
  • Clear and prominent disclosures
  • Amount, type, and quality of evidence, and the relevance of the evidence to the specific claim
  • Claims based on traditional use
  • Use of DSHEA disclaimer

As explained on the FTC’s website, it “enforces laws outlawing ‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices’ to ensure that consumers get accurate information about dietary supplements so that they can make informed decisions about these products.” Any and all advertising “must be truthful, not misleading, and substantiated.”

Given the fact that supplements are regulated both by the FDA under DSHEA and the FTC, it is wildly irrational to state that supplements are unregulated unless one is lying. Frontline and CBC are not saying supplements could be regulated better. They imply supplements are marketed like Snake Oil and Magic Unicorn pills in some Wild West era of lawlessness!

In addition to the FDA regulating both ingredients and final products, supplements must also follow Current Good Manufacturing Processes (CGMP),13 which also falls under FDA jurisdiction.

It appears it’s up to informed readers and viewers to educate journalists (and health professionals) of their error, and to set the record straight whenever this fallacy is presented as fact. So, if you ever see supplements presented as “unregulated” again, I hope you step up to the plate and let them know that misrepresenting LAW is simply not acceptable by any journalistic standard.

Deceptions occur in all categories of commerce, and the supplement industry is no exception. But, when the government has to choose where it applies its limited resources for enforcement – shouldn’t it start where you find the highest body counts? That would be the logical priority, but not when you have the best government money can buy. If the policies don’t favor Big Pharma, Big Bank, Big Ag, Big Oil, Big Military, you can bet those resources will be applied elsewhere.

If you want to avoid unsafe supplements, the best way to do so is to stay away from the ‘gas station’ varieties. Those categories are typically focused on weight-loss, sexual performance, muscle growth & energy boosters. These categories have a history of being illegally spiked with pharmaceutical ingredients, so please think twice before purchasing these substances.

Do You Believe the Media Is Providing You With Fair and Balanced Journalism?

Frontline responded to the critique in my first article, saying:14 “The overarching allegation is that FRONTLINE, the CBC and The New York Times are all doing the bidding of nefarious forces — Big Pharma, Big Food, or some other hidden power pulling our strings. What nonsense.” Is it really nonsense to believe the media is manipulated by financial contributors with very big pocketbooks?

“FRONTLINE was not involved in any aspect of the selection or placement of these spots, which were sold by PBS and run across PBS.org through automated process. (Further, to be clear, FRONTLINE does not have any sponsorship from a pharmaceutical company, as some viewers erroneously alleged.),” Frontline writes.

As I pointed out in my first article, the sponsor list for PBS15,16,17 includes drug companies, junk food companies, and pesticide producers. Are we really to believe that PBS is just the middle-man, accepting funds from all of these industries, yet have NO influence over the programming? Just how much money is PBS getting from these companies?

If they want to disguise themselves as the “Public” Broadcasting Company, they should prominently disclose their corporate funders when they provide reports that have clear conflicts of interest. Moreover, while initially I did not delve into Frontline-specific sponsors since Frontline wants to make it “clear” that they do not have any pharmaceutical sponsorship, I will address it now.

Frontline Sponsors Include Several Foundations With Drug Ties

Frontline is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Information about Frontline, including its sponsors, can be found in WGBH’s Sharing The Vision member’s guide, and on Frontline’s FAQ page. Frontline is funded through the support of PBS viewers and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They also receive “major” funding from:

  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,18 which provides financial. support to the Human Vaccines Project;19the CDC Foundation20 (which “works closely with foundations to build programs that address specific health threats”); and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health21 (which promotes “solutions to four major global health threats” and has  worked to develop various vaccines)
  • Reva and David Logan, founders of the Reva & David Logan Foundation for Social Justice, Scholarship, the Arts and Investigative Journalism, which has co-funded drug research with Solvay Pharmaceuticals22 —a company that manufactures more than 30 drugs in the U.S. including Norlac RX, Zenate, Zenate Advanced Formula and Zenate Prenatal, all of which are prescription multivitamins
  • Jon and Jo Ann Hagler23 on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Jon Hagler served on both the World Bank’s Pension-Finance Committee and on the Finance Committee of the Rockefeller Family Fund. The World Bank helps fund vaccines and partners with vaccine and other drug companies. The Rockefeller Foundation helps fund the “Golden Rice” project with Gates to develop GMO rice with beta carotene genetically engineered into it.

Jon and Jo Ann Hagler established two endowed chairs in hematology and oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital,24 which partners with “pharmaceutical, biotech, venture capital and philanthropic communities.”

  • The Ford Foundation,25 which in June 2014 made a two-year, $800,000 grant toward a new cross-platform Enterprise Journalism Group within Frontline “that will deepen the series’ in-house investigative bench.” By 2014, the Ford Foundation had given nearly $20 million to WGBH (PBS) over a 55-year period. The Ford Foundation has a long history of funding global projects that include vaccines.

More Frontline Funders With Drug and Vaccine Ties

Frontline also receives funding from:

  • The Park Foundation:26 “a longstanding series funder.” In 2004, the Park Foundation also funded the Pan American Health Organization book project: “Vaccines: Preventing Diseases and Protecting Health.”
  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded Frontline in the past, especially “major funding” for the 2010 to 2011 broadcast season.27 In 2014, Gates was taken to task for its massive funding of NPR, Frontline, PBS NewsHour and Teaching Channel.28 Questions were raised as to whether impartial reporting was really possible in light of Gates’ massive influence. In 2012, Frontline again announced that it is partially funded by the Gates Foundation.29
  • The Tow Foundation,30 which co-funded a joint three-year fellowship program between Frontline and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.31 Columbia University receives a lot of money for drug research. The Tow Foundation was recently recognized by Inside Philanthropy for making “very large contributions” to various “pet projects of the TOW family,” including medical research.32

All of these groups have links, both major and minor, to drug companies and vaccine research and support. So how can Frontline claim non-biased, non-slanted, independent journalism when their bread is being buttered by a list of foundations that have a history of funding and supporting the drug paradigm?

Like It or Not, PBS, Frontline and CBC Are Bedfellows in This Debacle

Moreover, no matter how “accidental” or “random” the junk food ad featuring Cheez-Its (made with vitamin enriched flour) and Dr. Pepper (soda is a major cause of our obesity epidemic) right before the show might have been, the show featured a food ad that is harmful to health. And I don’t think it’s “nonsense” to point out just how hypocritical that came across.33 The effect was quite striking!

It’s impossible to view it without getting the idea that Cheez-Its and soda are good while supplements are bad. And I question whether that combination was entirely accidental.

Frontline also complained that it was “unfair” to link their show to the CBC’s shoddy hit piece on supplements, calling it an “attempt to tarnish our work by erroneously linking it to an entirely different program at the CBC.” Any rational viewer will clearly see this link is not in error. PBS partnered with CBC to create this Frontline program.

All three are linked through this partnership. Frontline wants you to believe it is an independent agent, with no financial ties to anyone, not even PBS. This simply fails to line up with reality, especially when the program fails to prominently disclose its funding sources. This atrocious lack of transparency leaves no other rational conclusion other than it’s a massive conflict of interest that endangers the “public” while accepting money from some of the worst multinational corporations on the planet.

You CAN Make a Difference! Write Your Local PBS Station Now

Since PBS is a public broadcasting station, they should publicly disclose their financing. PBS and Frontline, which have had an exemplary track record of providing fair and balanced reporting in the past, utterly failed to do so in this instance. For some reason, they partnered with CBC, which for the past year has been running an organized campaign against supplements, and this bias was clearly revealed in this “Supplements and Safety” episode.

This kind of biased (and inaccurate) reporting is unacceptable. If you agree, I urge you to write your local PBS station with a strong message of your dissatisfaction with their programming and clear collusion with industry.

You can also contact PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler, whose job it is to perform independent reviews of PBS programming to ensure it stands up to journalistic standards and integrity. You can contact him by clicking the “Send an E-mail” on the PBS Ombudsman’s webpage, or call him at (703)-739-5290.

Following are some suggested talking points:

  • Any and all potential conflicts of interest of experts interviewed should be disclosed
  • PBS corporate funding for programming should be publicly disclosed
  • Supplements cannot be accurately portrayed as “unregulated,” since they are regulated by the FDA under DSHEA, the FTC, and Current Best Manufacturing Processes. This is grossly negligent and endangers the public into further vitamin deficiencies (at least two out of every three people are deficient in vitamin D alone)

CBD Now Considered an Unapproved New Drug

The drug industry wants supplements to be regulated as drugs, and this is why such efforts are put into making you think the supplement industry is unregulated, even though it’s not true. Here’s an interesting example of what happens when a simple plant extract becomes a drug.

According to the FDA, once a drug company files an Investigational New Drug (IND) application34 for a supplement, it suddenly becomes a drug, and no one can market it as a supplement going forward — unless the substance has a history of being marketed as a supplement that precedes the IND. In the case of cannabidiol (CBD), the FDA claims a drug company was first on the scene.

British drug company GW Pharmaceuticals gained IND status on a CBD product in 2007, and eight CBD supplement manufacturers were recently issued warning letters35,36 from the FDA for marketing “unapproved new drugs.”

CBD shows massive potential in the treatment of seizures, and you can be assured the price difference to families for the same product — a CBD supplement versus a CBD drug — will be exorbitant. It’s going to be a boondoggle for big pharma that might even make Martin Shrekli37 proud!

Continue reading here…

From Lewrockwell.com, here.

“Keshet”, a Jewish Fighting Tradition

About The Aluf Abir

The term “Aluf Abir” refers to the “grandmaster” of the Abir-Qesheth warrior tradition. Yehoshua Avner Sofer Ma’atuf-Doḥ, the current Aluf Abir, began training in the warrior arts at the age of three, under the instruction of his grandfather, the previous Aluf Abir. After the death of his grandfather, Sofer continued to train under the instruction of his father, the Abir Ro’yim.

As a part of completing this training, in accordance with the wishes of the previous Aluf Abir, the Abir Ro’yim sent his son across the world to study the many diverse fighting forms throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia – and to test the Abir-Qesheth art against these foreign systems.

Never before had there been a chance for masters of Abir, whose training was confined to desolate Yemen and the pre-”cosmopolitan” Middle East, to thoroughly investigate the warrior arts of other nations and it was necessary to ensure that Abir still measured up to the competition.

It was also important to discover the contemporary advantages found in the Abir-Qesheth system. Abir-Qesheth fighting principles proved to be diverse enough within their own original framework that Sofer discovered (on his own flesh, no less) that the system of his forefathers is all a fighter need concentrate on. Abir-Qesheth Hebrew Warrior Arts alone are enough to potentially stand up to any opponent from any of the various systems practiced today, around the world. Sofer says that what was perhaps most significant about “tasting” so many fighting systems is his ability to answer young Abir warriors when they ask, How do I defend against ______-style fighters?
His experience in dissecting various fighting systems has come in handy when high-level students from different combative disciplines, coming from both Israel and abroad, want to begin Abir training. Seeing experienced fighters derive such pleasure in advancing vastly through their newly discovered Abir techniques is a great source of pride and motivation for beginning Abir students who might otherwise had a natural tendency to ask themselves if they have made the right choice. The higher their level, the easier it is for Sofer to use their former fighting styles as reference points, allowing them to digest the unique principles in an art they have not yet settled into. Whether one is a beginner or an expert in fighting arts, one thing is certain – when one sees Sofer demonstrate his mastery, it is clear that there can not be many people who have spent a lifetime gaining comparable levels of knowledge, experience, and enhanced skill.

Over the course of fulfilling the instructions of his father and grandfather, Sofer had the opportunity to study, among other things, Tang Soo Do with Chuck Norris, Hapkido with Bong Soo Han, Tae Kwan Do with Hee Il Cho, Judo with Gene Lebell, Mantis Kung Fu with Kam Yuen and Raymond Wong, and Kuk Sool Won with GM Seo In Sun and S. B. Moon. It was while training with Grandmaster Seo In Sun of the Korea Kuksool Association, Han Min Jok, Hap Ki Do, and World KIDO Federation, that Sofer received seventh Dan black-belts in Kuk Sool Won and Hap Ki Do. His long journey through a vast world of fighting arts brought him in contact with many notable legends including the late great Bruce Lee who allowed Sofer as a young boy to watch his training sessions with many high profile students such as Ted Wong, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Professor Daniel Lee. Lee had noticed Sofer’s unique movements and fighting spirit as a boy enrolled in Chuck Norris’s ”school of Korean Karate”. As a teenager, Sofer befriended a fellow just two years older than he whom he frequently found at a variety of schools from different fighting disciplines. The two would often show up at these venues independently at the same time. At first, this caused them both suspicion that they would later overcome to be friends and allies who often watched each others backs around the globe. This fellow became international Kumite champion. This was the one and only Frank Dux whose life story was portrayed by Jean Claude Van Damme in the movie ”Bloodsport”. The two are still good friends today.

Upon moving back to Israel with his family, Sofer trained various government forces and taught Hapkido, Kuk Sool Won, and other martial arts to interested students (including the founder of Krav Magen, Eli Avikazar z”l) until he was given official permission by his father to begin teaching Abir publicly. At that point, Sofer gladly gave up teaching any other form of combat or fighting system except the Abir-Qesheth Hebrew Warrior Arts.
As the Aluf Abir, Sofer has a responsibility to strictly adhere to and preserve the Abir tradition, and to create whatever new protocols, guidelines, parameters, and boundaries that are necessary to ensure that the Abir organization continues to function and grow in modern times. Along these lines, Sofer has created (a) a ranking system in order to measure students’ progress, (b) a step-by-step curriculum which defines and separates the core Abir principles into digestible and cohesive sets, (c) fighting forms which enable students to practice the theories and principles of Abir when training with a partner is not possible, and (d) an environment in which students can learn and develop as Israelite warriors and rediscover (what was once) the essential formula for daily life as a spiritually-enriched nation in the land of Israel.

From Abir Warrior Arts (defunct, but check out the new website).

משה פייגלין על מעוני השב”כ

אינני מצליח להבין כיצד חברי הכנסת של הבית היהודי והיותר לאומיים בליכוד – לא מפסיקים את הזוועה הזו.

הרי מענים את הילדים של הבוחרים שלכם עינויים קשים – עינויי תופת! אין שום תירוץ לדבר הזה, אין שום פצצה מתקתקת ולא שום דבר שמתקרב לזה.

בקואליציה של 61 כל אחד מכם יכול לעצור את הזוועה הזו בהינף אצבע – ואתם לא עושים את זה.

לא רק חיי הנערים ושפיותם תלויים בצואריכם, כל עתידה של המדינה תלוי באצבע הקטנה שלכם.

כי לאיזו מן סדום נתתם למדינה שלנו להתדרדר! איזו מן מדינה נשארת לנו אחרי שזוועה שכזו מתחוללת כאן “ברשות ובסמכות ובפיקוח”…

היום השמאל מענה את הימין, מחר הימין יענה את השמאל – איזה יופי… העיקר שהכל “ברשות ובסמכות”…

כשהיה צריך הצבעתי נגד (!) הקואליציה (כששחררו מחבלים ובמקרים עקרוניים נוספים) מדוע אתם לא מסוגלים לעשות זאת עכשיו?!

הרי הממשלה והבוגי מבצעים את הזוועה הזו מכוחכם! 

אף אחד מכם לא יכול להגיד – “יש להם רוב ממילא גם בלעדי…” ואם האופוזיציה תתגייס לתמוך (והיא לא) אז לפחות לא מכם יידרש הדם.

כשמדובר היה בזכויות אדם – תמיד הצטרפתי לשמאל. 

נגד מעצרים מנהליים, נגד הזנה בכפיה, בעד זכותם לסרב, הפגנתי נגד קציר האיברים בסין ועוד.

אם הימין היה היום באופוזיציה – הזוועה הזו לא היתה מתרחשת.

[מתוך פייסבוק.]

צבא השמד למדינת ישראל ורבנות מטעם

הרבצ”ר מטעם

במזרח אירופה, במיוחד ברוסיה הצארית, היתה תופעה של רבנים מטעם או מטע”מ – ראשי תיבות של מטעם מלכות. רבנים אלו מונו על ידי השלטונות כנציגיהם כלפי היהודים.

בקהילות ישראל התרוצצו שתי גישות כלפי רבנים אלו.

האחת, השתדלות למנות לתפקיד אנשים שאדרת הרבנות הולמתם. דוגמא לאישיות כזו היה הרב יעקב מזא”ה ממוסקבה. לפעמים התמנו אישים שאמנם לא היו רבנים אבל כיבדו את המשרה – למשל הסופר שלום עליכם היה רב מטעם בכמה קהילות.

אבל, רוב הקהילות השתדלו למנות לתפקיד אנשים הרחוקים מרחק רב ככל האפשר מכל דמות רבנית או סתם דמות אנושית מעוררת כבוד.

מסופר שפעם בא שר הפלך הרוסי לבקר אצל הרב מטעם בקהילה ומצא אותו מתגולל בקיאו שיכור כלוט. לאחר זמן פגש את אחד מראשי הקהילה ואמר לו כך נראה הרב שלכם? השיב לו: כך נראה הרב שלכם הרב שלנו הוא אחר.

במשך שנים רבות היתה תקוה שהרבנות הצבאית לא תהיה רב נות מטעם אלא רבנות אמיתית. הרב שלמה גורן זצ”ל הוביל תהליך של רבנות ארץ ישראלית עצמאית וזקופת קומה. אבל בימים אלו נסגר הגולל על רבנות זו והיא הופכת להיות רבנות מטע”מ במובן הגרוע ביותר האפשרי.

נתחיל למנות את הארועים החמורים אשר הובילו את הרבנות הצבאית מטעם אל השפל הנוכחי.

ראשית, מאז תחילת הלחימה צה”ל מסכן את חיליו כדי להמנע מפגיע באוכלוסית האויב. התנהגות זו לא רק שהיא אנטי הלכתית אלא גם אנטי אנשית – שום צבא בעולם לא נהג ולא נוהג כך. החל מבעלות הברית באירופה ועד ארה”ב בעיראק – כפי שמסביר בעל העיקרית שתפקידו של מנהיג להיות רחמן לעמו ואכזרי לאויביו מנהיג הנוהג להפך נכשל במה שהוא קורא “האומנות המלכי” ונפסל לתפקידו. לכן שאול נפסל למלך כי נכשל באומנות המלכי – חס על עמלק מאוביו ולא חס על העיר נוב מישראל. לעומת זאת דוד חס על ישראל והיה אכזרי לאויבי ישראל לכן למרות ששאול היה צדיק מדוד נפסל שאול למלך.

בעיר קודשנו ג’ נין נפלו שלושה עשר מחילינו בגלל התנהגות מחפירה וקודם לכן נפלו ששה מחילינו בקבר יוסף לאור אותה תפיסה.

מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור להוציא פסק הלכה חתוך וברור שיגיע לכל חיל וחיל ולכל קצין וקצין המחייב אותו להגן קודם כל על חיי חבריו הלוחמים לפני חיי האויב?

אבל הרב הצבאי הראשי שתק ושתיקתו רועמת יותר מאלף רמקולים.

הרב הצבאי הראשי שותף לרצח – איסור יהרג ואל יעבור.

שנית, מאז קום המדינה משרתות חילות בצבא. אבל, עד לפני כחמש שנים לא היה הבדל מהותי בין שרות הבנות בצבא לבין התפקידים שמלאו בשוק האזרחי. לכן ניתן היה לחיות עם הענין הזה בקצת לבטים. אבל לפני חמש שנים החל שינוי כאשר שרות הבנות הפך להיות שצמוד לשרות הגברים. דבר המביא מידי יום לסטואציות של איסורי עריות החמורים ביותר.

מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור להוציא פסק הלכה ברור וחד משמעי האוסר בכל תוקף על יצירת מצב זה והאוסר על כל חייל וקצין לשתף פעולה עם מצב כזה?

אבל הרב הצבאי שתק ושתיקתו רועמת יותר מאלף רמקולים.

הרב הצבאי הראשי שותף לגילוי עריות – איסור יהרג ואל יעבור.

שלישית, חילול שבת. בכל יחידות צה”ל כיום מחללים שבת שלא לצרכים מבצעיים על ימין ועל שמאל. השבת מזולזלת לגמרי במחנות צה”ל. אבל, בפינוי חוות גלעד נשברו כל הקודים כאשר אלצו חיילים שומרי מצות לחלל שבת ללא שום סיבה ללא שום צורך.

מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור להוציא פסק הלכה חד משמעי שיאסור בתכלית מעשים כאלה? מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור למצות את הדין עם העבריינים?

אבל הרב הצבאי הראשי שתק, ושתיקתו רועמת יותר מאלף רמקולים.

הרב הצבאי הראשי שותף לחילול שבת שהוא איסור סקילה.

רביעית, כשעלתה תוכנית ההתנתקות לאויר. תוכנית הכרוכה בהריסת ישוב הארץ בהגלית אלפי יהודים.

מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור להוציא פסק הלכה חד משמעי האוסר על כל חיל קצין או אזרח לקחת חלק בתוכנית מתועבת זו?

אבל הרב הצבאי אינו שותק אלא מגבה את התוכנית המתועבת מעל כל במה.

הרב הצבאי הראשי שותף לביטול מצות ישוב הארץ השקולה ככל התורה כולה.

חמישית, לכולנו ידוע מה המצב האמיתי בסיסי צה”ל. לכולנו ידוע באיזה רמה נשמרת שם הכשרות באיזה רמה מקיימים שם מצות.

מי אם לא הרב הצבאי הראשי היה אמור להפסיק את השערוריה הזו.

אבל הרב הראשי הצבאי שותק, ושתיקתו רועמת יותר מאלף רמקולים.

הרב הצבאי הראשי שותף להאכלת מאות אלפי יהודים באיסורי דאוריתא.

נסכם אם כן את קוי דמותו של הרב הצבאי הראשי –

מסייע לרצח – איסור יהרג ואל יעבור.

מסייע לגילוי עריות – איסור יהרג ואל יעבור.

מסייע לחילול שבת – איסור סקילה.

מסייע לביטול מצות ישוב הארץ – השקולה ככל התורה כולה.

די בזה ואין צורך להשלים את דמותו.

כאשר מרן הראי”ה היה בלונדון במלחמת העולם הראשונה הגיעה אליו ידיעה דחופה בערב יום הכיפורים – כמה יהודים נתיני רוסיה נאסרו ועמדים להיות מגורשים חזרה לרוסיה הצארית.

הרב ביקש מיד פגישה אישית עם הרב הראשי לבריטניה והקיסרות. הרב ההוא חשב שהראי”ה מבקש את ברכתו בערב היום הקדוש יום הכיפורים וקבלו מיד. אבל הראי”ב ביקש ממנו להתערב כדי לבטל את גרושם של היהודים שנתפסו. אבל הרב הראשי סרב להתערב בנושא שטופל בידי בית המשפט המלכותי. הטונים בפגישה עלו אבל הרב הראשי עמד על דעתו. בסוף לקראת כניסת הצום נתן הרב הרשמי את ידו לראי”ה וברכו כדי לסמן שהביקור נגמר. הראי”ה סרב ללחוץ את ידו שנשארה תלויה באויר. ואמר לו: שער הגמרא יש לו ערך רק אם הוא מחובר לגמרא. רבנות רשמית טובה היא רק כאשר היא קשורה לגדולי ישראל. אבל שער יפה וממורק בלי הגמרא עצמה הוא חסר ערך והפנה לו את גבו.

שעות ספרות אחר כך כאשר כבר נכנס יום הכיפורים היתה התקפת אוירית גרמנית על הנמל ועל אוניות הגרוש וגרוש היהודים בוטל.

הלואי והרבנות הצבאית היתה לפחות שער יפה של גמרא – אבל גם את זה היא איבדה ממזמן. היא במקרה הטוב ביותר דף שער שנתלש מרצונו ונכנס לביוב מרצונו.

מאתר מנהיגות יהודית [האתר חסר].