Discussion Here
I'm sure R' Berel means well, but to compare the Kanoyishe mosdos to the the Litvishe is silliness. For several reasons, both financial and practical. For one, all the Kanoyishe mosdos combined don't equal what they have in Bene Beraq alone, meaning that there's no way in the world that tens of thousands of children, bochurim and yungeleit can be supported from a 'Keren Hatzoloh' like organization. Not to mention the girls schools and seminaries. Sorry. As it is the shnorr is non-stop, imagine if that increases ten or twenty fold. Banish the thought! How much can American Jews already be expected to give? Then there's a more practical issue; The good L-rd blessed the Satmar and its satellites with more gevirim per capita than any other group. And if not the most gevirim then for sure gevirim that are willing to part with large sums of money. G-d bless them, they give. There's no way in heck that the Litvishe gevirim - whoever they are - will support all those Yeshivos, schools and kollelim that now decided to also only be on the take from individual donors, not from the "Treifene Medineh." They simply don't have the השגות that the אונגארישער געבער has. Maybe the Hungarian has a more guilty conscience and feels more compelled to give, whatever the case is, they give. And if no Litvishe go to work then there are no rich people, they'll have to rely on the Hungarians, who are up to their eyes with their own mosdos. Unless they go after the non-religious donors, which is difficult to do with the attitude that they have about frei people.
So why do we say that Reb Berel סר מן הדרך? Very simple. All the Gedolei Yisroel from the Brisker Rov to the Chazon Ish to Reb Isser Zalman to the Ponovizher Rov and Rosh Yeshiva - to you name it, they all said we should take money, so how can Reb Berel doubt them all? And yes, I put the Brisker Rov on the list because we all know that he allowed them to get Gov't funding, even if he didn't take any himself. Only if he leaves the path. (They may have put limitations on how much funding to take, but it was still a good chunk of change.) Which may be Why Reb Berel met Reb Yoel Kahan some 21/2 years ago. He's not with the Olam HaTorah anymore. He's some kind of new Satmar-Litvishe-Brisk hybrid that decides for himself to be Litvish but Kanoyish. Otherwise he seriously doubts whether or not the had the Daas Teyreh or at least the "veite kook" that the Satmar Rov seems to have had now. But if you ask me he'll probably regret ever giving this interview, once he sees what this causes.
That's beside for the fact that it just looks bad that they only reason they'll wean themselves off the funding from State is because they ask for something in return - which is not even REALLY the case. For over 60 years, as long as they were exempt from Army service the money was good, now all of a sudden it's no good anymore? Did we miss something here? a new קבלת התורה perhaps? This law would come into effect even if the institutions took no Government funding. The way people in Israel see it it's about doing your share, whether or not you're supported by the ממשלה. Rich kids also go to the army. I doubt Reb Berel is saying that they should cease taking ANY money, even for individuals, like ביטוח לאומי, קופת חולים, or other stipends that families get per child. Because then he'd be condoning mass starvation... So what would not taking money for מוסדות accomplish, very little if anything. Maybe it would make them look even worse in the eyes of the irreligious. But maybe we shouldn't care since the Charedim will soon be the majority in the Medineh anyway... So the bombastic headline, made to make Satmar look good, perhaps? or everybody else look not so smart? It's nonsense. As far as what will eventually happen in ארץ ישראל? Time will tell. We'll talk about that soon, אי"ה.
